Could not find an open hard disk with UUID

[Gamegoofs2]

I rolled back to my latest snapshot. When I shutdown then went to boot up again I get this error:

Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {36844126-9e88-4686-9858-2d1a0568f53c}.
Result Code:
VBOX_E_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND (0x80BB0001)
Component:
VirtualBox
Interface:
IVirtualBox {d2de270c-1d4b-4c9e-843f-bbb9b47269ff}

I've googled it but haven't found anything helpful.

My host OS is Windows 7 and my guest OS is Ubuntu 10.10.

How can I get this working again?

[angel.tsankov]

I have the same problem with VirtualBox 4.0.4 on Debian.

[knoxcoder]

I had the same issue. I am running ubuntu 10.10 with vbox 4.0.4

I was able to find the VDI file by its UUID, so I knew it existed.

I fixed the problem by editing the .vbox file for the VM and re-attaching the hard disk.

For these instructions assume VM name is win7

Make a backup of the win7.vbox file
Edit the win7.vbox file
Find the "<image uuid=.../>" line that references the UUID for the "missing" disk. It should be inside of an <AttachedDevice> section inside of a <StorageControler> section.
Remove the entire <AttachedDevice> section. (You made a backup right?)
Save the file.
Go back to the VBOX GUI and refresh the VM. It should no longer complain about the hard drive.
Edit the settings for the VM, go to the Storage section, find the hard disk controller.
Add a disk. VBOX will ask if you want to add a new or existing disk. Select existing disk.
Find and select the disk with the original UUID that was reported "missing"

I hope this helps someone, and if not perhaps it will probably help me when it happens again and I have to google the solution (again).

[Gamegoofs2]

I can boot into it now, but none of my programs are there anymore.

[Andrew Black]

knoxcoder: Fired up Virtualbox and had the same issue. Followed your instructions, and I'm back in business. Thanks!

[vbox4me2]

I can boot into it now, but none of my programs are there anymore.

Maybe you had snapshots that now have lost the link to the Master VDI.

[Gamegoofs2]

How can I re-link them then?

[vbox4me2]

You might not be able to, snapshots are very specific related to its parent, once the XML files are inconsistent with which belongs to what you have some serious editing to do... if you have the original XML files it will be easier to fix this.

[Gamegoofs2]

I think I do.

[pkeerthy]

i had the same issue and i changed the <Image uuid=""> to the previous snapshot id (id of the previous .sav file) and it worked. you can find the snapshots inside the snapshot folder.
<AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" port="0" device="0">
<Image uuid=<your previous snapshot id>/>
</AttachedDevice>

[kflorek]

Thanks for the good clues. Changing the UUID fixes this. How to change it?

The UUID VB says it can't find is the same as the name of a file

{aaa...}.vdi

that actually is there in the Snapshots folder (which also does match the name inside a .vbox file there)

Bafflingly it says it can't find it because the vdi it is looking for now somehow has the different UUID

{bbb...}

The error VB gives makes it sound as if the wrong UUID is somehow inside the vdi file, which you couldn't change. But
instead this is how it comes to have that UUID. In your personal folder (your home folder in linux), there is a hidden
folder (.VirtualBox in linux) with the filename VirtualBox.xml. A line in it

<HardDisk uuid="{bbb...}" location="/mnt/1T-a15/SunVB/Machines/XP 32/Snapshots/{bbb...}.vdi" format="VDI"/>

has the botched "name" {bbb...} twice. As you can see, the line sets the uuid. If you change both to the one VB is looking
for, {aaa..}, then when VB is started up again, everything is in sync.

In Windows, the corresponding file you need to revise is liable to be in the "Documents and Settings" folder
under a folder with your login name.

C:\Documents and Settings\your name\.VirtualBox\VirtualBox.xml

VB changes these cryptic uuids and names every time a machine starts a snapshot that uses that vdi.

[vboxing]

It happens on Mac OS X too. I can't believe there is no fix for that. This is a major issue.

[mpack]

No doubt a fix will come along in due course. When was the bug reported?

[baj]

Same issue with vbox 4.0.4 on Arch 2.6.37. Solution for me was here,
http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/8595

about 1/2 way down in this post:
2011-03-23 21:03:37 changed by Skalek

I had to read it a couple of times to get what he was saying, was probably reading too fast. You basically need to compare the "HardDisk" lines in VirtualBox.xml for the problem VM against the actual file names in the snapshot folder. You'll find a UUID in VirtualBox.xml that doesn't exist as a vdi in your shapshots folder. Replace that UUID with the latest snapshot .vdi UUID, save and restart vbox.

Thanks Skalek!

[ant]

Weird. I had problems too! I tried to open an old Windows XP Pro. SP3 VM that I was just using before upgrading VirtualBox v4.0.4 to v4.0.6 in my old Debian box (installed in 2005). I got this.

Failed to open virtual machine located in /extra/VirtualBox/Machines/XP Pro. SP3/XP Pro. SP3.xml.
Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {7bca213c-b890-47ed-a820-ddc8988ec94c}.

Result Code:
VBOX_E_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND (0x80BB0001)
Component:
VirtualBox
Interface:
IVirtualBox {d2de270c-1d4b-4c9e-843f-bbb9b47269ff}


I tried editing my /extra/VirtualBox/Machines/XP Pro. SP3/XP Pro. SP3.xml file, readd the two snapshots/.vdi files. It worked.