Boot priority between HDD

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Linux hosts.
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AirDRoN
Posts: 1
Joined: 10. Nov 2021, 11:59

Boot priority between HDD

Post by AirDRoN »

Hello,
How do I choose boot priority if both devices are type hdd? =) VB output (vboxmanage showvminfo and showmedia) below.
I want to boot from ide-controller (0, 1) media for installing OS to ide-controller (0, 0) media. But VB doesnt boot from ide-controller (0, 1) if ide-controller (0, 0) was configured (media was attached). Bootmenu doesn't appear.
If I set emptydrive in ide-controller (0, 0), VM starting normally from ide-controller (0, 1).
VM starts in headless mode (vrde on).
So, i'm confused. :D
How can I set booting from ide-controller (0, 1) media?

Code: Select all

@:~/VirtualBox VMs/suse01$ sudo vboxmanage showvminfo suse01
Boot menu mode:              menu only
Boot Device 1:               HardDisk
Boot Device 2:               HardDisk
Boot Device 3:               HardDisk
Boot Device 4:               Not Assigned
...
VM process priority:         default
Storage Controller Name (0):            ide-controller
Storage Controller Type (0):            PIIX4
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  2
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
Storage Controller Name (1):            sata-controller
Storage Controller Type (1):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (1): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (1):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (1):      30
Storage Controller Bootable (1):        on
ide-controller (0, 0): /mnt/hdd1/home/ite/VirtualBox VMs/suse01/suse01.vdi (UUID: d77b48cc-013f-4519-9d67-4d61745400eb)
ide-controller (0, 1): /mnt/hdd1/home/ite/VirtualBox VMs/suse01/usm_img.vmdk (UUID: c8326862-4b2b-4612-8e94-6bb2cfbf5a8f)
ide-controller (1, 0): Empty
ide-controller (1, 1): Empty
sata-controller (0, 0): Empty
...

@:~/VirtualBox VMs/suse01$ sudo vboxmanage showmediuminfo disk d77b48cc-013f-4519-9d67-4d61745400eb
UUID:           d77b48cc-013f-4519-9d67-4d61745400eb
Parent UUID:    base
State:          locked write
Type:           normal (base)
Location:       /mnt/hdd1/home/ite/VirtualBox VMs/suse01/suse01.vdi
Storage format: VDI
Format variant: dynamic default
Capacity:       500000 MBytes
Size on disk:   17044 MBytes
Encryption:     disabled
Property:       AllocationBlockSize=1048576
In use by VMs:  emais01 (UUID: 0c95d8e7-8895-4a0f-ad58-83c95faa45c9)

@:~/VirtualBox VMs/suse01$ sudo vboxmanage showmediuminfo disk  c8326862-4b2b-4612-8e94-6bb2cfbf5a8f
UUID:           c8326862-4b2b-4612-8e94-6bb2cfbf5a8f
Parent UUID:    base
State:          locked write
Type:           normal (base)
Location:       /mnt/hdd1/home/ite/VirtualBox VMs/suse01/usm_img.vmdk
Storage format: VMDK
Format variant: fixed unknown
Capacity:       15384 MBytes
Size on disk:   15384 MBytes
Encryption:     disabled
In use by VMs:  emais01 (UUID: 0c95d8e7-8895-4a0f-ad58-83c95faa45c9)


@:~/VirtualBox VMs/suse01$ sudo vboxmanage --version
6.1.16_Ubuntur140961
many thanks ...
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Boot priority between HDD

Post by mpack »

For a traditional boot - whichever hdd is first gets first dibs. So if the first hdd has boot sectors then it will boot. I believe IDE has priority over SATA. Not sure about SCSI or others.

For a grub boot - modify the boot script.

Your question seems to have nothing to do with your forum choice. Your Q actually seems to concern the guest OS, though you give no clue as to what that might be.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Boot priority between HDD

Post by scottgus1 »

There is also a F12 option in the Virtualbox BIOS screen to allow changing boot order on the fly for that VM boot. To make the boot sequence change always, the drives need to be rearranged.

Back in physical IDE days, either the physical drives needed to be plugged in different or he jumpers on the back of the drive had to be changed.
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