error "verr vd vmdk invalid header"

[KIMW]

Hi,

I failed to open a session, I have the error "verr vd vmdk invalid header".
I did a research with "verr vd vmdk invalid header" but found nothing. I read somewhere on the forum that people who had issue to open VMDK file could use CloneVDI Tool but it's an .exe file and therefore I can't use it on my Mac.
is there any body to help me?

[mpack]

The message seems quite clear to me. Your VM is configured to use a VMDK format disk image file, and that file has either been corrupted or it was never clean (you have not said that it ever worked).

CloneVDI works very well on a Mac, via Wine. But, CloneVDI will not accept a corrupted VMDK either.

[KIMW]

Hi mpack,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, my Windows7 worked before for about a month. Then today, for no reason, it did not start.

The other information I have is: VMDK: "descriptor does not start as expected"
On the VirtualBox Manager > Storage > Controller SATA, it says vmdk file (Normal, Inaccessible)
When I click on storage, the virtual and actual size have disappeared.

[mpack]

Look in the VM folder (/users/<your username>/VirtualBox VMs/<vm name>). The VMDK should be in there. If the file is very small then it's just a text descriptor: zip it up and attach it here, I will take a look.

If your VMDK is the not the type that has a separate descriptor then I'm afraid that the only possible fix is to restore it from a backup.

Is the VMDK on your normal system drive? If yes then it's unusual for files to become corrupted there. If that's what happened then you should be checking your system drive for other filesystem errors.

If the VMDK is on an external drive then it's not so unusual for it to have errors.

[KIMW]

The file is very small, that's right (see attached).
But there is a similar file called ~flat.vmdk which is very big.
The VMDK is on my normal system drive.
Thanks for your help.

[mpack]

Very odd. Most of it is gone except for the drive geometry that VirtualBox adds on first use.

Where did this VMDK come from? It isn't in a format which VirtualBox creates, therefore it must have come from somewhere else.

This type of small VMDK descriptor is almost entirely static once created. If you have any other copy of this VMDK, no matter how old, then you ought to be able to take the descriptor from that copy and use it to overwrite your damaged one.

Otherwise we'll have to create a replacement descriptor. For that you'll need to a bit of detective work. I would need to know the exact size (in bytes) of that "flat.vmdk" file. Also, you can tell what the UUID ought to be if you look in the media register section in your <vmname>.vbox file. Just zip and post your entire .vbox file if you aren't sure what to look for.

You should also be able to use VBoxManage convertfromraw to convert "flat.vmdk" to a usable VDI.

These repair strategies assume of course that flat.vmdk is undamaged.

[KIMW]

Where did this VMDK come from? It isn't in a format which VirtualBox creates, therefore it must have come from somewhere else.

I don't quite understand your question. It comes from folder (/users/<your username>/VirtualBox VMs/<vm name>).

This type of small VMDK descriptor is almost entirely static once created

During installation, if I remember well, when hard disk file type option was asked I didn't use VDI but the 2sd choice instead which was VMDK, perhaps it's why.
I don't think I have any other VMDK file than that.

I had nothing really important there so I'll leave like this but I am afraid it happens again and that I won't be able to recover from it.
I am new in virtualisation world so before I start I did some research and many people were saying that VirtualBox is good enough for non professional people but today with what just happened I am afraid to switch completely to VirtualBox.

Mpack I really appreciate the time spent on that issue so I thank you very much for that.

[mpack]

I don't quite understand your question. It comes from folder (/users/<your username>/VirtualBox VMs/<vm name>).

There are several possible variations of the VMDK format. The variant you are using is, to my knowledge, not created by VirtualBox. VirtualBox created VMDKs are a single large file. I believe the file you have there was created by a third party. So, that's what I mean when I asked where it came from.

I had nothing really important there so I'll leave like this but I am afraid it happens again and that I won't be able to recover from it.

You should make backups every time you have data you wouldn't want to lose. To back up a VM you just copy the VM folder to a secondary drive.

[KIMW]

I think I downloaded it directly from VirtualBox. I tried to attached the file here but couldn't.
From where should I download it?
Is there a way to create backups automatically?

Concerning the VMDK file I attached previously (WIN-7.vmdk.zip), is there any confidential information there I should be worried about to be revealed?

[mpack]

From VirtualBox? The downloads area of this site doesn't have any VMDKs. Oh well, it's a mystery.

You can examine the VMDK descriptor yourself using a text editor. You'll see that it contains nothing of value, hence your problems in fact. Even it was complete the only thing it would reveal is that there is (or should be) a file called "flat.vmdk" on your PC. A descriptor doesn't contain user data, it contains technical data about the drive (size, sector geometry etc).

[KIMW]

I see! So there is no need to delete the VMDK file I attached previously (WIN-7.vmdk.zip)?

From where would you suggest to download VirtualBox?

[mpack]

From where would you suggest to download VirtualBox?

I'm not sure I understand the relevance of that question. VirtualBox is the name of the software, it is not the name of the objects which the software manipulates. So, if you want to download VirtualBox (the software) you do it from the VirtualBox Downloads Area. But, you must have already done this, hence my confusion.

If the question was about downloading VMs, the VirtualBox site does not provide ready made VMs available for download. That would have legal implications. I think Oracle (the parent company) still have downloads available to demonstrate Oracle Linux, but Oracle is a big company and that's really a separate thing.

You most certainly did not download a pre-prepared Windows 7 VM from any Oracle site.

[KIMW]

There has been a bit of confusion. When you asked me:

Where did this VMDK come from? It isn't in a format which VirtualBox creates, therefore it must have come from somewhere else.

I thought you were asking where did I get the VirtualBox software I used to create the VMDK file. And as I said I downloaded it from VirtualBox AND it's really VirtualBox software that has created it.
If your question is how did I create the Windows 7 VMDK file, well, it was done by VirtualBox from a genuine Windows 7 ISO file that I have on my computer. It was definitely not a pre-prepared Windows 7 VM downloaded from somewhere. Hope it's clear now.

Anyway, I was using MAC host and now I am going to switch to Linux host (which is completely a new world for me), I'll be actually using LinuxMint, can you please tell me which package architecture I should get from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads for LinuxMint?

[Perryg]

You would use the one for Ubuntu 14.04 at this time which is what Mint 17 was based on.

[KIMW]

Great!
Thanks for your contribution Perryg.