How to access the data from non-vbox applications

[Pensionada]

I run vbox on a Windows 10 system. Inside vbox I have installed Windows 7 and Linux Mint 18.3
The system disk has 2 partitions: all programs including vbox are installed on C: whereas my data is on D;
All works as expected but I am not able to access files on D: from either the W7 nor the Linux application.
I have set the shared folders: D_DRIVE D: \ Automount=yes Access=Full
but when I go to file manager I do not see drive D.

I think it has to do with guest additions but that is a topic that I do not understand. Also I canot find the devices-tab that is menitoned in some fo the documentation.

Please be patient with this new user and advice me.

[mpack]

I have set the shared folders: D_DRIVE D: \ Automount=yes Access=Full
but when I go to file manager I do not see drive D.

First, sharing an entire drive with a VM is a very bad idea, unless it's your intention to share your personal data with the internet. Much more sensible is to designate a single host folder, and make sure that anything in that folder is treated with suspicion. Don't copy personal data in, and be very wary of copying out anything which is executable.

Second, there is no such thing as sharing a drive. You share a folder, even if it's the root folder (which as already mentioned, is a bad idea). A folder will not be visible as a drive inside the guest, it will instead be visible as a shared folder. Hence in Windows guests you need to drill down into your "network neighborhood" in the file browser to find your shared folder. I'm not a Linux user, but there will be something similar in Linux guests. In my Win7 guest I have to open up a file browser window, click on the "Network" branch, then "VBOXSVR", and inside that I can see my shares - you would see something like "\\VBOXSVR\D_DRIVE". Click on that and you'll see the files in that folder.

Windows guests do have a feature whereby you can assign a drive letter to a shared folder ("map a shared folder"). This can help out legacy (e.g. DOS) software that doesn't really understand networking. I rarely find this necessary, and anyway the drive letter assignment in the guest has nothing to do with drive letters on the host. How do you imagine the drive would be named if you had a Linux host?

And yes, the shared folder feature requires additional drivers in the guest, meaning that you need to install the guest additions. The Devices menu is on the menu bar of the VM window. instructions for installing the GAs is in the user manual.

[Pensionada]

Thank you for your answers.
I think that I did not make myself clear enough. When I said sharing I did not mean outside my system. I just want to use files created by Windows 10 applications with applications within Linux.
And I still cannot find the devices button. The menu that Is see only lists: File Machine Help and on different level: New Settings Discard Start.
In Seetings I do not see Devices either.
What am I missing?

PS I am familiar enough with Windows but not with VMbox. I only used it here to avoid a dual-boot system Windows/Linux which would have allowed me to share files between the 2 OS'es.

[mpack]

Please show me a screenshot of your VM window with that menu, showing the missing "Devices". And note that by "VM window" I mean the window of a running VM, not the manager window.

If your VM has internet access (or ever will) then you are potentially sharing your entire host D drive with the internet, whether that was your intention or not.

[Pensionada]

See attachment

[Pensionada]

If your VM has internet access (or ever will) then you are potentially sharing your entire host D drive with the internet, whether that was your intention or not.

Doesn't my windows firewall stop that?

[socratis]

A folder will not be visible as a drive inside the guest, it will instead be visible as a shared folder.

You do not have "Automount" enabled, that's why you don't see a drive letter in WinExplorer.

Windows guests do have a feature whereby you can assign a drive letter to a shared folder ("map a shared folder").

It's not guests only, all Windows have that, and that's exactly what the "Automount" feature is doing; it's assigning the next available letter to the share.

And I still cannot find the devices button.

It's not a "button", it's a top-level menu item, just like the rest that you described/see in the picture you attached. Could you go in the VM settings » User Interface, and make sure that the Devices menu is enabled? That's the only reason why the Devices menu wouldn't show up in the picture that you provided. After that install the Guest Additions, as described in the manual, ch. 4.2.

[mpack]

It's not guests only, all Windows have that

I'm aware of how Windows works, thanks. I am trying to keep it simple for this user.


@Pensionada: I think you must somehow have disabled the "Devices" menu in "User Interface" section of the VM settings. See the screenshot below, and make sure all of the menubar items are enabled like mine are.

[socratis]

The way you had it written, sounded like it was a special attribute/property of a guest, so I thought that I'd clarify it, that's all. I know you're on Windows

[mpack]

The way you had it written, sounded like it was a special attribute/property of a guest

In the sense that I was talking about GA shared folders at the time (and leaving out mention of network shares): yes I was making a point specific to Windows guests.

[Rootman]

If your VM has internet access (or ever will) then you are potentially sharing your entire host D drive with the internet, whether that was your intention or not.

Doesn't my windows firewall stop that?

Yes, I am interested in why this is so. And how is it different from sharing any other hardware Windows PC on a network when you are behind a router with a firewall. I was under the impression that Windows shares were not routable past a router. What are we missing here?

[mpack]

Yes, I am interested in why this is so. And how is it different from sharing any other hardware Windows PC on a network when you are behind a router with a firewall. I was under the impression that Windows shares were not routable past a router. What are we missing here?

Being behind a router with a firewall is of no help if malware gets into your VM, and it's safest to assume that this is possible. Malware can read anything that you can, and can send it anywhere it likes, assuming it can access the internet. And I'm not sure how the hardware sharing question is relevant: your printer doesn't store your private information.

In any case we are straying from the subject raised in the topic title. Please confirm that you have tried the suggested solution (user interface options in VM settings) and that it solved the problem.

[socratis]

Malware can read anything that you can, and can send it anywhere it likes, assuming it can access the internet.

That's half the equation. We're talking about a read-write share, full access. A typical randsomware doesn't have to send anything to the internet, it just needs write access. Encrypted data is rather difficult to recover from...

I never have anything read-write accessible from a VM. I'd rather lose a minute or two to make a local copy inside the VM, then work on that. If there is a need for read-write access, I create a true network share (Samba) on the VM, and I get the results from the VM, never from the host.

[Pensionada]

OK, I have read and partly understood the discussion. Thank you.
In the mean time I have progressed somewhat. I have both Linux and Windows 7 installed in the virtual box and after installing the guest additions in windows, I can now see the data drive there.
However I cannot find the guest addiitons virtual cdrom in linux and that is probabbly stopping me from accessing the data drive in Linux.
Some advise would be helpful!