virtualbox.org

After I installed a new SSD and installed my linux distro of choice, I tried to copy over a VDI that has been working flawlessly for many years. It was created long ago. The .xml file says ver. 1.10. Unknown to me at the time, it had a snapshot that I created 2 years ago attached to it. So the base VDI is missing some programs and settings (itunes refuses to run). So I rebooted over to the old install and I've tried to delete the snapshot so that it would be incorporated with the current state. But each time I try it reports that it can't because it has a couple of child files attached.

So I've read a few posts here and have tried to clone the vdi using CloneVDI. It will clone the base just fine but someone said that you need to clone the snapshot and it will incorporate the base, but CloneVDI reports it can't because it is a differencing disk.

So do I need to just delete everything and start over or is there a way to recover this old VDI?

MCP

If the base is all you need I would thing you could simply install the *.vdi file instead of creating a new hdd when creating a new guest. It would mean that all is lost on the snapshot though. mpack would be the one to see if it can be resurrected though. If the snapshot is important I would wait for him to reply.

Put the base and the snapshot into a single folder, select the snapshot as the source for cloning. If you still get the message then you have the wrong two files. Also make sure you are running the latest version of CloneVDI (v2.05) since the method of finding media changed around then.

Thanks for that information. So far I haven't been able to get it to clone. I must be having difficulty getting the right images paired. I'll keep trying. One question. I am using CloneVDI in wine, will that make a difference?

MCP

Update: I finally got it to work. I don't know what caused the problem in the first place. But I do know I'm not going to use snapshots anymore. At least on a machine I absolutely need.

Thanks for all your help.

MCP

I'm glad you have got things going: and I'm also glad that you seem to have learned the lesson about snapshots that most of us do learn at your stage. But will they listen? No!