[Solved] How to create a new snapshot "branch" in VirtualBox

[gianluigi.zanettini]

Hi guys,
I've a Windows VM that went through all the Win10 Insiders builds, up until RTM and then to 201511. I took a snapshot after each new build, so the situation is a bit messy:



So: I would like to create a new snapshot "branch" now and the start again to go "deep" from here. How can I do that?

Thanks!

[mpack]

In direct answer to your question: pick a past snapshot and revert to it. That creates a new branch from that snapshot.

However...

Why not just destroy the VM now and save a lot of time? while also reducing the amount of data loss? Catastrophic data loss is after all is the inevitable result of so many snapshots, as you can easily tell if you Google for "snapshot site:forums.virtualbox.org".

I hope you weren't thinking of snapshots as some kind of backup. They're not. They are the opposite of a backup in the sense that they actually increase the danger of disaster. Nor are they a space saver.

A true backup is a copy of the entire VM folder to secondary media, which incidentally would also have saved you a good deal of primary disk space.

[gianluigi.zanettini]

Hi mpack,
thanks for your reply

In direct answer to your question: pick a past snapshot and revert to it. That creates a new branch from that snapshot.

I tried and it works as advised... but this is not what I'm trying to achieve. This lead to the situation where a new branch is created for said snapshot on:



What I need is the last snapshot to become a new root on its own (without parents).

[Martin]

If you want a new "root" just clone the selected snapshot to a new VM. Without the parents it cannot be a snapshot anymore.

[mpack]

If you want a new "root" just clone the selected snapshot to a new VM.

And make sure to choose "Full clone" (not linked) and "Current state only" when asked, otherwise the clone will inherit the entire snapshot spaghetti mess.

[gianluigi.zanettini]

Thanks guys,
I ended up creating a "Full clone" from the last snapshot I had.