Backing up and recovering a VM

[Wheelspinner99]

oh, so don't change the vbox file, change the VDI file extension?

[mpack]

Well, before you do that: I personally am not convinced that the file is actually there. I would like to see pictorial evidence in which file extensions have been enabled, as I believe Socratis already suggested to you.

[Wheelspinner99]

http://prntscr.com/o0zyxi

http://prntscr.com/o0zz6h

What else can I show you?

[mpack]

Good, now you can clearly see that the file in picture has a VDI extension, not VMDK. Therefore the filename mismatch.

The knee jerk response is to change the filename in the .vbox file. But if the filename was changed then other things may have changed too, such as UUID. Some kind of explanation for this change is needed, since it can't have happened by any accidental mechanism I can think of.

[Wheelspinner99]

Thank you. So to be clear I should rename the file that has the .vdi extension to have a .vdmk, correct?

[klaus]

No, don't rename the file blindly. You said you restored this VM from backup and ran into an error (which I think socratis correctly diagnosed as originating in the fact that you imported this VM - Microsoft distributes this kind of VM in this way).

What I didn't follow closely is how he arrived at the reconstruction of your VM config file - didn't you show evidence that your VM originally had snapshots? Because I didn't see any trace of this in the reconstruction. I would've also skipped the reconstruction of the actual snapshots, but I thought you provided a list of files which were related to the snapshots... the point is that just using the base disk image will lose all VM changes made after taking the first snapshot (and it's not much more work to reconstruct the VM config to have the disk contents as of your backup)... too bad that socratis appears to be taking a break today.

[Wheelspinner99]

Socrates deserves a day off. I've been racking his brain with the problem and my methods for the last few days

I did restore this VM from a backup.

Yes, this VM was imported into VB as an appliance.

It does in fact have some snapshots - http://prntscr.com/o11sjg

I didn't show evidence of the VM having snapshots since I wasn't aware it was pertinent. Socrates did discover this prior to the .vbox reconstruction. - http://prntscr.com/o11uwm

[klaus]

Since he apparently needs a bit more time off (haven't seen him for 2 days in the forums...) let me have a go at improving his repair attempt. What I didn't notice before is that you didn't lose the snapshot structure at all, just the media registry. His attempt was near perfect, he just mixed up VDI and VMDK. I bet out of the old reflex "created by import, must be VMDK", which is no longer true. Importing defaults to creating VDI files these days. (Not that the format makes any real difference.) So many people wondered why importing doesn't use the default VirtualBox image format.

Try with this config file content, it's really just changed in 6 places (replacing vmdk with vdi and VMDK with VDI):

Code: Select all   Expand viewCollapse view

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.
** If you make changes to this file while any VirtualBox related application
** is running, your changes will be overwritten later, without taking effect.
** Use VBoxManage or the VirtualBox Manager GUI to make changes.
-->
<VirtualBox xmlns="http://www.virtualbox.org/" version="1.15-windows">
  <Machine uuid="{9ecc9b91-aad2-4a4d-8f3c-0e10ee29ace1}" name="MSEdge - Win10" OSType="Windows10_64" currentSnapshot="{60f16e4e-8c51-4a6e-ace1-90ef279e3c55}" snapshotFolder="Snapshots" lastStateChange="2019-05-25T20:00:53Z">
    <MediaRegistry>
      <HardDisks>
        <HardDisk uuid="{5311974e-c371-45aa-a0ae-0fff6f90922c}" location="MSEdge - Win10-disk001.vdi" format="VDI" type="Normal">
          <HardDisk uuid="{2ba9b542-4b2d-4bb4-b34d-38edc86b447e}" location="Snapshots/{2ba9b542-4b2d-4bb4-b34d-38edc86b447e}.vdi" format="VDI">
            <HardDisk uuid="{40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a}" location="Snapshots/{40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a}.vdi" format="VDI"/>
          </HardDisk>
        </HardDisk>
      </HardDisks>
    </MediaRegistry>
    <ExtraData>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastGuestSizeHint" value="1024,667"/>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastNormalWindowPosition" value="-2,21,1024,709"/>
    </ExtraData>
    <Snapshot uuid="{ec9f2e7c-8810-456b-bb20-d0a333035db4}" name="Clean install - not activated" timeStamp="2019-05-18T19:34:13Z">
      <Hardware>
        <CPU>
          <PAE enabled="true"/>
          <LongMode enabled="true"/>
          <HardwareVirtExLargePages enabled="true"/>
        </CPU>
        <Memory RAMSize="2048"/>
        <Paravirt provider="Default"/>
        <Boot>
          <Order position="1" device="HardDisk"/>
          <Order position="2" device="DVD"/>
          <Order position="3" device="None"/>
          <Order position="4" device="None"/>
        </Boot>
        <VideoCapture screens="1" file="." fps="25"/>
        <RemoteDisplay>
          <VRDEProperties>
            <Property name="TCP/Address" value="127.0.0.1"/>
            <Property name="TCP/Ports" value="5940"/>
          </VRDEProperties>
        </RemoteDisplay>
        <BIOS>
          <IOAPIC enabled="true"/>
        </BIOS>
        <Network>
          <Adapter slot="0" enabled="true" MACAddress="080027E6E559" cable="true" type="82540EM">
            <NAT/>
          </Adapter>
        </Network>
        <AudioAdapter driver="DirectSound" enabled="false" enabledIn="false" enabledOut="false"/>
        <GuestProperties>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxControl.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805170025200" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxGuest.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805178815200" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxHook.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805171002100" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMRXNP.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805176861800" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMouse.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805180768100" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxSF.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805181745000" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxService.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805173931901" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxTray.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558207805173931900" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/HostVerLastChecked" value="6.0.6" timestamp="1558207992793254700" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/InstallDir" value="C:/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox Guest Additions" timestamp="1558207805166118807" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Revision" value="128413" timestamp="1558207805166118806" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Version" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558207805166118804" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VersionExt" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558207805166118805" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/MAC" value="080027E6E559" timestamp="1558207805188581704" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/Status" value="Up" timestamp="1558207805188581703" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Broadcast" value="255.255.255.255" timestamp="1558207805188581701" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/IP" value="10.0.2.15" timestamp="1558207805188581700" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Netmask" value="255.255.255.0" timestamp="1558207805188581702" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/Count" value="1" timestamp="1558208020066894900" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Product" value="Windows 10" timestamp="1558207805166118800" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Release" value="10.0.17763" timestamp="1558207805166118801" flags=""/>
          <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/GUI/LanguageID" value="en_US" timestamp="1558208023502713600" flags=""/>
        </GuestProperties>
      </Hardware>
      <StorageControllers>
        <StorageController name="IDE Controller" type="PIIX4" PortCount="2" useHostIOCache="true" Bootable="true">
          <AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" hotpluggable="false" port="0" device="0">
            <Image uuid="{5311974e-c371-45aa-a0ae-0fff6f90922c}"/>
          </AttachedDevice>
        </StorageController>
      </StorageControllers>
      <Snapshots>
        <Snapshot uuid="{60f16e4e-8c51-4a6e-ace1-90ef279e3c55}" name="Activated &amp; Splashtop" timeStamp="2019-05-25T18:38:51Z" stateFile="Snapshots/2019-05-25T18-38-51-739374300Z.sav">
          <Description>This was taken after the instance was activated and Splashtop was added.</Description>
          <Hardware>
            <CPU>
              <PAE enabled="true"/>
              <LongMode enabled="true"/>
              <HardwareVirtExLargePages enabled="true"/>
            </CPU>
            <Memory RAMSize="2048"/>
            <Paravirt provider="Default"/>
            <Boot>
              <Order position="1" device="HardDisk"/>
              <Order position="2" device="DVD"/>
              <Order position="3" device="None"/>
              <Order position="4" device="None"/>
            </Boot>
            <VideoCapture screens="1" file="." fps="25"/>
            <RemoteDisplay>
              <VRDEProperties>
                <Property name="TCP/Address" value="127.0.0.1"/>
                <Property name="TCP/Ports" value="5940"/>
              </VRDEProperties>
            </RemoteDisplay>
            <BIOS>
              <IOAPIC enabled="true"/>
            </BIOS>
            <Network>
              <Adapter slot="0" enabled="true" MACAddress="080027E6E559" cable="true" type="82540EM">
                <DisabledModes>
                  <InternalNetwork name="intnet"/>
                </DisabledModes>
                <NATNetwork name="NatNetwork"/>
              </Adapter>
            </Network>
            <AudioAdapter driver="DirectSound" enabled="false" enabledIn="false" enabledOut="false"/>
            <GuestProperties>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxControl.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150712631500" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxGuest.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150720445100" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxHook.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150713608400" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMRXNP.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150718491700" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMouse.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150721421500" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxSF.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150721421501" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxService.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150716538301" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxTray.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150716538300" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/HostVerLastChecked" value="6.0.6" timestamp="1558246217550922700" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/InstallDir" value="C:/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox Guest Additions" timestamp="1558246150709701707" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Revision" value="128413" timestamp="1558246150709701706" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Version" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558246150709701704" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VersionExt" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558246150709701705" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/MAC" value="080027E6E559" timestamp="1558246150751697504" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/Status" value="Up" timestamp="1558246150751697503" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Broadcast" value="255.255.255.255" timestamp="1558246150751697501" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/IP" value="192.168.0.7" timestamp="1558801536564938000" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Netmask" value="255.255.255.0" timestamp="1558246155794087801" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/Count" value="1" timestamp="1558809526871802000" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/LoggedInUsers" value="1" timestamp="1558246179397516502" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/LoggedInUsersList" value="IEUser" timestamp="1558246179397516501" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/NoLoggedInUsers" value="false" timestamp="1558246179397516503" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Product" value="Windows 10" timestamp="1558246150709701700" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Release" value="10.0.17763" timestamp="1558246150709701701" flags=""/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/User/IEUser@MSEDGEWIN10/UsageState" value="Idle" timestamp="1558809391573021100" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/GUI/LanguageID" value="en_US" timestamp="1558809494739379200" flags="RDONLYGUEST"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/VBoxRev" value="130049" timestamp="1558208069643079402" flags="TRANSIENT, RDONLYGUEST"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/VBoxVer" value="6.0.6" timestamp="1558208069643079400" flags="TRANSIENT, RDONLYGUEST"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/VBoxVerExt" value="6.0.6" timestamp="1558208069643079401" flags="TRANSIENT, RDONLYGUEST"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/VMInfo/ResetCounter" value="1" timestamp="1558246117248072402" flags="TRANSIENT, RDONLYGUEST"/>
              <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/VMInfo/ResumeCounter" value="2" timestamp="1558801532994343700" flags="TRANSIENT, RDONLYGUEST"/>
            </GuestProperties>
          </Hardware>
          <StorageControllers>
            <StorageController name="IDE Controller" type="PIIX4" PortCount="2" useHostIOCache="true" Bootable="true">
              <AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" hotpluggable="false" port="0" device="0">
                <Image uuid="{2ba9b542-4b2d-4bb4-b34d-38edc86b447e}"/>
              </AttachedDevice>
            </StorageController>
          </StorageControllers>
        </Snapshot>
      </Snapshots>
    </Snapshot>
    <Hardware>
      <CPU>
        <PAE enabled="true"/>
        <LongMode enabled="true"/>
        <HardwareVirtExLargePages enabled="true"/>
      </CPU>
      <Memory RAMSize="2048"/>
      <Paravirt provider="Default"/>
      <Boot>
        <Order position="1" device="HardDisk"/>
        <Order position="2" device="DVD"/>
        <Order position="3" device="None"/>
        <Order position="4" device="None"/>
      </Boot>
      <VideoCapture screens="1" file="." fps="25"/>
      <RemoteDisplay>
        <VRDEProperties>
          <Property name="TCP/Address" value="127.0.0.1"/>
          <Property name="TCP/Ports" value="5940"/>
        </VRDEProperties>
      </RemoteDisplay>
      <BIOS>
        <IOAPIC enabled="true"/>
      </BIOS>
      <Network>
        <Adapter slot="0" enabled="true" MACAddress="080027E6E559" cable="true" type="82540EM">
          <DisabledModes>
            <InternalNetwork name="intnet"/>
          </DisabledModes>
          <NATNetwork name="NatNetwork"/>
        </Adapter>
      </Network>
      <AudioAdapter driver="DirectSound" enabled="false" enabledIn="false" enabledOut="false"/>
      <GuestProperties>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxControl.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150712631500" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxGuest.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150720445100" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxHook.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150713608400" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMRXNP.dll" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150718491700" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMouse.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150721421500" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxSF.sys" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150721421501" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxService.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150716538301" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxTray.exe" value="6.0.4r128413" timestamp="1558246150716538300" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/HostVerLastChecked" value="6.0.6" timestamp="1558246217550922700" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/InstallDir" value="C:/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox Guest Additions" timestamp="1558246150709701707" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Revision" value="128413" timestamp="1558246150709701706" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Version" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558246150709701704" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VersionExt" value="6.0.4" timestamp="1558246150709701705" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/MAC" value="080027E6E559" timestamp="1558246150751697504" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/Status" value="Up" timestamp="1558246150751697503" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Broadcast" value="255.255.255.255" timestamp="1558246150751697501" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/IP" value="192.168.0.7" timestamp="1558801536564938000" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Netmask" value="255.255.255.0" timestamp="1558246155794087801" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/Count" value="1" timestamp="1558809526871802000" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Product" value="Windows 10" timestamp="1558246150709701700" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Release" value="10.0.17763" timestamp="1558246150709701701" flags=""/>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/GUI/LanguageID" value="en_US" timestamp="1558809494739379200" flags="RDONLYGUEST"/>
      </GuestProperties>
    </Hardware>
    <StorageControllers>
      <StorageController name="IDE Controller" type="PIIX4" PortCount="2" useHostIOCache="true" Bootable="true">
        <AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" hotpluggable="false" port="0" device="0">
          <Image uuid="{40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a}"/>
        </AttachedDevice>
      </StorageController>
    </StorageControllers>
  </Machine>
</VirtualBox>

[Wheelspinner99]

Thanks but no dice. I got this error - http://prntscr.com/o1kuwx

Code: Select all   Expand viewCollapse view

Failed to open virtual machine located in C:/Users/Administrator/VirtualBox VMs/MSEdge - Win10 - Copy/MSEdge - Win10.vbox.

Cannot register the hard disk 'C:\Users\Administrator\VirtualBox VMs\MSEdge - Win10 - Copy\Snapshots/{40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a}.vdi' {40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a} because a hard disk 'C:\Users\Administrator\VirtualBox VMs\MSEdge - Win10 - Copy\Snapshots/{40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a}.vmdk' with UUID {40840843-3ba3-47f8-8240-4c4762d7584a} already exists.

Result Code: E_INVALIDARG (0x80070057)
Component: VirtualBoxWrap
Interface: IVirtualBox {d0a0163f-e254-4e5b-a1f2-011cf991c38d}

[klaus]

Now I'm seriously confused... why would VirtualBox think that there is a VMDK image in this directory when you actually have listed VDI images only? Is this existing image in a different directory?

Alternatively it could be a leftover image registration (at the moment I don't have any theory why, because this isn't expected when restoring from backup). Can you check in the virtual media manager if this disk image is associated with any VM or snapshot, and whether it is reported as existing or not? If the image doesn't exist and isn't associated with any VM or snapshot, you can unregister it (and actually start with any image shown as children of this image, if present). If things are cleaned up then registering the VM should work.

If the image(s) are actually there, I need more information about those images...

[mpack]

You deleted any previous attempts to create this VM, right?

[Wheelspinner99]

Yes, and deleted all files. Then a attempted to add the recovered VM by selecting Machine>add

[kees0_15]

As a newbie I worked with Vbox at a linux host to extend the use of Windows XP for a while. A usefull and reliable XP guest was created in a learning process.
but:
the Windows XP SP2 VM had to be updates to -SP3 and there I ran out of space... (Virtual Disk Full?)

My virtual machine greyed out, no input possible and I closed the VM. maybe a bad choice?

after I restarted the Oracle VM Virtualbox Manager, my XP machine was not accessable anymore.

Message :

Premature end of data in tag VirtualBox line 8.

Location: '/media/kees/e04ed14f-e99d-4d51-8943-89db3db0e1e4/home/kees/VirtualBox VMs/Nieuwe groep/xp-pro-buro Kloon-2/XP_PRO_NL_test3/XP_PRO_NL_test3.vbox', line 1103 (8), column 23.

/home/vbox/vbox-5.2.30/src/VBox/Main/src-server/MachineImpl.cpp[745] (nsresult Machine::i_registeredInit()).
Resultaatcode: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine {85cd948e-a71f-4289-281e-0ca7ad48cd89}

Howto resize my virtual diskspace ??

thanks in advance for some help; I am facing a deadline...

Kees0_15

[mpack]

You must have done more than close the VM. You must have stopped the VM process in Task Manager. That's the only way I know of to end up with partial files.

Look in the VM folder for the .vbox-prev file. That's the backup. Rename it to have a .vbox extension. Even better is if you see a file with a ".vbox-tmp" extension - that's a temp version of the new settings that it didn't get to save properly. Rename that instead.

Also read: How to resize a Virtual Drive.

[socratis]

You are right: I ended by hitting the X in the right upper corner of the greyed VM (XP): the only way to get a response. VirtualBox stopped, Linux Host stayed alive.

I looked in the the VM folder, found and renamed the ".vbox-prev" file to ".vbox" and renamed the original ".vbox" to ".vbox.backup" just to be save.
after starting the VirtualBox Manager, the VM was still inaccessiblle.

there was no ".vbox-temp" but a ".vbox-corrupted" -> used that and renamed it. result:

Message:

Het is niet gelukt virtuele machine aanwezig in /media/kees/e04ed14f-e99d-4d51-8943-89db3db0e1e4/home/kees/VirtualBox VMs/Nieuwe groep/xp-pro-buro Kloon-2/XP_PRO_NL_test3/XP_PRO_NL_test3.vbox te openen.

Extra content at the end of the document.

Location: '/media/kees/e04ed14f-e99d-4d51-8943-89db3db0e1e4/home/kees/VirtualBox VMs/Nieuwe groep/xp-pro-buro Kloon-2/XP_PRO_NL_test3/XP_PRO_NL_test3.vbox', line 3 (0), column 10.

/home/vbox/vbox-5.2.30/src/VBox/Main/src-server/MachineImpl.cpp[483] (nsresult Machine::initFromSettings(VirtualBox*, const com::Utf8Str&, const com::Guid*)).

Resultaatcode:NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component:MachineWrap
Interface:IMachine {85cd948e-a71f-4289-281e-0ca7ad48cd89}
Callee:IVirtualBox {9570b9d5-f1a1-448a-10c5-e12f5285adad}
file:///media/kees/e04ed14f-e99d-4d51-8943-89db3db0e1e4/home/kees/VirtualBox%20VMs/Nieuwe%20groep/xp-pro-buro%20Kloon-2/XP_PRO_NL_test3/Snapshots

I am reading "How to resize a Virtual Drive." (A) and found on "https://superuser.com/questions/1036325/virtualbox-virtual-machine-is-suddenly-not-accessible" the hint to clone my current VM and start a new one. (B)
will you guide me? (A/B or..) In the VM folder I found no (big enough) .vdi or .vhd file, but folder-size is about 90 Gbyte (incl. log and (a lot of) snapshots).

can I not go back one step by a snapshot?

Kees