Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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aroldgre
Posts: 9
Joined: 28. Jul 2011, 18:01
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Server 2003 R2

Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by aroldgre »

Hello Fellows,

I would like to know if I can reuse a VM(my guest OS) after reinstalling My Host and VirtualBox.

If I install a VM on some sort of external storage location, then I have to reinstall the Host(Windows7) and VirtualBox;
can I call my VM into my new installed VirtualBox and use it again?

Well, I hope I make some sense.


Thank you,
aroldgre
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by Perryg »

Sure you can. If the guest was created with versin => 4.0 you simply copy the entire guests folder to a safe place, install the host and VirtualBox, then put the guest back and dbl click the *.vbox file in the guests folder. If it was created before version 4 it can still be done but much harder especially if you have snapshots.
aroldgre
Posts: 9
Joined: 28. Jul 2011, 18:01
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Server 2003 R2

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by aroldgre »

Thank you so very much Perryg for answering; however, I can't really visualize what you mean when you say "put the guest back and dbl click the *.vbox file in the guests folder".
Where should I put it back to? Do you mean to put it back into the VirtualBox VMs folder?

Well, windows 7 trips sometimes, I am thinking about jumping over to Linux!

I greatly appreciate what you guys are doing, you guys are my greatest books!

Thank you,
aroldgre
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by Perryg »

Where should I put it back to? Do you mean to put it back into the VirtualBox VMs folder?
That would be the easiest. Other than that you would need to change the default location in the preferences of VirtualBox.
aroldgre
Posts: 9
Joined: 28. Jul 2011, 18:01
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Server 2003 R2

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by aroldgre »

Thanks again Perryg,
That would definitely get me going. Keep doing the great job!


Thank you,
aroldgre
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by Sasquatch »

If you made no changes to the default paths, then it's really easy. You open Explorer, go to C:\Users\<your user>\ and look for folders associated with VB. This can be .VirtualBox (may be hidden) and "VirtualBox VMs". Make a backup of these folders and restore them to the same location after you've installed Windows again. VB will automatically pick up everything you left with. If VB doesn't pick it up, then you may have missed something or it's not restored properly.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
White_King
Posts: 3
Joined: 13. Feb 2013, 01:37

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by White_King »

This is the first forum-like answer from google so I'm posting an update as of aug-2019
If you just reinstalled Virtualbox in the host even after a complete reinstall of the Host OS but you have the Entire Virtual machine folder and files untouched. A simple solution will be to just look for the .vbox file with the name of the machine inside its respective folder and double click it; this will restore the entire Machine with its configuration on the new Virtualbox installation.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Can I reuse a VM after reinstalling VirtualBox?

Post by socratis »

White_King,
This is the second ancient thread that you are resurrecting. Please don't do it again, we don't really like locking threads.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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