Background:
I have a Windows guest VM with two encrypted VHD files working for years (I successfully enter the encryption password at each boot). I decided to take a snapshot before installing an update, then delete that snap after validation two days later, when I know the VM was successfully booting with the encryption password. But after the old snap deletion completed, I could no longer boot my VM. After the encryption password prompt, I get the error "FATAL: No bootable medium found! System halted".
I figure something must have borked with the delete/merge so I renamed the OS VHD file, then restored the VHD from backup just a couple days earlier. Same FATAL error. Because of the snapshot that's involved, I figured maybe I need to restore the complete VM folder, not just the OS VHD.
I consulted forum topic 55003 about moving VMs around on the same system. I remove the VM from the manager (remove only), close the manager, rename the VM's folder, restore the whole folder from a backup, then Machine > Add in the manager. But upon booting the VM I get the same FATAL error. Worse, I'm not even prompted for my encryption password at all, which I don't know how this is possible. The VM has been encrypted for months and the restore date was within the past week.
I've read through various forum posting about restoring an encrypted VM with backups and known passwords, but am not sure what steps I'm missing.
- How to Attach Encrypted vdi to VM in VBox 5.0 (topic 69503)
- How to re-use encrypted VDI??? (topic 75092)
- Can't open my encrypted vdi on a different host... (topic 70235)