Ready made virtual machine and shared folder: where to start?

[KuuModuli]

I have been trying to use virtualbox and shared folder in my Windows 10. However, I can't get it work. Internet is full of instructions but none of them are specially to my problem. Main difference is that I got my VM from someone else. I am not starting from scratch.

So, I got my VM from ccpn.ac.uk website (forum said that I cannot put any links here. File is in meetings -> Past CCPN Meetings and Workshops -> 2017 CCPN conference Stirling -> CCPN 2017 workshop.). From that webpage you can find file named "CcpnFogh_release_beta2_windows.zip". This file is an Open SUSE VM which included one CcpNmr software. This file can be opened by using Virtualbox (by double clicking .vbox file). The developers have also enabled shared folder in this VM to easy data use. They have also included instructions how to use shared folder and I copied them below:

"We have set up a link so you can share a disk between your real and virtual computers.
This is the procedure for activating it:

- Shut down the VM, (if you are asked, select the 'Send the shutdown signal' option,
rather than the 'Power off the machine' option),

- Go into Oracle VM Virtual Box Manager (or your OS equivalent) and edit the settings for
the CcpnFogh_release_beta2 VM.

- Go into Shared folders, and edit the SharedCcpn folder entry so it points to the directory
on your machine you want to share. Keep options to 'access full'; do not set 'automount'.

- Open up your VM again -
the disk should now be accessible from both the real and virtual machine."

I can't get this work. I have now been trying so many things that I have no idea what to do now. So, maybe I could start from beginning. Do someone have some suggestions how I could start to solve this kind of problem?

[mpack]

Other than the confusing use of the word "disk" to describe a shared folder, I don't see anything difficult in there. What don't you understand?

I'll try putting it in my own words.

If you want the VM to have access to a folder on your host PC, then follow these steps :-

1. Make sure the Guest Additions are installed in the guest (Chapter 4 of user manual).
2. Identify a host folder you wish to share with the VM. It's good practice to ensure that nothing personal or executable is kept in that folder.
3. Add that host folder to the list of shared folders in the VM settings "Shared Folders" tab. In each case the share is defined using two fields, "host path" (full path of host folder, self explanatory I hope), and "share name" - the one word name you want the guest to see when it browses network folders. Usually good to keep the latter simple: one word, roman letters only, no punctuation.

Ironically, you might have saved more time if you created the VM from scratch yourself. You would understand it better, and it should only take about 10 minutes, which I'll bet is less than the time you've spent trying to understand someone else's VM.

If you have further questions then please provide a VM log. With the VM fully shut down, right click it in GUI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (ONLY) to a zip file. Attach the zip here.

[socratis]

So, which part fails?
Open a Terminal in your guest. What's the output of the command:

• VBoxClient --version

If the version doesn't match your main VirtualBox version, you must update the Guest Additions (GAs) in your guest. See User Manual, ch. 4.2.2. Guest Additions for Linux.

[KuuModuli]

Thank you for your reply! I think that I understand what to do with the instructions from CcpNmr software. However, nothing happends when I follow them. I have suspicion that I should do something after the last instruction "- Open up your VM again - the disk should now be accessible from both the real and virtual machine." Should I mount my shared folder or something? How I can find it?

I will start to investigate about the Guest Additions. I looked to them in the manual, but it looked very complex. I need to take some time that I can say something about Guest Additions. Here is the Vbox.log zip file also.

I tried to use command "VBoxClient --version" in my VM guest, but it probably didn't work. I got this one:

"VboxClient: unrecognized option ‘-- version’
Try ‘VBoxClient – help’ for more information"

[mpack]

I can't ignore it a second time: the thing being shared is not a disk. It's just a folder(directory), so the instruction you refer to is badly worded.

As to how the guest OS accesses a shared folder, that depends on the guest OS.

In Windows guests you use the file explorer to browse the network. You should see a network branch called "VirtualBox Shared Folders", inside that a branch called "\VBoxSvr", and inside that you'll see a list of the folders you shared (each identified by share name: only the host knows the actual folder path).

In Linux guests I assume you can do something similar when using a GUI, you can also navigate the network folder tree from the terminal.

Both guest OS's also offer ways to "mount" (redirect) shared folders in a way that makes them more easily accessible. In Windows guests you can assign a drive letter. In Linux you can use mount points which make the shared folder look like it's a directory on your local drive. Take everything I say about Linux with a grain of salt since I'm not a user. But you should get the idea.