Can't Add VM that worked before "Could not find an open hard disk with UUID"

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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Holygamer
Posts: 21
Joined: 31. May 2016, 22:07
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows 7 64-bit

Can't Add VM that worked before "Could not find an open hard disk with UUID"

Post by Holygamer »

I've not found an answer to my problem in the forum so I'm posting it here. I'm getting desperate to fix this. If you need any more info that I haven't provided then let me know. I'll pay someone $20 to help me fix this.

Using VirtualBox 6.1 with Guest Additions installed.
Host Version: Windows 7 64-bit SP1 with 16 GB RAM with 10 GB RAM free
Guest Version: Windows 7 64-bit SP1 with 2 GB RAM allocated

I'm trying to "Add" a Windows 7 64-bit SP1 virtual machine called "FeralHosting UK VPN" that previously worked fine. I've now restored a backup image and now when I try to add the virtual machine I get this error and it isn't added:
"Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {518c926c-2d47-4872-83ad-c15128b316d6}". How can I add that virtual machine without getting that error?

Logs copied from the Logs folder of the virtual machine's folder are attached
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Logs.zip
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mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Can't Add VM that worked before "Could not find an open hard disk with UUID"

Post by mpack »

This is quite straightforward, the VM is referencing a hard disk that does not exist. To fix the problem you need to make it exist.

Often this can be a result of creating a linked clone VM, then copying the clone but forgetting to copy the original VM it's linked to. If you still have both (or more!) VMs then you need to restore the original VM first, then the linked clone that references it.

For a simpler life, stop using linked clones, snapshots and other unnecessary and lazy complexities.
Holygamer
Posts: 21
Joined: 31. May 2016, 22:07
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows 7 64-bit

Re: Can't Add VM that worked before "Could not find an open hard disk with UUID"

Post by Holygamer »

Thanks. I won't be using linked clones anymore due to this problem.

The thing is, I was using that VM yesterday without issues. I hadn't changed any settings or folders for it or the linked bases. Then I restored a C drive backup. Then the same VM stored outside of the C drive would't "add" and I got that error. Why would that be?

I only have 2 linked bases and they are already "Added" to Virtualbox. What I did was install Windows on the linked bases and nothing else. Then I created a linked clone for my other VMs such as the VM that had the problem and I install everything I want in the linked VM.

Anything else I can do since the linked bases are already added to Virtualbox?

If I can't add the VM then is there any way to recover my Google Chrome profile inside that VM as I have hundreds of open tabs that I don't want to lose.

Do my logs say what linked base the VM belongs to?
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Can't Add VM that worked before "Could not find an open hard disk with UUID"

Post by mpack »

You can see that the error message gives the UUID of the missing VDI. This tells you exactly what is missing.

VirtualBox (when running) keeps in memory a list of all currently registered media (e.g. VDI files). This list is constructed from the sum of all medias registries added by each already added VM. If you look at the definition (.vbox) file for each VM you'll find a tag called <MediaRegistry> and inside that another tag called <HardDisks>. Inside that is the individual disks, UUIDs and VDI paths registered by this VM.

Use Notepad++ or similar to look through the VBox files for your VMs. See which one, if any, registers the missing UUID. If found, look at the path (location) and make sure that is still correct, relative to the VM folder). If not found then the VM that owns it is missing.

There are repair methods you can employ if you find the missing VDI but not the VM. But first you have to identify which VDI file has the missing UUID.
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