virtualbox.org

I am a neatness freak. I would like to change the name of the virtual hard drive for my Windows 8 VM. Can I just go to the .vdi file and change the name, then attach that "new" HD to the Windows 8 machine?

Thanks for any advice, Jim

No, there is some steps before actually renaming

• 1.Menu Bar item File --> Virtual Media Manager
  2. From the Hard drives list, select the virtual hd file
  3. Use the Release icon
  4. the file should still be highlighted; Use the Remove icon and select Keep
  5. Close the Virtual Media Manage

Now go and rename the file. And finally under the Storage section for the VM, add the newly renamed file under its controller.

Don't attempt that if your VM uses snapshots. If you have snapshots then the only viable way IMHO is to shut down everything (all VMs + GUI), edit the filename in the .vbox file, then rename the actual file to match. Requires basic knowledge of xml syntax.

I keep forgetting about snapshots - I do not use them.
Definitely a thorn/oops when trying to do maintenance, from my perspective.

+1

OK guys thanks. I edited the .vbox file, changed the .vdi file name and everything works normally. Now my neat freak is satisfied.

Many thanks, Jim