virtualbox.org

After not being able to get it working on the latest Virtual, ( I'm on Windows 7 64 bit btw )

I've decided to this an alternative way to get VirtualBox to run in the background, it's requires no new users, and doesn't mess with services, and I think it's easier.

The Ups

1. There's no need to mess with windows services, and creating new users, and messing with window commands.

The Downs

1. You cant stop your virtualbox without logging into RDC or Putty (linux), or it will shutdown wrongly! (example; If you end the process or restart your computer, your VM will turn off, BUT it will turn off just like if you pull the plug on your computer, make sure to shut it down before restarting!)

What you need

1. An Windows operating system (32 or 64bit works, I've tested this myself)
2. Virtualbox (works with any version)
3. 1-3 minutes of spare time

Downloads

• http://www.teamcti.com/trayit/trayit.htm
• a .bat file ( look below this post )

Instructions

1. Install Tray It! from the download link above.
2. create a .bat file anywhere you want, (I just made it on the desktop, and then moved it to my start up folder )
3. open up Tray it! and then minimize it for now.
4. open up a command prompt (run -> cmd.exe)
5. startup a example vm (just do what the bat does, which is located below ) ex; cd C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox\, etc. Keep the window open!
6. switch to Tray It! and then you will see something like this:
   
   
7. and just right click your command prompt window in Tray It! and hit minimize to system tray
8. Okay now go to Edit --> Profiles in Tray It! click your active profile and edit it the way you want. heres what mine looks like:
   
   
   
   
   
9. now go back to that .bat you are using, save it, and move it to your Startup folder, and then restart your computer
   
   Now your Vm will run in the background, If you want system tray support you can mess with Tray It! option to show icons in the system tray ( my configurations hide the trayit icon and command prompt window completely, you are done!

Tips:

In the options on Tray it! you can set it to start Tray it! on startup, and other options I didn't include this in the guide because it's common sense.
If your not getting what you want like for example you tell Tray it! to hide the icons in your system tray, restart your computer
Be sure to check Match patterns below with the window title when creating a Tray Icon to the title you desire or all your command prompt windows will minimize to system tray.






startup.bat

Tutorial:
title Ubuntu Change this to what you want read the tips for further explanations.
cd C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox\ Change this to the path to where your VirtualBox is installed
VBoxHeadless.exe -startvm Ubuntu Change Ubuntu to the name of your virtual machine, (eg; If you have Windows XP and you titled it WindowsXP, it would be that

Example (without tips)
title Ubuntu
cd C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox\
VBoxHeadless.exe -startvm Ubuntu

Credits
Me for creating the guide
VirtualBox creators
Tray It! creators


I hope this all helps you out.

I'm surprised no one said anything yet.

Hmm well... what kind of reply do you want?
If vbox is used on the desktop, whats the point?
If used as a server then using autologin/lock and a few scripts will do the same thing, so whats the point here?

If used as a server AND your working on the server console as well you seriously need to think about that, one mistake and everything goes down, a vm server(Host) should not be worked on from the console other then maintenance.

vbox4me2 wrote:Hmm well... what kind of reply do you want?
If vbox is used on the desktop, whats the point?
If used as a server then using autologin/lock and a few scripts will do the same thing, so whats the point here?

If used as a server AND your working on the server console as well you seriously need to think about that, one mistake and everything goes down, a vm server(Host) should not be worked on from the console other then maintenance.

? lol I don't use console I just like making the server work in the background, instead of in front of my face, unless im mistaken.

EDIT: And I use VirtualBox for testing, If I wanted to run something seriously, I'd get a box. (no offense)

I personally like VBoxVmService better for the fact that it can shutdown (savestate) the VM for me automatically when I turn off my host machine. And when I power on the host again, the VM will be restored to running state in seconds and save the time booting the guest OS. This is exactly the way I wanted to use VirtualBox.