VB Host, Guest and Defrag

[mpack]

? Order of what? Your question is not relevant to cloning.

You were told above how to clone a VM properly. Copying the VM folder isn't it.

[nkaufman]

Simply delete yes, do NOT "restore snapshot" (exact wording use), but only "delete snapshot" (again, exact wording, the icon is a computer with a red cross).

Any particular order I should go with - SS-1 then SS-2 OR should it be first SS-3 then SS-2...?

What I've done is copied my VM file folder to another folder. I'll then try and delete snapshots.

if there is any issue, can i just copy the VM folder that I had copied and move it to the original folder. Will that work seamlessly or will i need to do something else to get the VM working?

Just making sure I take all precautions before doing the deletes nkaufman

[noteirak]

No order is needed if you want to go down this road. AFAIK yes you can just copy the VM folder back, but I am not sure Virtualbox will be quiet about it, especially if you delete snapshots.

[Perryg]

You know as fragile as snapshots are I would delete them in the reverse order of their creation just to be safe. Latest first.

This still could go terribly wrong though.

A safer way would be to use CloneVDI Tool and close the latest snapshot, but that's just me.

[nkaufman]

? Order of what? Your question is not relevant to cloning.

You were told above how to clone a VM properly. Copying the VM folder isn't it.

Sorry for the confusion. That question was not meant for you. Copied the wrong quote. Question was meant for "delete snapshot" method.

[nkaufman]

No order is needed if you want to go down this road. AFAIK yes you can just copy the VM folder back, but I am not sure Virtualbox will be quiet about it, especially if you delete snapshots.

I was wondering if things go wrong then can I delete the whole VB VM file folder and copy over the backup that I made before deleting snapshots. Will that work or will VB scream and shout. I copied the folders as is.

[nkaufman]

You know as fragile as snapshots are I would delete them in the reverse order of their creation just to be safe. Latest first.

This still could go terribly wrong though.

A safer way would be to use CloneVDI Tool and close the latest snapshot, but that's just me.

I right now have 3 possible ways to go about merging my snapshots:
Delete snapshots - suggested by noteirak
Clone VDI using VB GUI - suggested by ChipMcK AND
Clone VDI Tool that you suggested.

Now I have to figure out which one would work best, easily and without me losing my data and i'll need to pick 2 out of 3.

[Perryg]

The trick is without loosing data.
That is why I said anything at all, otherwise I would have kept my virtual mouth shut.

Make one mistake, or if one of the deletes gets corrupt while merging and you are back to the beginning, or worse.

[nkaufman]

The trick is without loosing data.
That is why I said anything at all, otherwise I would have kept my virtual mouth shut.

Make one mistake, or if one of the deletes gets corrupt while merging and you are back to the beginning, or worse.

Believe me, I am thankful to everyone for their opinion because I know that each and everyone here is trying to help. Paths may differ but the goal is the same.

That is why before doing anything I wanted to make sure that I've taken a step back and looked at the option, evaluated it and then proceed.

Hence was wondering if anything goes wrong, is it possible for me to replace my entire folder with the backup that I have made or is there something that would cause VB to complain. I can breathe easy if I get an answer to this question because then I have a backup at least in case anything goes wrong.

[noteirak]

is it possible for me to replace my entire folder with the backup that I have made or is there something that would cause VB to complain.

Yes it is possible. If Virtualbox complains, it would only be about disks already registered, but you can always remove stale entries manually. So data wise you'll be safe.

[nkaufman]

Yes it is possible. If Virtualbox complains, it would only be about disks already registered, but you can always remove stale entries manually. So data wise you'll be safe.

Thanks for your response.

So, from the following 3 possible options:
Delete snapshots - suggested by you
Clone VDI using VB GUI - suggested by ChipMcK AND
Clone VDI Tool - suggested by PerryG

I can perhaps start with your method because cloning (either of the 2nd or 3rd option) would entail creating a brand new VM and then attaching that etc. Because if there is an issue with your method, I can always copy over the backup that I have and if needed remove stale entries manually.

Sorry ChipMcK and PerryG - I mean no offence to you folks. I am really thankful for your sincere advice to keep me on track.

[mpack]

Clone the VM by right clicking in the UI. Do that right now. When asked, tell it that you want to clone the current state only, and not to reset the Mac address.

That gives you a new, cloned VM which has no snapshots. You can then fiddle with the snapshot version to your hearts content, in relative safety.

Important note: As far as I can see you have not said in this thread what the guest is. If this is the Win7 32bit guest that is referred to in other threads then you should be aware that a change in VM-ID is enough to trigger reactivation in a Win7 guest. That might be no problem, provided Microsoft is ok with the change and you don't want to go back to the original VM. Or, you can avoid running the clone VM until you need to, e.g. if deleting snapshots fails.

[nkaufman]

You know as fragile as snapshots are I would delete them in the reverse order of their creation just to be safe. Latest first.

This still could go terribly wrong though.

A safer way would be to use CloneVDI Tool and close the latest snapshot, but that's just me.

Sorry for the delay in my response. Was away for a while.

A quick question - Wouldn't it be prudent to start deleting snapshots from earliest to latest so that later states can override changes made in earlier states or am I completely off the mark here?

Thanks,

[nkaufman]

Clone the VM by right clicking in the UI. Do that right now. When asked, tell it that you want to clone the current state only, and not to reset the Mac address.

That gives you a new, cloned VM which has no snapshots. You can then fiddle with the snapshot version to your hearts content, in relative safety.

Important note: As far as I can see you have not said in this thread what the guest is. If this is the Win7 32bit guest that is referred to in other threads then you should be aware that a change in VM-ID is enough to trigger reactivation in a Win7 guest. That might be no problem, provided Microsoft is ok with the change and you don't want to go back to the original VM. Or, you can avoid running the clone VM until you need to, e.g. if deleting snapshots fails.

I apologize for this oversight. Yes, you are correct. This is a Win-7 32-bit guest.

So, in case of cloning, I'll have to re-activate Win-7 with Microsoft. Can I do online or do I have to call MS and give them my key over the phone?

Since I already have made a copy of the VM file folder to another folder and another post suggested that I can (if I mess up current VM with snapshots) replace all the files with my backup files and might need to manually tweak a couple of settings - which is preferable or better? This or clone method?

Thank you for your insights.