upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Solaris hosts.
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nweissma
Posts: 5
Joined: 19. Feb 2012, 20:14
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win7, FreeBSD,

upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by nweissma »

i upgraded from 4.1.8 to 4.1.10 -- and followed the ReadMe directions exactly. smooth installation of 4.1.10.

what happened to all the VB VM's that were installed under 4.1.8 -- when i start the 4.1.10 VB, it is blank.

i know the 4.1.8 VM's are still there because i spied their names in the file tree.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by mpack »

Each user has his own VM list. I expect you are now logged in as a different user.

Just to be clear: upgrading some executable files in program areas of the disk does not cause data files - in data areas of the disk - to be deleted.
nweissma
Posts: 5
Joined: 19. Feb 2012, 20:14
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win7, FreeBSD,

Re: upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by nweissma »

i can't understand your answer: i am the only user -- and i have root status!

the VM's are still there -- how do i force the 4.1.10 to incorporate them?
stefan.becker
Volunteer
Posts: 7639
Joined: 7. Jun 2007, 21:53

Re: upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by stefan.becker »

Do you have snapshots or linked clones?

If not, simply create new guests pointing to existing vdi files.
nweissma
Posts: 5
Joined: 19. Feb 2012, 20:14
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win7, FreeBSD,

Re: upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by nweissma »

Jeez! once again, i need a translator.

linked clones, create new guests, point new guests to existing .vdi files -- can you offer an understandable step-by-step instruction?
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: upgraded .. where are my vm's?

Post by mpack »

In your <userdata> root there should be a folder called .VirtualBox (it may be hidden), and inside that is a file called VirtualBox.xml, which internally lists the location of all VMs. If all your VMs are gone from the UI then it's because this file has gone missing due to actions of yours.

The easiest mistake is to switch to a different user account: I'm suggesting that your users default <userdata> folder is different than before. VirtualBox will have created a new (blank) VirtualBox.xml in this user's <userdata> area.

Less likely is that you manually forced a new expected location for VirtualBox.xml by defining a VBOX_USER_HOME environment variable.

Look around for the old VirtualBox.xml (not the new one created in your new users folder), copy it to your current users location.

Failing all that, if you are using v4.x or later than the Machine|Add... menu item can be used to add VMs back into the UI. However the VMs need to have been created by v4.0 or later, meaning they are represented on disk by a .vbox file.

I'm afraid this is as simple as I can make it.
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