Starting any VM fails with VERR_SUPLIB_SYMLINKS_ARE_NOT_PERMITTED

[jpl]

After upgrading from virtualbox-3.2_3.2.12-68302~Debian~squeeze_i386.deb to virtualbox-4.0_4.0.10-72479~Debian~lenny_i386.deb the VMs no longer start. An error is displayed about "symlinks not permitted". In fact /usr is a symlink to another directory (on another disk) in my system, and it must remain so because of requirements wrt partition sizing and encryption. I've never had any other software complain about that, so why doesn't VirtualBox like it (while it was ok in 3.2)?

See also  http://www.linux-archive.org/gentoo-user/532273-virtualbox-update-v4-0-8-trouble.html where another user has run into the same problem and got away with a workaround (which I cannot use).

[sadeq]

Same problem with 4.1.18. I have symlink for /usr to another partition too and vbox refuse to startvm because of that. FYI, It was working with vbox 3.2.

[Andy Kennedy]

Choosing to keep my $HOME and /opt directories on a separate partition (which is large), I symlinked over the /big/opt /opt. VirtualBox no Likey! Is there a workaround? I'm not doing too well with building VB either on my Slackware machine.

Please advise.

[aeichner]

Please reopen if still relevant with a recent VirtualBox release.