virtualbox.org

I installed Virtualbox on mac and installed ubuntu as OS.

I seem to keep losing all the files I create and all changes I do to ubuntu. I created some files, installed some packages. All gone.

I used "save the machine state" option. Next time it came up fine. Then I clicked some keys by mistake and VM shutdown all was lost.

This is my first time. I want fully persistent Virtual Box guest os just like my host os. I do not want to lose data and all the work I did.

How do I do it?

zweb wrote:This is my first time. I want fully persistent Virtual Box guest os just like my host os. I do not want to lose data and all the work I did.

That's exactly how VirtualBox usually operates - you'd really have to jump through (at least some) hoops to have it revert back to the starting state when you shut down a machine.

Could you perhaps post the last log and the configuration file for your VM? That way we should be able to tell whether it's a configuration problem that causes this...

np: Pantha Du Prince - The Splendour (Black Noise)

I am using standard wizard install. I use "send shutdown signal" to shutdown. I am on Mac OSX host and I have tried Ubuntu and Red hat as guests but no luck yet.

I create a text file on desktop, do shutdown, start VM again and the text file is not there.

I think my issue was because 1) I was using latest version of Ubuntu 11.04 which is not supported.
2) I had not installed guest additions.

I installed Ubuntu 10.04 and installed guest additions and now it is working fine.

I am having the same problem with Fedora 15. The only ways I can return to a state where my work is saved is to take a snapshot OR exit using the saved state. If I select poweroff everything is lost. The system is exactly like a re-install. Its more serious when Fedora deadlocks (which is does often such as on a 'yum upgrade') as then poweroff is one's only option out. The 'yum upgrade' deadlock (always deadlocks after X downloaded installations have been installed and since X << 252 which is the needed number of installations, its not happening any time soon) has prevented me from installing the guest additions (which is what I really want to do JUST to exchange data between Fedora and my Windows 7 host). Otherwise I can put up with the inconvenience of making snapshots on closing.

I have tried several combinations of boot orders and other measures to get around this difficulty. I certainly didn't have to jump through hoops!

I found the answer to my problem and it was a Linux ignorance thing. Being spoiled by years on Windows, when you install Linux you have to manually start the actual install with 'livinst'. Then the CD image gets installed to the virtual hard disk. After that, everything behaves as normal (of course, boot up from the hard disk and not the CD).