Moved a virtual machine and its snapshot, now it won't start

[quiettime]

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A differencing image of snapshot {281133f2-0718-4ce6-b21b-ab9c6fadcad9} could not be found. Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {057d61d7-ded1-4c65-b9da-05c0e8d44350}.
Result Code: 
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component: 
SnapshotMachine
Interface: 
IMachine {22781af3-1c96-4126-9edf-67a020e0e858}

Any idea how to resolve this? Here are the relevant parts of the xml file:

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<Machine uuid="{e41030e4-da42-4d44-b8c3-e00772cccc13}" name="XP VirtualBox" OSType="WindowsXP" currentSnapshot="{281133f2-0718-4ce6-b21b-ab9c6fadcad9}" snapshotFolder="C:/Virtual Machines (VirtualBox)/XP VirtualBox/snapshots" lastStateChange="2013-01-18T03:10:07Z">

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<Snapshot uuid="{281133f2-0718-4ce6-b21b-ab9c6fadcad9}" name="Snapshot 1" timeStamp="2013-01-05T22:48:59Z" stateFile="C:/Virtual Machines (VirtualBox)/XP VirtualBox/snapshots/2013-01-05T22-48-59-182184600Z.sav">

I moved the VM directory and the snapshot directory. I updated the XML to reflect the new snapshot directory. The file exists so what's happening? Thanks

[noteirak]

I updated the XML to reflect the new snapshot directory

Direct edition of any XML or VBOX files are not supported, and precisly for this reason - you can just break it all.

Could you give us a bit more information about your system and your virtualbox installation and version?
From which system/version to which system/version?

Also be aware that 3.x VM format are not compatible with 4.x format, some converting is required.

[mpack]

We could probably to and fro about this a lot, but probably the simplest solution is: put the base VDI plus all snapshot VDIs (all files from the Snapshots subfolder) into a single folder, then clone the latest snapshot vdi (do NOT clone the base vdi) using the CloneVDI tool. Create a new VM around the cloned VDI (which is now a stand alone merge of the old vdis), trying to get the VM recipe as close as possible to the old one. Avoid snapshots in future.

[quiettime]

Create a new VM around the cloned VDI (which is now a stand alone merge of the old vdis), trying to get the VM recipe as close as possible to the old one. Avoid snapshots in future.

Thanks so much for creating that tool and releasing it. I used it to make a clone of the latest snapshot and then I created a new virtual machine and assigned the hard disk to that virtual machine. Works fine so far. I don't want to avoid snapshots in the future though I love them. Any idea why I had the problem I reported? Thanks again.

My host is Windows 7 x64 and I'm using VirtualBox 4.2.6 r82870. That version is what I used to create the VM that went bad. No other change or upgrade in VirtualBox from the time I created it to the time I moved it.

[mpack]

Any idea why I had the problem I reported?

You ran into problems because you used snapshots, and - to be brutally blunt - don't have the expertise to move them around safely. But it doesn't really matter what the exact cause was - everyone who uses snapshots will hit some problem eventually, that's simply the nature of the beast. The structure is fragile, too easily damaged, and the damage is always serious. Had CloneVDI not existed your data would be gone now. But, if you still think the risk is worth it then that's your choice.

[quiettime]

Any idea why I had the problem I reported?

You ran into problems because you used snapshots, and - to be brutally blunt - don't have the expertise to move them around safely. But it doesn't really matter what the exact cause was - everyone who uses snapshots will hit some problem eventually, that's simply the nature of the beast. The structure is fragile, too easily damaged, and the damage is always serious. Had CloneVDI not existed your data would be gone now. But, if you still think the risk is worth it then that's your choice.

I appreciate your honesty. Thanks again