Kicad 5.1.9-1 working with VirtualBox VM / Windows 7

Software
1

Kicad Version (5.1.9)-1
Host OS: Ubuntu 20.04.2. LTS
VM: Oracle VirtualBox 6.1.16 r140961 (Qt5.12.8)
Guest OS: Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

When running under a VirtualBox VM, Kicad appears to have the same QT5 / OpenGL issue which exists in FreeCad, where a black screen will be displayed when opening a schematic or PCB.

Solution is to copy the Mesa3D opengl32.dll (32 or 64 bit, depending on Win7 version) into the Kicad/Bin folder.

More specifically, on page 3 about 1/3 way down by user Build-O-Matic:

https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36087&sid=6bbd799816d193147d046dae8d35244f&start=20

1 Like
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Why not run kicad natively on ubuntu?

1 Like
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Because I change computers often. Having an encrypted VM with everything in it makes my work quite portable and relatively secure.

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That’s a good reason but I would choose linux for guest OS simply because it’s better supported by virtualization software and because it’s free. Just my opinion, I understand that you may have other considerations.

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Safer than running native Windows 7 if you start from an image.

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