Transferring from VMWare

[BillG]

That is one of the problems importing an existing vm. A new VirtualBox vm would have one by default. If you go to Settings>Storage of the vm you can create a optical drive on a controller using the Add icon (a blue disk with a green + sign).

[Ken S]

Ok, removed GA from VBox, then added an optical drive and connected it the VBox file, then loaded the VM, still couldn't install from Devices menu but found the drive as D: and ran exe from there, and GA is installed, makes quite a bit of difference … can just "roll" mouse from VM to host and back, now have multiple screens. Also I can drag/drop from/to guest/host.

I still have a guest AND host taskbar on VM monitors … thought host taskbar would disappear when VM loaded.

Getting there … thanks

Ken

[Ken S]

Sounds are a lot better now... but a strange one, I cannot resize any apps, I can min them or max them, but cannot resize using a mouse???

[Ken S]

That is one of the problems importing an existing vm. A new VirtualBox vm would have one by default. If you go to Settings>Storage of the vm you can create a optical drive on a controller using the Add icon (a blue disk with a green + sign).

Thanks

[Ken S]

Ok, gradually getting there, thanks for all the help.

Outstanding at this stage:

Slow boot time … from pushing start/play until logon splash screen, VMWare 20 seconds, VBox, 6 and half minutes. Reported and sent log file, found some info online but yet to try. Optimistic this can be fixed.

Cannot resize any app windows in VM, maximise and minimise work but can't drag a window larger or smaller. Could not find anything online.

Backup … previously I just zipped up the "raw" VM files to an external drive … if I encountered a problem later on, I could just move the raw files back, and load that VM up. Can I do that with VM? I notice there is a big vdi file and a small box file. Is restoring just a case of copying those back and loading into VBox? Will that affect Windows, etc, licensing? Found some info online saying it is ok, but something else about having to register the restored VM. Will try this later to see.

Thanks

Ken

[Ken S]

More progress … I am in the habit of just double clicking on the caption bar to make an app full screen. This "sort of" works with VBox windows but not completely. If I do it the "correct" way using VBox menus, all seems ok, I can resize app windows (found I almost could before but mouse cursor was not changing), and the host taskbar is no longer visible in the VBox windows .. all good.

Thanks

Ken

[Ken S]

Slow boot time:

Some more research … I have always run host 4 cores, guest 4, but after reading about slow VBox boots, reduced guest to 2, boot time now 50 seconds compared to VMWare 25 … but I can live with that.

Thanks

Ken

[scottgus1]

Backup … previously I just zipped up the "raw" VM files to an external drive … if I encountered a problem later on, I could just move the raw files back, and load that VM up. Can I do that with VM? I notice there is a big vdi file and a small box file. Is restoring just a case of copying those back and loading into VBox? Will that affect Windows, etc, licensing? Found some info online saying it is ok, but something else about having to register the restored VM. Will try this later to see.

A copy of the shut-down (not save-stated) guest folder with all files therein, as well as the guest disk files if they are not in the guest folder, serves as a complete backup of the activated guest. You can FC file-compare the backup to confirm the copy. If the original is lost, move a copy of the backup back to the original location and the guest will be ready again. If put back in the exact same location, it does not need to be re-registered. The copy can be used on a different host PC too, just by registering the guest's .vbox file. (note that if the original guest had all the guest disk files in the guest folder, the guest is completely usable on any capable host and host OS. If the disk files are outside the guest folder then the .vbox file has absolute paths to the disk files and these paths must be either reproduced on the new host or the .vbox file must be modified.) Virtualbox 6.0.x and later have the right-click-the-guest Move command to move the guest folder to the same drive the guest drive file is on, and the File menu's Virtual Media Manager's Move command to move the guest's drive file into the guest folder next to the .vbox file, to achieve the optimum guest format. A guest backed up in this way does not have to be reactivated.

[Ken S]

Thank you for the detailed reply, much appreciated.

In "D:\My Virtual Machines\Virtual Box\Development VM" I have a vbox file, a vbox-prev file and a large vdi file. There is a Logs sub-dir with several log files, and an empty Snapshots sub-dir (have not used snapshots). I have searched D: and C: and this looks like all I have. Does this sound correct?

When you say "does not have to be reactivated", is this WIndows, etc?

Thanks

Ken

[scottgus1]

We would not have enough information to tell if this is the correct folder. It does sound like the contents of a Virtualbox guest folder. The easiest way to find your guest's folder is to right-click the guest in the main Virtualbox window's guest list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/whatever-Linux-calls-it. Your computer will open a window inside the guest folder, and you would be able to see the guest's .vbox file, Logs and Snapshots folder, and the disk file (unless you manually chose to put the disk file elsewhere. Go up one folder level and copy that whole folder. If the disk file is elsewhere, copy that too.

does not have to be reactivated", is this WIndows, etc?

Yes, or for other software that ties itself to the computer's 'hardware signature'.

[Ken S]

Thanks for the reply.

"Show in Explorer" took me to the expected folder. I only have one VBox VM, so looks good. Double clicked the vbox file there and the VM loaded ok.

My backup program now backs up that area, it also checks for VBox running beforehand - don't know how to check if VM was closed by "shutdown".

In a week or two when the active VM has had some changes, I am thinking of removing the VM from VBox, moving the directory, then bringing the backup back, adding it into VBox, and see what happens

Thanks for all the help, plan here is to go live with VBox now - I am not commercial, no longer serious software, just tinkering with email program and backup program, so not as dangerous as years gone by

Thanks

Ken

[scottgus1]

don't know how to check if VM was closed by "shutdown".

Run this command:

vboxmanage showvminfo "name_of_VM" > "driveletter:\path\to\myfile.txt"

search 'myfile.txt' for the text:

State:                       powered off

with the spaces between. If that text exists, the guest was not save-stated.

I am thinking of removing the VM from VBox,

When doing this, be careful of the buttons in the Remove command box. 'Delete all files' does what it says. It is absolute, no holds barred, complete, no turning back. No recycle bin, no "Are you sure?" You really want to click 'Remove Only'.

Try this with a throwaway guest first. Do a quick install of Linux, then experiment with it.

[Ken S]

vboxmanage showvminfo "name_of_VM" > "driveletter:\path\to\myfile.txt"

Sounds ok, I can get my backup program, when VBox is selected as a program that should not be running, to run your command line, and scan the file. Backup only knows name of directory to back up, but can scan it for a vbox file and get "name of VM" from the filename … probably should allow for multiple VMs in one directory … maybe …

When doing this, be careful of the buttons in the Remove command box. 'Delete all files' does what it says. It is absolute, no holds barred, complete, no turning back. No recycle bin, no "Are you sure?" You really want to click 'Remove Only'.Try this with a throwaway guest first. Do a quick install of Linux, then experiment with it.

Yeah, did a bit of this a few days ago, had read manual about "no way back" … what's Linux? Is this your way of saying if I stuff it up, don't ask here for help?

Thanks

Ken

[scottgus1]

Is this your way of saying if I stuff it up, don't ask here for help?

Just about. There won't be anything we can do.

I think there should be an "Are you sure? You can't undo this", but I don't have design authority. It's been mentioned in the forum before, some years ago.

Typically guest disk files are too big to be recovered with undelete programs, and it's a true delete, like the old-school command line 'del', not a send-to-recycle-bin.