Remove only

[whistleblower]

For security purposes I don't want a particular name in the VM manager list. When I remove the name from the VM manager I choose "Remove only" instead of "delete all files".

How do I open it? Tutorials say "create new" and "use an existing virtual hard disk file". When I start it I get the error "FATAL: no bootable medium found".

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Any help would be appreciated.

[BillG]

If you simply removed the vm from VirtualBox Manager and did not delete the files you do not need to create a new vm. It should all still be there.

Use Windows Explorer to find the vm. It is usually in Users\yourusername\VirtualBox VMs. If all the files are still there, double-click vmname.vbox to re-register the vm.

[socratis]

For security purposes I don't want a particular name in the VM manager list.

You can't do that.

When I remove the name from the VM manager I choose "Remove only" instead of "delete all files".

This unregisters the VM from VirtualBox Manager. As far as VirtualBox is concerned, you can't run that VM.

How do I open it?

You need to register a VM before you run it.

Tutorials say "create new" and "use an existing virtual hard disk file".

Where is that tutorial?

When I start it I get the error "FATAL: no bootable medium found".

Because whatever you selected in the tutorial, is not a bootable one. I can't possible know what you selected or not. I *do* know that whatever you selected will *not* boot.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Any help would be appreciated.

Unless you tells us really specific details, we can start on guessing. And mind you, I have a big imagination...

[BillG]

Simply removing the vm from the list is hardly a security measure. Any person with reasonable knowledge of computer systems can still see the vm in the file system and reactivate it. A better idea would be to copy the complete vm file to an external drive and then remove the vm from VirtualBox Manager and use the delete all files option.

If you need to use this vm again, copy the complete file back to the VirtualBox VMs folder and re-register it.

[whistleblower]

I have the VDI on a virtually mounted hard drive. Is that perhaps why it won't run after I unregister the name from the VM list? Naturally the virtual hard drive is open and accessible to the system when I try to use it.

[whistleblower]

If you simply removed the vm from VirtualBox Manager and did not delete the files you do not need to create a new vm. It should all still be there.

Use Windows Explorer to find the vm. It is usually in Users\yourusername\VirtualBox VMs. If all the files are still there, double-click vmname.vbox to re-register the vm.

Strange. It doesn't seem to work for me like that.

Could the problem have something to do with the fact I run the VDI from a virtually mounted hard drive? The VDI was originally created on the virtual hard drive and works perfectly from the virtual hard drive until I unregister it from the VM file list. Naturally the hard drive is open and accessible to the system when I try to use it.

[socratis]

You might want to give all the details from the beginning, instead of letting us assume. Especially if you're doing things the non-default way. So do you want to try again and explain from the beginning how we can replicate what you're seeing? If full details.

And please explain the meaning of: "I run the VDI from a virtually mounted hard drive"

[BillG]

Of course it would. What I said only refers to the standard setup where the .vdi file is stored in the vm folder.

[mpack]

"virtually mounted hard drive" == network share?