Upgrading to 16.04

[Peter]

wanted to remove the failed VirtualBox software. The UbuntuSoftware app 
spent 30 minutes and still did not dispaly any of the installed 
applications.  I am backing up my home directory and will do a fresh 
install of Unbuntu 16.04 64 bit.

May be this will fix some problems, but at least I will have a clean start.

My problem with Virtual Box can be simply stated.

With 14.4 32 bit the repository version of VirtualBox worked perfectly.

With 16,04 64 bit the repository version(5.0) of VirtualBox failed to 
allow access to usb devices

Upgrading VB to 5.1 has become complex and appears to be incompatible 
with my existing Virtual Machine.

If I get 5.1 VB installed do I need to recreate my virtual machine?

Will 5.1VB allow me to use windows 32 bit software (Windows XP and 
Office XP)?

Thank you all for the advice and help so far.

It is many years since I have had to deal with these sort of problems. ( 
gone are the days of Z80 cpu's and CP/M or DOS operating systems)

Regards


Peter

ps sorry about my earlier e-mail with wrong subject