Export failing on Virtualbox 6

[rvmeush]

I am using VirtualBox 6 on a Mac running High Sierra (10.13.6). I set up a VirtualBox with a Mac OSX vm. During the VM setup I selected a hard disk format compatible with Parallels.

I have been trying to export the VirtualBox VM to .ova format but the export process keeps failing with an error message -

Failed to export appliance /Users/xxxx/Documents/Snow Leopard Clone.ova.

Could not create the exported medium 'Snow Leopard Clone-disk001.vmdk' (VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER).

Result Code: VBOX_E_FILE_ERROR (0x80BB0004)
Component: MediumWrap
Interface: IMedium {ad47ad09-787b-44ab-b343-a082a3f2dfb1}

I'm not quite sure what to do about this error and would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks.

[socratis]

I created a new VM, OSX 10.6, with an HDD hard drive (Parallels compatible). I then exported the appliance using the default OVA 1.0. I had no problems with it.

Can you describe in full and complete detail the procedure you're following?

[rvmeush]

Thanks for checking that out for me.

I think I'm following the straightforward procedure for exporting a vm. I have attached screenshots of the process. The first screenshot gives the info about the vm. The second is the screen displayed when the Export menu item is selected. And the third is the screenshot of the error message.

I'm not sure what other info to provide, but if there is some other info that would be helpful please let me know.

SnowLeopardCloneInfo.jpeg (114.13 KiB) Viewed 6644 times

SnowLeopardCloneExport.jpeg (53.45 KiB) Viewed 6644 times

SnowLeopardCloneError.jpeg (61.31 KiB) Viewed 6644 times

[socratis]

Can you try with a new VM?

1. Create a new VM (Test) with a "Mac OSX (64-bit)" template (which BTW is the wrong one for a 10.6 VM).
2. When the time comes in the wizard to choose the hard drive type, choose "HDD (Parallels Hard Disk)", leave it at the default Dynamic, 20 GB.
3. Select the "Test" VM, File » Export Appliance... » Open Virtualization Format 1.0, Include only NAT network adapter MAC addresses, Write Manifest file = checked.

Do you get an error then?

If you're doing something different, please describe in full detail what the steps are, what the differences are.

[rvmeush]

I performed the test as you described and the export to an ova format worked perfectly. I have attached a screenshot of the info for the test vm.

How do I use the info from this test to correct/diagnose the problem I was having with my other Mac OSX vm?

test-vm-info.jpeg (64.21 KiB) Viewed 6641 times

[socratis]

Now that we've established that the procedure works as intended, there's only one logical conclusion; there's something wrong with the original VM.

I would like to see the recipe of the VM, the ".vbox" file. Right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager, select "Show in Finder". ZIP the selected ".vbox" file and attach it to your response.

[rvmeush]

Thanks again for your help. I have attached the zipped .vbox file.

[socratis]

I though the error was due to this:

<AttachedDevice passthrough="false" type="DVD" hotpluggable="false" port="1" device="0">
  <HostDrive src="MATSHITA DVD-R   UJ-8A8"/>
</AttachedDevice>

You have attached your physical CD/DVD to your virtual one. But, I tried it with mine and I didn't have a problem exporting the VM.

Second difference was that you had USB1 set for the VM, not the default USB2. But again, that didn't cause an export failure.

So, there's only one thing left to check; the "Snow Leopard Clone.hdd". Can you post the output of the command:

• 
  VBoxManage showmediuminfo {572283c5-32e4-4092-9df5-7ce0f4236d2b}

And also tell me how much free space you have on the location where you're trying to save the OVA. According to the picture you attached that would be "/Users/robertmeushaw/Documents/Snow Leopard Clone.ova", i.e. your main hard drive (under normal circumstances).

[rvmeush]

I have attached screenshots of the terminal window information, and also a screenshot regarding the space left on the hard disk.

[quote][RVM-MacBook-Pro:~] robertmeushaw% VBoxManage showmediuminfo {572283c5-32e4-4092-9df5-7ce0f4236d2b}
UUID:           572283c5-32e4-4092-9df5-7ce0f4236d2b
Parent UUID:    base
State:          created
Type:           normal (base)
Location:       /Users/robertmeushaw/VirtualBox VMs/Snow Leopard Clone/Snow Leopard Clone.hdd
Storage format: Parallels
Format variant: dynamic default
Capacity:       20488 MBytes
Size on disk:   13785 MBytes
Encryption:     disabled
In use by YMs:  Snow Leopard Clone (UUID: ba2c122d-9138-4a2b-8bbf-308062734d41)[/quote]

[quote]     Kind: Volume
  Created: May 16, 2019 at 12:50 AM
 Modified: August 14, 2019 at 11:47 AM
  Version: 10.13.6
   Format: APFS
 Capacity: 1 TB
Available: 396.5 GB
     Used: 593,087,770,624 bytes (594.09 GB on disk)

Name & Extension:
    Crucial-1Tb
[/quote]

[socratis]

It's usually easier, more convenient, smaller size, searchable and quotable, if you simply paste the information as text, instead of posting the image. I replaced the JPEG, tough to read images with the actual text.

I don't see anything wrong with the information. I only have one question; is this "Crucial-1Tb" an external hard drive? It seems kind of weird to have named your main hard drive like that.

[rvmeush]

Sorry about the problem with the text.

The Crucial-1TB is an internal SSD for my MacBook Pro. I noticed that under the settings for the Snow Leopard Clone.hdd there was a check box for a Solid-state drive, but I didn't have the box checked. I don't know if that could be an issue.

Since you don't see any errors in the vm info, would you recommend that I set up another instance of the virtualbox vm using a different method or with different setup parameters? In an earlier post you said that using a 64bit machine template was incorrect for a Mac 10.6 system?

Thanks very much for taking the time to help with this problem.

[socratis]

As a first step, can you try and decouple your host's DVD from the VM DVD? VM Settings » Storage » select the VM's DVD » on the right side click on the DVD icon » select "Remove Disk from Virtual Drive".

[rvmeush]

I have done a bit of further experimenting to understand the problem with exporting the Virtualbox vm so that it could be imported by Parallels.

I created a new dummy vm set as a Mac OS 64bit, but i used the default hard disk format of .vdi. I found that Parallels Desktop was able to import and convert the Virtualbox .vbox VM, which Parallels wouldn't do when I formatted the Virtualbox hard disk in .hdd format.

I then found the Virtualbox utility that would let me convert the .hdd file system of my original Virtualbox VM (Snow Leopard).

I forget the exact sequence of operations to import the Snow Leopard VM into Parallels, but when all was said and done it turned out that Parallels would not create a VM from a Snow Leopard installation disk. Parallels would however allow Snow Leopard SERVER to be installed. Unfortunately my installation disk was only for Snow Leopard.

So, that's pretty much the end of the story. So, I will have to use the Virtualbox Snow Leopard vm and give up on Parallels.

Thanks very much for all of you assistance.

[socratis]

Just so that you have the complete picture, an "Export" operation creates a VMDK, no matter what the original medium in the VM, be it VDI, HDD, VMDK, VHD or anything else that VirtualBox supports. The specification of the OVA calls for a VMDK in there...

I'm still puzzled as to why you couldn't export this specific VM, I guess it will remain a mystery...

[rvmeush]

I may not have been totally clear about how I transferred the Virtualbox vm to Parallels.

I did not use the Export function. Parallels apparently supports the direct import and conversion of Virtualbox VMs. In the first case I created a dummy Virtualbox vm using the .hdd format. I selected the .vbox vm file when opening the vm with Parallels. However, this operation failed. The second dummy Virtualbox vm I created used the default .vdi hard disk format. When I tried to open the .vbox vm file with Parallels, the import and conversion succeeded.

I'm not sure why Parallels made a distinction between these tow .vbox files, but that's what I observed.