Location of VitrualBox files?

[dss_cottage]

I have been using VirtualBox to testl the preview versions of Windows 10. It has been working for several months. However, now VirtualBox will not load. I attempt to open it and nothing happens. As I attempt to open it, I checked Task Manger and nothing happens there as well.

I have searched but found nothing that leads me to a solution. Therefore, my plan was to uninstall VitrualBox (using Revo Uninstaller to make sure everything was removed) and then reinstall Windows 10 preview. However, the program doesn't appear in the list of available programs of Revo. It does appear in the Windows "Programs and Features" window. Before I remove it I wanted to check for the location of all of the files to make sure everything could be removed. However, the largest group of files that I can find is only 157MB. Given that I have allocated 4GB to VirtualBox and installed Windows 10 inside it, I expected to find a file of approximately that size. (I have File Explorer set to show hidden files).

Can anyone tell me where the largest file (4GB?) should be found?

I'm using:
- Windows 10 Pro X64.
- I have allocated 4GB to VirtualBox.
- Using Virtual Box version 4.3.18
- the file VBoxStartup.log is attached
- the file VBoxHardening.log doesn't appear to exist

[socratis]

Ch. 10.1. Where VirtualBox stores its files.

[socratis]

Oh, btw, you might want to check an app called WinDirStat. It's great for locating where your HD space goes...

[scottgus1]

Windows 10 will not install on a 4GB virtual drive. It needs around 15GB in the installs I have done. Are you thinking of the 4GB of memory you allocated? That is not a file, it's part of the memory your host PC has.

[mpack]

It isn't clear to me that "I allocated 4GB to VirtualBox" means disk space, nor is it clear that it means RAM.

Some precision in the error reporting would be good, and a VM log file too: with the VM fully shut down, right click and "Show Log" in the GUI, save "VBox.log" (ONLY) to a zip, and attach the zip here.

[dss_cottage]

Sorry for my lack of precision.

I have 16GB of system RAM and 256GB on an SSD and 2TB on a HDD. VirtualBox is installed on the SSD.

-I installed VitrualBox on Windows 8.1 Pro before I upgraded to Win 10. I installed the preview version of Win 10 in that virtual drive.
-The VirtualBox installation process asked how big to make the Virtual Drive. I answered 4GB.
-VirtualBox with Win 10 preview inside was still operating correctly after the upgrade of my system from Win 8.1 to Win 10.

I'm assuming that VirtualBox saved a 4GB file somewhere and that's the file in which Win 10 preview is located. I can't find that file. I checked the locations suggested in the link provided by socratis and there is no file of that size.

Re the VM log file: I can't start the VirtualBox GUI so I can't save the log file using the method that you suggest. However, using File Explorer, I have found a number of VBox.log file. I've included all of them in the attached zip file.

[dss_cottage]

Oops! I think that I just found it.

Due to my own stupidity, I assumed that the large virtual drive file would be located on the same disk as VirtualBox (my SSD) and that's the only place where I looked.

I was wrong, I just looked at my HDD and found the file WIN10-64 Preview.vdi in the VirtualHD folder. It's 25GB! I'm not sure how it got that big! I must have specified that location but don't remember doing so.

Looks like I have my answer. Sorry to have wasted your time.

[mpack]

If you located the VirtualBox executables on a removable drive then that was a completely pointless move. The location of the executable is not in the least bit relevant to where data files are stored, not for VirtualBox and not for almost any other non trivial application. What made you think otherwise? If you had just let VirtualBox install itself using defaults then your installation would make a lot more sense. As it isn't you've now given yourself a future support headache: I suggest that you uninstall and reinstall using defaults.

[dss_cottage]

If you located the VirtualBox executables on a removable drive then that was a completely pointless move. The location of the executable is not in the least bit relevant to where data files are stored, not for VirtualBox and not for almost any other non trivial application. What made you think otherwise? If you had just let VirtualBox install itself using defaults then your installation would make a lot more sense. As it isn't you've now given yourself a future support headache: I suggest that you uninstall and reinstall using defaults.

It's uninstalled.

The Windows uninstall process (as usual) didn't nearly remove everything. Since Revo Uninstaller didn't list VirtualBox in the programs that it could uninstall, I had to remove all the leftovers manually. The uninstall process left the 25GB vdi file as well as many drivers, files and registry entries. I think I have removed all of them now.

[scottgus1]

To borrow one of Mpack's oft-used examples, uninstalling Microsoft Word does not delete all your .doc's, just the program. The virtual machine definition files (.vbox) and the virtual disks (.vdi) stay on your computer so you can upgrade Virtualbox, which may involve an uninstall and reinstall, so you can keep your guests through the upgrade. Leaving the guests behind is not a glitch, but an intentional choice in the development of Virtualbox.

[taxshack]

Moved to a new thread, per suggestion. . .

[scottgus1]

Taxshack, you should start a new thread. Just copy & paste your post text into a new post, please.
Thanks, Taxshack!