CloneVDI tool - Discussion & Support

[mpack]

CloneVDI can reconstruct any disk state for which you have a complete snapshot chain. It cannot work around gaps in the chain.

[VM-F4n]

@mpack
You have a pm.
Hope you will help!

[mpack]

Yes, you sent a pm to me, a professional software engineer, asking me to do custom development work to your specification, related to a feature I would never use (snapshots), for free. I'm not sure why you thought that proposal might appeal to me.

[VM-F4n]

I will come back to this later to tell you (mpack) why i'm asking you for this tool.

Other problem:
I need to use clonevdi to make a new .vdi base from a vm with snapshots. How to do?
To know what is the problem read and translate please the following thread (because my english isn't so good to know what you need from the thread ).
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=101766

I have 2 pc's, one a 2 core, the other a 6 core.
The 6 core pc had a bad hdd so it would replaced with a new (good) one.
So i was using this vm on the 4 core pc to start the vm (only strating with a trick works; since the bad hdd error - read thread above where i am telling it).
So on the new hdd, on the 6 core, now the vm doesn't start with the trick anymore.

Mergingn from snapshots isn't possible in virtaulbox because virtualbox can't lock the .vdi (from the vm).

PS: For the most part translated whit deepl.com.

Q.Can it clone VDIs with snapshots?

A.Yes, CloneVDI v2.00 now has the ability to clone a snapshot VDI (the .VDI files with the strangenames that live in your \<VM>\Snapshots folder). It will follow the chain of dependencies backto the base VDI and then create a clone which includes all the data from the point in timerepresented by the snapshot. This feature originally worked with VirtualBox native (VDI)snapshots only. Support for cloning VMDK and VHD snapshot chains was added in CloneVDI v2.10.Snapshots in other formats (such as Parallels .hdd) are still not supported.

My situation is, the vm is in another folder as the vm's snapshots.

[mpack]

My situation is, the vm is in another folder as the vm's snapshots.

Just move the base VDI temporarily into the same folder as the snapshot VDIs.

As to the tool you want to develop, there's no need to explain any more why you want it, as I'm pretty sure you could not afford my time - which is anyway not available.

[VM-F4n]

No matter how I try, the .vdi created by clonevdi has the state of February, so only one snapshot and not the last one.
I have tried the base vdi being in the same folder as the snapshots folder and also the .vdi being above the snapshots, both ignoring the last snapshot.

I think clonevdi doesn't use the last snapshot because of my problem, with the vm and the snapshot!
It doesn' find the last snapshot.

So a bad way for me is to try this:
https://www.treshna.com/rebuilding-virt ... snapshots/

[mpack]

I think clonevdi doesn't use the last snapshot because of my problem

It uses whichever snapshot you pick. Did you read the release notes? Are you aware that you should be choosing a snapshot VDI as source, and not choosing the base VDI?

[VM-F4n]

@mpack
If i choose a snapshot .vdi it tells me

Source is a difference image. Sorry this tool cannot clone these (for now).

I think tomorrow, after work, i will read release notes on site 12.

just make sure to put them all in one folder, including the baseVDI, and CloneVDI should have no problem creating a clone of any one of them.

Same error message as above

Source is a difference image. Sorry this tool cannot clone these (for now).

Situation (normal mode):
Folder Win7 in this is the base .vdi
Folder Windows7 in this are the folder of snapshots and the vbox files.

Situation to use clonevdi:
In the folder Win7 are all this files without a subfolder.

[mpack]

it tells me

Source is a difference image. Sorry this tool cannot clone these (for now).

Admittely the original meaning of that error wording has become obscure, but in essence it means that you have not given CloneVDI access to a complete snapshot chain, and it can't do anything with partial (difference) images.

Open a snapshot VDI. If you click on "Header info" then you'll see a field called UUID (parent). That identifies the immediate parent of the VDI you loaded, you should find a VDI with that name in the same folder, or else it should match the UUID of the base VDI.

If you then load the parent VDI you now can check its header, and again determine the parent UUID (the base VDI has a parent UUID of 0).

Track backwards until you reach the UUID of the base VDI. If at any point you find a VDI file is missing then now you know the cause of the error.


Incidentally, I looked at your "Treshna" link, it is mostly garbage. Snapshots do not have child links, and quite obviously: the importance of a missing snapshot has nothing to do with how old it is, and everything to do with whatever was uniquely written to it. The author is guilty of assuming that their scenario is the only possible or even typical one. It also doesn't seem to actually explain how to deal with missing snapshots, despite that being the title of the article.

The true answer is that there is no sure way to repair missing snapshots except from a backup. You can use "VBoxManage internalcommands sethduuid x" and "VBoxManage internalcommands sethdparentuuid x" to hack a correct linkage between available files - but all that does it work around the immediate error, it still leaves you with a damaged disk image. The damage will range from unimportant to catastophic, depending on how much data was lost in your precise scenario.

[VM-F4n]

Open a snapshot VDI. If you click on "Header info" then you'll see a field called UUID (parent). That identifies the immediate parent of the VDI you loaded, you should find a VDI with that name in the same folder, or else it should match the UUID of the base VDI.

If you then load the parent VDI you now can check its header, and again determine the parent UUID (the base VDI has a parent UUID of 0).

Track backwards until you reach the UUID of the base VDI. If at any point you find a VDI file is missing then now you know the cause of the error.

That was helpful - thanks!

I tracked backwards and the missing vdi is one with UUID (parent) {3e38} like in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=101766&p=496682#p496677

[mpack]

I have responded in the other thread.

[VM-F4n]

@mpack
Thanks!
Now i hope you understand my question with the other tool (why i've written you a pm in the past).
But ok, you're right, i can't pay for your time to create this tool.