Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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descott12
Posts: 20
Joined: 14. May 2022, 22:41

Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by descott12 »

Hello all,
I am running VBox 6.1.34 on a Win10 Pro host. I have an XP VM and I took a snapshot just to try it out on May 24. I really don't need the snapshot and I want to delete it BUT the timestamp on the snapshot .hdd file in C:\Users\des\VirtualBox VMs\WinXP\Snapshots is constantly updated with today/now and the original virtual machine .hdd file has the May 24 date. So it seems all new changes are being applied to the snapshot file and not the live vm file. Or am I not understanding how this works?

Thanks in advance. Otherwise my switch from Parallels on a Mac to VBox on Window has been a really painless process.
Cheers
rfm
Posts: 13
Joined: 8. Sep 2008, 20:45
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Ubuntu, Windows
Location: Palo Alto, California, USA

Re: Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by rfm »

As explained in the manual https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/UserM ... s-contents when a snapshot is taken, the current state is frozen and a delta disk is created to hold subsequent changes. So it's the delta disk that will be changing.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by mpack »

VirtualBox support for ".hdd" format is very limited so, after getting rid of that snapshot, you should convert the .hdd to .vdi ASAP.
descott12
Posts: 20
Joined: 14. May 2022, 22:41

Re: Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by descott12 »

Thanks. So how do I get rid of the snapshot? Simply delete it and it will merge all the changes back into the main VM file.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by scottgus1 »

descott12 wrote: So how do I get rid of the snapshot?
Always make a backup when adjusting snapshots. If the host OS or hardware has a glitch, then the VM could be hosed.

Then select the snapshot in the VM's snapshot list and click the Delete toolbar button. The snapshot will merge back into the main disk.
descott12
Posts: 20
Joined: 14. May 2022, 22:41

Re: Confusion about Snapshot file dates

Post by descott12 »

It worked. Thanks for the guidance. I am continually impressed by Virtual Box.
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