Installing Parallels Tools On Kubuntu 18.04 LTS Virtual Machine

Another off-topic post from me. And this time, it is for a very interesting issue.

I was trying to install and configure a new virtual machine for Kubuntu 18.04 LTS on my Mac, using Parallels Desktop v13. The installation went on well. My new Kubuntu VM was ready for configuration. All done, except Parallels Tools.

Every time I tried to install Parallels Tools, I received a fatal error and the installation would abruptly stop. Searching this on the Parallels Forum lead me to this post: Fail to build kernel modules on Linux kernel v4.15+.

Trust me, I’m no good at Linux at all. I’m just beginning to explore. So whatever was discussed on this forum post was beyond my limited knowledge. However, on page 2 of this post, there was a link provided which took me to Rudolf Ratusinski‘s step-by-step guide on how to hack Parallels Tools installer and make it work.

Here’s the original link: Parallels Tools fix for Ubuntu 18.04 and other Linux distributions with Kernel version >= 4.15

I must admit. Even I was able to follow the steps and succeed in installing Parallels Tools on my Kubuntu 18.04 VM.

It’s worth noting that Parallels is yet to release a fix for this issue. This hack shouldn’t even be required, had Parallels addressed it straightforwardly.

Till we receive one from them, you may want to read Rudolf’s hack first before trying to install Parallels Tools.

Thanks Rudolf. I really appreciate your time and effort to share this crucial hack with all of us.

Vaidy