virtualbox.org

This is a quick recapitulation of another post, and there is an existing bug report. I simply want to briefly share the solution.

If an appliance is exported with shared folder path definitions that are not compatible between host OS, such as Windows and Linux, an attempt to import the appliance fails:

Failed to import appliance, shared folder path ... is not absolute

To correct the problem:

• Use the tar command (or 7-Zip) to expand the OVA file (the OVA is just a TAR containing the OVF and virtual disk files)
• Use a text editor to open the the OVF file and remove any problematic shared folder entries (the OVF is an XML document)
• Import the appliance using the modified OVF

I think it works with v4.1.6

I used approach as a workaround when VirtualBox encountered a checksum issue when importing an OVA file. Can't remember the exact error message but it included the terms "checksum" and "tar". I'm using VirtualBox 4.2.6

...so, THANKS!