How to Fix the Issue with No Sound in VirtualBox with Lubuntu

 

I managed to fix my "no sound with my Lubuntu install inside VirtualBox" issue, which I will explain below. If your settings differ from mine, my solution might still work for you so give it a try anyway. I am using VirtualBox Version 6.0.8 r130520 (yes, I use a rather old version for stability), Lubuntu 19.1 Eoan, and Guest Additions 6.0.8. If you ever wonder how to check your Ubuntu/Lubuntu version, Guest Addition versions, etc., here's how: 

$ uname -a

Linux my-pc 5.3.0-23-generic #25-Ubuntu SMP Tue Nov 12 09:22:33 UTC 2019 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ lsb_release -a

Description:    Ubuntu 19.10

Codename:       eoan

$ ls /opt

net.downloadhelper.coapp  VBoxGuestAdditions-6.0.8

Your first step should be to make sure you installed the Guest Additions. For me, that didn't resolve my issue. The additional step I take is to change the audio card of my virtual machine from ICH AC97 to Intel HD. For me, that resolves the sound issue. 

Another additional wrinkle here is that I did have to reboot the machine with both audio output and input (if you are recording) enabled in the VirtualBox settings. I assume the cause is that if Lubuntu detects the audio output/input disabled, it doesn't load some audio drivers.

Good luck with your sound issue!

Playing Amazon's Version of PUBG Mobile gets Banned?

So it seems players are getting banned according to a handful of recent Amazon comments? So what to do? How to solve the problem? Honestly, this post goes pretty much exactly as my last post. So the tl;dr version is to go to the official site at Pubgmobile.com and get that version instead. For more details on how to do this, see that last post.

Anyhow, my original plan was to replace the official version of PUBG Mobile with the Amazon version now that the Season 14 Livik update is available in the Amazon Appstore. In particular, I wanted to see if my account is preserved, and if real money purchases work in Amazon's version.

Fortunately, half way into the Amazon download, I looked over the Amazon reviews and found that multiple people are mentioning about getting banned after updating and playing. Thank you to the sacrifices of these reviewers, I stop the download and just reinstall the official PUBG website version.

So, FYI, after uninstalling and reinstalling the official PUBG Mobile app, my progress is preserved. I can also get back my control layout via the cloud. However, I do have to go through and redo all my other settings like graphics options for example. Again, I play as a guest on my phone.

I did not verify that if you play the updated Amazon version you would indeed get banned -- yeah, I am not going to risk it. I can easily envision this happening though because Amazon definitely injects code into a lot of its apps so that you can make in-app purchases using Amazon coins and its payment system, and perhaps the code injection incorrectly gets flagged as a hack. If this is the case, I hope Amazon can sort it out with Tencent and have the bans reversed. To be fair, it is also possible that all the recent commenters commenting about bans are indeed cheaters, and that the new version of the game simply have improved on cheat detection.

Now, if you haven't gotten banned and purchasing is important to you, then good luck continue using the Amazon version of PUBG. Even so, you might want to wait a few weeks and let the issue (hopefully) sort out between Amazon and Tencent. If you don't do any purchases, and I do not, then I would strongly recommend that you switch over and install the official version via the official website's APK file instead.

Or, if you are like me and actually have a Chinese phone with the Chinese App Store, you can also download the Chinese version of PUBG Mobile to get around the issue. The Chinese version is treated as a different game by the phone, and so you can have both versions installed. I myself have started playing on the Chinese version on occasion. The downside of this approach is you would either need to know Chinese, or know the layouts of all the options really well so you can do without Chinese.

There are slight variations between the two versions of the game, and some menu items are moved. Nonetheless, those who played the non-Chinese version a lot should be able to get by.

Amazon's PUBG Mobile won't Update, How to Solve This?

I have been playing PUBG Mobile using Amazon Appstore's version, because I have a China Xiaomi phone with no Google Appstore. People with Amazon Android tablets like Kindle Fires also tends to use Amazon's version of the game. 

As of today, July 14, 2020, season 14 has arrived but an update has yet to arrive at the Amazon Appstore. People on the Amazon PUBG Mobile page are complaining that the game can't be updated or won't update on their kindle fire / android devices. I've only started playing this since May, but some of the reviews suggest that the Amazon Appstore's update lags the Google Appstore update all the time.

How to resolve the won't update issue

I got tired of waiting and solved the problem by updating using the APK file from the official PUBG Mobile page directly. The official site is at Pubgmobile.com, and it has the option of downloading the APK file directly.

 
So, I downloaded the APK file, and ran the apk file on my android phone to install. The game works after the install is complete and I can play with friends again. Note the APK file is just around 600MB, but when you install the file it's going to download a lot more things. If you are not familar with installing from APK file, you can usually find the APK file via some sort of file explorer program, and just click on it. It might just work if you click the apk file via your browser after you have downloaded it. You might have to allow your phone to "install from unknown source," but I trust the APK file since it's from the official PUBG page. You should install using APK files from sources that you trust.

Notes about the old Season 13 version running during season 14

• Arena in the old version (season 13) still works. So if you want to just wait on Amazon, there's that.
• Classic mode in the old version doesn't seem to work. I tried a few times, waited for over 4 minutes, and still can't connect. Some people in the Amazon PUBG mobile page commented that it does work but takes a really long time.

Notes about the Season 14 installed via APK

• I can't purchase anything. I get a message saying I can't purchase from my region. This doesn't matter to me since I've never purchased anything. But if you want to buy the season pass and whatnot, just know that installing this version won't let you do so. (See image below.)
• I do not link the game on my phone with any accounts -- i.e., I play as "guest". I can confirm, at least for this version, my character is preserved. My character and progress is still there after the update.
• The amazon app page now shows PUBG mobile as "Not from Amazon". (See image below.)
   

Here's the purchase error.

Here's the Amazon appstore page showing PUBG mobile as "Not from Amazon". If you tap on "Open", it will open the non-Amazon version of the game. However, running some of the other apps you get from Amazon, you don't need the Appstore running for the game to run.

Anyhow, happy gaming!

How to Resolve Issue with Virtual Box Copy and Paste Failing

I use Oracle's VirtualBox for my virtual machine needs. For me specifically, I still use a very old copy of Outlook running in Windows XP and clipboard sharing is important. Unfortunately, I had been having problems with copy and paste failing for the past half-year. I.e., I can't copy from the host and paste the content into programs in the virtual machine. And I can't copy from the client virtual machine and paste the content into programs in the host. If I reboot the Virtual machine, copy and pasting would work for a little while and then stopped.

Well, at least for me, the solution is to update the VirtualBox Guest Additions program. With your virtual machine running, select Devices -> Insert Guest Additions CD Image, and then install the Additions via the CD drive of your virtual machine.

I had been neglecting to update the Guest Additions in the client virtual machine while I update the VirtualBox program. Seems like eventually the version incompatibility creeps in and breaks copy and paste even though other services supported by the Additions still works fine.

How to Resolve Issue with Windows 10 Crashing at 70% When Updating to Version 1903

After lots of trail/erroring, googling, and reading, this is the solution that worked for me and allowed me to update Windows 10 to version 1903.

Download the Media Creation tool. As of October of 2019, it can be downloaded via https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10. This is the download associated with "Create Windows 10 installation media".

After the download, run the program. I am actually doing this for a Virtual Machine (Virtual Box), so I opt to create an ISO using the tool. After the ISO is created, I mount it and run the setup program associated with the ISO image. The prompts are relatively straightforward, and I just select the update option.

The program then just updates and reboots, and voila, I am upgraded to version 1903.

If I am doing this for a future update, I might need to download the tool again. The medial creation tool exe file seems to be associated specifically with version 1903. I.e., MediaCreationTool1903.exe.

Ref: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/cant-install-windows-1903-update/8b1fccf3-18f6-42c1-aeff-8add33c2f85d