Where does the VM save my files?

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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palacebravo
Posts: 3
Joined: 2. May 2017, 01:52

Where does the VM save my files?

Post by palacebravo »

Desperatley need to figure out where the VM stores my saved files. Had a VM crash and now I can't get at any of the files the crashed VM created because I can't figure out where they are stored on my computer. Huge project overdue becuase of this.

Any help would be appreciated. I've gone to users/Virtual Box VMs but none of the files I've created using the VM are in there.
palacebravo
Posts: 3
Joined: 2. May 2017, 01:52

Re: Where does the VM save my files?

Post by palacebravo »

To clarify, for instance, if I create newfile.doc in MS word, it seems to save it in a folder called documents. Where is this documents folder located? Is it only accessible from within the VM? Does the situation with the crashed VM mean that everything I created and saved with the VM is lost as well?

I have made it so that all my files show on my Mac, nothing is hidden. I installed a new VM that is up and running. I created a new file in the VM, saved it, and tried to use finder to search for it on the hard drive. Nothing. It is like it doesn't exist.

Another member, in a post about changing the dates on his files, mentioned he had to change the dates on his files outside the VM. So it must be possible to access saved files outside of the VM?

I'm so sorry if I've asked this in a confusing way, I myself am so dumbfounded by this situation. It seems navigating to saved file should be doable but I just can't.

Any help would be so very appreciated. What's at stake here is a huge project my son completed, it was due today but his professeor has given him until 8:00 tomorrow to hand it in. He's doing it over now but it sure would be better to have the work he did carefully, over the course of many weeks, as opposed to what he can reconstruct over night.
palacebravo
Posts: 3
Joined: 2. May 2017, 01:52

Re: Where does the VM save my files?

Post by palacebravo »

This all started with a pointer error when my son tried to save his work. He clicked OK, and reopened the file only to find it completely blank, as if all his work had been overwritten with nothing. He went to the help desk at school and after that the situation deteriorated to where he couldn't open the VM at all.
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: Where does the VM save my files?

Post by socratis »

You sound like a fairly new user to VirtualBox. Since you are expected to know some basic terms before we engage in a meaningful discussion, I would suggest to start by reading three small chapters from the User Manual:
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