Seemingly missing snapshot

[Velvis]

Overnight my XP vm on Windows 10 wont boot.
I get an error VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND for one of the snapshot vhds.
However the filename for that vhd doesnt seem to exist. I have checked carbonite as well as OneDrive and both only have copies of the snapshots that exist on the computer.

There is a snapshot that looks like it should be used but isnt, but it has a different filename than what Virtual Box is looking for.

Any reason why Virtual Box is looking for a .vhd that I seem to never have had? (I cant find a file named that anywhere.

Thanks!

[mpack]

This usually means that you were referencing files outside the VM folder and a drive letter or folder name got changed.

[Velvis]

Shouldn't I be able to find the snapshot somewhere on the host computer based on the name of the file the Virtual Box is looking for?

I can't find that file on the PC or Carbonite or OneDrive backups.

[scottgus1]

We'll need to see what the error message says, and please zip & post the VM's .vbox and .vbox-prev files.

Right-click the VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/File Manager. Zip the VM's .vbox file and the .vbox-prev file, and post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab. (Configure your host OS to show all extensions if the folder that opens does not show a .vbox file.)

[Velvis]

The error message: (i also attached the vbox files
Failed to start the virtual machine Windows XP Mode Clone.
Could not open the medium 'C:\Users\mattd\OneDrive\Desktop\Windows XP Mode Clone\Snapshots/{7e0f2558-6fd7-404b-bcd6-7951e0ae5d22}.vhd'.
VD: error VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND opening image file 'C:\Users\mattd\OneDrive\Desktop\Windows XP Mode Clone\Snapshots/{7e0f2558-6fd7-404b-bcd6-7951e0ae5d22}.vhd' (VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND).
Result Code:
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component:
MediumWrap
Interface:
IMedium {ad47ad09-787b-44ab-b343-a082a3f2dfb1}

[mpack]

That error message seems to be quiet explicit about what file is expected where, it should be easy for you to go look. I'm afraid that if you or OneDrive has deleted an important file then I can't think of anything we can do to help. What I suspect happened here is that files from the VM folder have been copied from one drive to another (e.g. from a local desktop to OneDrive), but files from the Snapshots subfolder were omitted.

OneDrive is pretty nasty. I'm willing to use it as a fancy USB stick, but no way I'd use it for live/open files as you seem to have done - especially when using the already damage-prone VHD format. You're putting a lot of faith in having fast glitch free Internet there.

[scottgus1]

Thanks for the uploads. From the .vbox file, ~14th line down, in the <Media Registry>:

<HardDisk uuid="{7e0f2558-6fd7-404b-bcd6-7951e0ae5d22}" location="Snapshots/{7e0f2558-6fd7-404b-bcd6-7951e0ae5d22}.vhd" format="VHD">

This missing file does appear to be an expected part of the VM.

There is a snapshot that looks like it should be used but isnt

A disk file chain can depend on a UUID-named child disk without necessarily having been called out as part of a snapshot. As a guess, this may have happened during the clone, based on the VM's name. You can check this by running this command, based on the name of the disk above the missing disk:

vboxmanage showmediuminfo "C:\Users\mattd\OneDrive\Desktop\Windows XP Mode Clone\Snapshots\{b9db8628-d6be-404a-be14-fecc54f31639}.vhd"

And check the 'child' UUID. It is probably the 7e0f2558-6fd7-404b-bcd6-7951e0ae5d22}.vhd.

Have you checked the OneDrive Recycle Bin? Otherwise, this VM is toast in its present state, if you cannot find the file.

You can try Mpack's CloneVDI to make a .vdi disk clone of the latest snapshot disk file CloneVDI doesn't error on, then build a new VM with the same settings as the existing VM.

Don't trust online automatic backup apps on the host OS to back up a live VM. Shut down the VM first and take a manual copy of the VM folder to backup media. Compatible 3rd-party live backup apps can safely run inside the VM OS, though, to protect the VM's data or to make an OS image saved out to a network shared folder.

And don't rely on snapshotted VMs for important data. Back up the data and the VM to reliable restorable media.