virtualbox.org

Hi VirtualBox,

I have been going crazy the last couple of days - my main drive on my Mac Pro crashed and trying to get my data back.
My Windows XP virtual drive was stored on a 2nd drive because of limited disk space.
I had a back up of my drive located on my Time MAchine back up drive.

However, to get my Mac to boot, I had to use my 2nd drive (containing my Virtual Windows XP drive) as my main drive (with the Mac OS).

So, now I am trying to get VirtualBox to use the backup copy of my VDI (virtual Windows XP) located on my Time Machine Backup Drive.

I kept getting errors indicating it could not use the drive because there was a duplicate drive located already.

So, I deleted all instances of the previous drive and finally removed the .XML files however still no luck.

So, I have the VDI drive and it is 62GB so I know it is alive...Just how do I get VirtualBox to point to it and actually use it so I can get back to work...??

What is making this so hard...?

Please advise.

Thanks,

Lou

Also, I read articles indicating I have to create a 62GB NEW drive and then attach this 62GB VDI file to it...does that make sense...?

The problem is I do not have the disk space to create another 62GB file...

How do you get VirtualBox to simply use my VDI file located on my 3rd hard drive (the Time Machine drive...which is just another hard drive - it's not complicated or limiting)

I tried to use VBoxManage to clone the drive but got VBOX_E_FILE_ERROR at line 210. (So, I tried to make the same path and drive name as in the old system and clone it to my 3rd hard drive but got this error...

Any help at this point is appreciated - if you talk to me like I am 10 years old that would help - assume I know nothing Because at this point all the commands seem complex and abstract...

Thanks,

Lou

I found an old version of my VirtualBox.xml file and wondering if anyone can tell what my problems are currently and why I am unable to have VirtualBox recognize and open my 62GB {a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi file (has all my data).

I do not know if I had a Snapshot created years ago - I can not find it on my computer.

My "Macintosh HD (Old)" drive is completely gone at this point and the .xml file below does reference it.

I was trying to edit the file and change it to the location of my 62GB {a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi file which I have copied temporarily (until I get a new drive from Seagate under warranty and was only 3 years old) to /Volumes/Music/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)

However, it seems the VDI file is attached to "Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)" however can not find the HardDisks entry to Windows XP.vdi which appears lost in time...yikes...

Is there a way to get this to work knowing I do have a 62GB .VDI file...? I would think EVERYTHING I need is in there...??

"YIKES...I AM REALLY SCARED...!! HOLD ME...!!" Homer Simpson to Chief Wiggam

OLD VERSION OF VIRTUALBOX.XML BEFORE HARD DRIVE CRASHED (Was working)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.
** If you make changes to this file while any VirtualBox related application
** is running, your changes will be overwritten later, without taking effect.
** Use VBoxManage or the VirtualBox Manager GUI to make changes.
-->
<VirtualBox xmlns="http://www.innotek.de/VirtualBox-settings" version="1.7-macosx">
<Global>
<ExtraData>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/DetailsPageBoxes" value="general,system,preview,display,storage,audio,network,usb,sharedFolders,description"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/Input/AutoCapture" value="true"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/Input/HostKey" value="55"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastVMSelected" value="66442ad9-3fbe-406e-85fa-b44364912086"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastWindowPosition" value="689,254,770,550"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastWindowPostion" value="1110,569,805,549"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/MaxGuestResolution" value="auto"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/RealtimeDockIconUpdateEnabled" value="false"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/SUNOnlineData" value="triesLeft=0"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/SelectorVMPositions" value="66442ad9-3fbe-406e-85fa-b44364912086"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/SplitterSizes" value="301,468"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/SuppressMessages" value=",confirmInputCapture,confirmGoingScale,remindAboutAutoCapture,remindAboutMouseIntegrationOn,remindAboutMouseIntegrationOff,confirmGoingSeamless"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/TrayIcon/Enabled" value="false"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/UpdateCheckCount" value="468"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/UpdateDate" value="1 d, 2012-09-14, stable, 4.1.22"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="HostOnly/vboxnet0/IPAddress" value="192.168.56.1"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="HostOnly/vboxnet0/IPNetMask" value="255.255.255.0"/>
</ExtraData>
<MachineRegistry>
<MachineEntry uuid="{66442ad9-3fbe-406e-85fa-b44364912086}" src="Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009).xml"/>
</MachineRegistry>
<MediaRegistry>
<HardDisks>
<HardDisk uuid="{f71c27e7-af9f-454f-a70e-c72f7462168b}" location="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/Windows XP.vdi" format="VDI" type="Normal">
<HardDisk uuid="{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}" location="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP/Snapshots/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi" format="VDI"/>
</HardDisk>
</HardDisks>
<DVDImages>
<Image uuid="{447f53a2-3ea1-43a4-8bc7-18cf0601422b}" location="/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso"/>
</DVDImages>
<FloppyImages/>
</MediaRegistry>
<NetserviceRegistry>
<DHCPServers>
<DHCPServer networkName="HostInterfaceNetworking-vboxnet0" IPAddress="192.168.56.100" networkMask="255.255.255.0" lowerIP="192.168.56.101" upperIP="192.168.56.254" enabled="1"/>
<DHCPServer networkName="HostInterfaceNetworking-vboxnet1" IPAddress="0.0.0.0" networkMask="0.0.0.0" lowerIP="0.0.0.0" upperIP="0.0.0.0" enabled="0"/>
</DHCPServers>
</NetserviceRegistry>
<SystemProperties defaultMachineFolder="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines" defaultHardDiskFormat="VDI" VRDEAuthLibrary="VRDPAuth" webServiceAuthLibrary="VRDPAuth" LogHistoryCount="3"/>
<USBDeviceFilters/>
</Global>
</VirtualBox>

So, I edited the VirtualBox.XML file and removed references to the <HardDisks> since I can not find these on my drive and I got the following message when starting VB:

Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.
Result Code:
VBOX_E_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND (0x80BB0001)
Component:
VirtualBox
Interface:
IVirtualBox {c28be65f-1a8f-43b4-81f1-eb60cb516e66}


Unsure what else to try at this point...

NOTE: Now I tried to create a new VM and selected an existing hard disk and pointed it to my 62GB VDI file and got the following error message:

Failed to open the hard disk /Volumes/Music/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi.
Parent medium with UUID {f71c27e7-af9f-454f-a70e-c72f7462168b} of the medium '/Volumes/Music/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi' is not found in the media registry ('/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml').

I am not sure what the Parent Medium is or how I get around this...

Lou

OK - just created a NEW VM and tried to attach my 62GB VDI file and still no luck with this error:

Failed to open the hard disk /Volumes/Music/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi.
Parent medium with UUID {f71c27e7-af9f-454f-a70e-c72f7462168b} of the medium '/Volumes/Music/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi' is not found in the media registry ('/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml').


Any advice here...? Hoping to get some excellent advice so I can get back to work and get my data back - really nervous I will be losing years of data...and obviously would be super disappointed that I can not recover from a hard drive crash when I had this VDI file backed up...

Lou

You need to recover an intact base VDI "Windows XP.vdi" that you have not messed with, copy that to a working folder. If the snapshot has existed a long time then you should have no problem finding a backup copy.

You also need to recover a copy of all snapshot files, i.e. files with names like "{1234.abcd.etc}.vdi". If there is only one great - but check carefully, because all your recent data is going to be in the current state file.

Delete the VirtualBox.xml, then install VirtualBox v4.x on a machine which it can access usable, ordinary hard drives. No faulty drives, no virtual backup drives.

Create a new VM - details don't matter as this VM is a dummy. Mount the base VDI in this VM. Then mount each snapshot IN INCREASING DATE ORDER. Again, if there's only one then this should be easy. Now go to the File | Virtual Media Manager menu item, find the most recent snapshot (not the base VDI) in its list of hard disks, and "Copy" it.

The above steps should make a merged clone of the old VM disk. Build a new VM around the clone. Once that is working you can delete the dummy VM.


I suggest you read and read again the instructions above before you do anything.

The easiest way to determine if there were any snapshots would be to find the file named "Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009).xml" and see what it's contents say. If there are any lines that start with "Snapshot uuid=" then it had snapshots and will be much harder to get working than if there are none. In any case that xml file will also contain all the settings for your VM. That and the the VirtualBox.xml file along with your "Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009).vdi" file (as long as there are no snapshots) would be enough to re-create your guest. This assumes that the vdi file is not corrupted.

If there are snapshots then you'd need to also find them. The "Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009).xml" would list the uuids for them so you could do a search of your backups for them.

You'll want to work with COPIES of these files so if you hose anything you can start over.

I found the Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009).xml file and it does not have a uuid for Snapshots (as far as I can tell doing a Search).

I do not have a Windows XP.VDI file anywhere - it's possible it was on my Time Machine backup however when I lost the drive it seems to have disappeared from my backups as a drive to search on so unsure if it was there. So, is there a way to build a fake Windows XP.VDI so that I can get all my years of data back out of that 62GB VDI file that I have...? Or is that just one large file with not a lot of substance in it...? YIKES!!!

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.
** If you make changes to this file while any VirtualBox related application
** is running, your changes will be overwritten later, without taking effect.
** Use VBoxManage or the VirtualBox Manager GUI to make changes.
-->
<VirtualBox xmlns="http://www.innotek.de/VirtualBox-settings" version="1.8-macosx">
<Machine uuid="{66442ad9-3fbe-406e-85fa-b44364912086}" name="Windows XP (Aug 29, 2009)" OSType="WindowsXP" snapshotFolder="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP/Snapshots" lastStateChange="2012-10-01T06:16:36Z">
<ExtraData>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/InfoDlgState" value="400,450,normal"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastCloseAction" value="shutdown"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastGuestSizeHint" value="1920,1178"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastNormalWindowPosition" value="4,50,960,502,max"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastScaleWindowPosition" value="14,44,640,480,max"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastWindowPostion" value="0,0,0,0,max"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/MiniToolBarAlignment" value="bottom"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/SaveMountedAtRuntime" value="yes"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/Seamless" value="on"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/ShowMiniToolBar" value="yes"/>
<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/VirtualScreenToHostScreen0" value="0"/>
</ExtraData>
<Hardware version="2">
<CPU count="1">
<HardwareVirtEx enabled="true"/>
<HardwareVirtExNestedPaging enabled="false"/>
<HardwareVirtExVPID enabled="false"/>
<PAE enabled="false"/>
<HardwareVirtExLargePages enabled="false"/>
</CPU>
<Memory RAMSize="2556"/>
<Boot>
<Order position="1" device="HardDisk"/>
<Order position="2" device="DVD"/>
<Order position="3" device="None"/>
<Order position="4" device="None"/>
</Boot>
<Display VRAMSize="32" monitorCount="1" accelerate3D="true" accelerate2DVideo="true"/>
<RemoteDisplay enabled="false" port="3389" authType="Null" authTimeout="5000"/>
<BIOS>
<ACPI enabled="true"/>
<IOAPIC enabled="false"/>
<Logo fadeIn="true" fadeOut="true" displayTime="0"/>
<BootMenu mode="MessageAndMenu"/>
<TimeOffset value="0"/>
<PXEDebug enabled="false"/>
</BIOS>
<DVDDrive passthrough="false"/>
<FloppyDrive enabled="true"/>
<USBController enabled="true" enabledEhci="false">
<DeviceFilter name="Research In Motion RIM Composite Device [0211]" active="true" vendorId="0fca" productId="8004" revision="0211" manufacturer="Research In Motion" product="RIM Composite Device" serialNumber="1304560D60E39E21EB26D3009A5DEA8A54088BD5" remote="0"/>
</USBController>
<Network>
<Adapter slot="0" enabled="true" MACAddress="080027846D79" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973">
<NAT/>
</Adapter>
<Adapter slot="1" enabled="false" MACAddress="0800272EB464" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="2" enabled="false" MACAddress="080027F7281A" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="3" enabled="false" MACAddress="080027449F65" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="4" enabled="false" MACAddress="08002753552C" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="5" enabled="false" MACAddress="0800276D5556" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="6" enabled="false" MACAddress="0800279CFDF0" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
<Adapter slot="7" enabled="false" MACAddress="0800279FAC12" cable="true" speed="0" type="Am79C973"/>
</Network>
<UART>
<Port slot="0" enabled="false" IOBase="0x3f8" IRQ="4" hostMode="Disconnected"/>
<Port slot="1" enabled="false" IOBase="0x3f8" IRQ="4" hostMode="Disconnected"/>
</UART>
<LPT>
<Port slot="0" enabled="false" IOBase="0x378" IRQ="4"/>
<Port slot="1" enabled="false" IOBase="0x378" IRQ="4"/>
</LPT>
<AudioAdapter controller="AC97" driver="CoreAudio" enabled="true"/>
<SharedFolders>
<SharedFolder name="Network" hostPath="/Network" writable="false" autoMount="true"/>
</SharedFolders>
<Clipboard mode="Bidirectional"/>
<Guest memoryBalloonSize="0"/>
<GuestProperties>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostGuest/SysprepVBoxRC" value="-102" timestamp="1276615732449441000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/GUI/LanguageID" value="en_US" timestamp="1335329514892635000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/HostVerLastChecked" value="4.1.23" timestamp="1348710020100366000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/LoggedInUsersList" value="" timestamp="1348899143837657000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/1/Status" value="" timestamp="1348899144759801000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/1/V4/Broadcast" value="" timestamp="1348899144760565000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/1/V4/Netmask" value="" timestamp="1348899144779770000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/1/MAC" value="" timestamp="1348899144780720000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/1/V4/IP" value="" timestamp="1348899144788179000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Product" value="Windows XP Home" timestamp="1348899206406519000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Release" value="5.1.2600" timestamp="1348899206408217000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/Version" value="" timestamp="1348899206408988000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/ServicePack" value="3" timestamp="1348899206409736000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Version" value="4.0.12" timestamp="1348899206410541000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VersionExt" value="4.0.12" timestamp="1348899206411360000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Revision" value="72916" timestamp="1348899206412359000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/InstallDir" value="C:/Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox Guest Additions" timestamp="1348899206413268000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxControl.exe" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206416186000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxHook.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206423930000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxDisp.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206425481000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMRXNP.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206428187000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxService.exe" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206429063000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxTray.exe" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206432424000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxGINA.dll" value="3.0.12r54655" timestamp="1348899206435794000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxCredProv.dll" value="-" timestamp="1348899206458412000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLarrayspu.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206460993000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLcrutil.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206464046000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLerrorspu.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206467168000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLpackspu.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206471557000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLpassthroughspu.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206475684000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGLfeedbackspu.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206487656000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxOGL.dll" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206495160000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxGuest.sys" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206503992000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxMouse.sys" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206505236000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxSF.sys" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206507582000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/Components/VBoxVideo.sys" value="4.0.12r72916" timestamp="1348899206508829000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/LoggedInUsers" value="0" timestamp="1348899206512049000" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/OS/NoLoggedInUsers" value="true" timestamp="1348899206512839000" flags="TRANSIENT, TRANSRESET"/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/IP" value="10.0.2.15" timestamp="1348899216539710000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Broadcast" value="255.255.255.255" timestamp="1348899216542669000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/V4/Netmask" value="255.255.255.0" timestamp="1348899216543545000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/Status" value="Up" timestamp="1348899216546951000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/0/MAC" value="080027846D79" timestamp="1348899216547715000" flags=""/>
<GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/GuestInfo/Net/Count" value="1" timestamp="1348899276582526000" flags=""/>
</GuestProperties>
</Hardware>
<StorageControllers>
<StorageController name="IDE Controller" type="PIIX4" PortCount="2">
<AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" port="0" device="0">
<Image uuid="{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}"/>
</AttachedDevice>
</StorageController>
</StorageControllers>
</Machine>
</VirtualBox>

No, you cannot fake your way around missing data. A snapshot is essentially a patch script applied to the base VDI. No base VDI means any result would be garbage.

The base VDI would have been frozen since the first snapshot was taken, which in an earlier message you say was a long time ago (agreed, since it seems to be a VBox v3 VM). Are you saying that in all that time you have never copied the VM to a reliable backup medium?

Hi mpack,

So, are you saying from my .XML file that there is indeed a snapshot taken...?

The VDI file I do have is updated every minute of the day and is 62GB right now - what is in there that gets updated everyday...? Is it the difference between a snapshot taken in 2009 and now...? I don't remember taking a Snapshot however if the XML file says I did then I suppose I did.

I have my data from prior to 2009 and would love to get everything back between then and now and assuming it is in the VDI file that gets updated each day...?

Apparently the file you need me to find was not backed up - I have 4 drives on my Mac Pro and one drive was not backed up because the 62GB file would have overflowed my 1 TB time machine drive in days so I manually backed up my 62GB VDI file because I noticed it changed all the time so figured that was my drive.

I did not realize there was another file linked to it AND did not realize it was located on the drive that does not get backed up - I thought any other necessary files would be stored on the same drive as my VirtualBox application (which does get backed up daily).

If you are saying I am totally screwed...well, this is hard to take...I will move on and try to be positive but man there was a lot of key data there that I rely on daily...this is really tough to take...I will choose to be positive...

If there are ANY tools available to allow me to dig in to the 62GB VDI file that changes daily PLEASE help me dig...please - I'll do the digging...just need tools...

Lou

Sorry, the developers have made changes to the xml files over time and I was basing my last comment on what I see when I look at the xml files for my VM. Having gone through yours now it looks like the pertinent parts are in the VirtualBox.xml file, namely this:

<HardDisk uuid="{f71c27e7-af9f-454f-a70e-c72f7462168b}" location="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/Windows XP.vdi" format="VDI" type="Normal">
<HardDisk uuid="{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}" location="/Volumes/Macintosh HD (Old)/Users/Lou/Library/VirtualBox/Machines/Windows XP/Snapshots/{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi" format="VDI"/>

The first line indicates the original vdi that was created, "Windows XP.vdi", and the second line is the snapshot "{a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi". In order to recover you'd need both files.

Hi rpmurray,

Thanks very much for your reply.

So, I have the 62GB {a17de642-724d-4cc2-9725-697bc19d34f3}.vdi which updates daily and apparently my snapshot based on the XML file.

And there are no tools at all that will allow me to dig in to this file to get any of my data...?? Really...??

Lou

As I mentioned above, the snapshot file is essentially a patchlist, making it useless without the base VDI. Recovery tools exist (I've written the best of them IMHO!) which can get something back after many kinds of damage - but there's nothing you can do if the base VDI is gone, i.e. in your case the "Windows XP.vdi" file.

Most experienced users avoid snapshots because of the inherent fragility of the data when stored that way. It's a house of cards, pull a card out from the base and the whole lot comes tumbling down. And, frankly, it seems that a better backup strategy was needed.

Hi mpack,

OK - thanks for your frank reply.

I wish I never made a Snapshot years ago when I first learned about VirtualBox - I was confused by the documentation and what the best practice was - I chose the wrong practice.

It hurts bad right now...really bad...and I will just have to move on...

Thanks for your efforts.

Lou