oracle virtualbox backup virtual machine

If you need help to do this, feel free to ask.

It is possible and relatively easy to bring the guest folder over to where the disk files live. vbox file will have to be manually edited if the guest disk path must be changed or the host OS is of a different family. And such spread-out guests can't be transferred from Windows to Linux or Mac, or reverse, because the Windows & Linux/Mac paths aren't compatible. vbox file, the path to the guest disk file is stored in absolute drive & path, meaning the exact drive & path must be restored on a new host. Additionally, because the guest disk is not in the guest folder with the guest. You need to remember to back up both the guest folder and the rogue guest disk. Occasionally there are good reasons to have a guest drive off by itself, but it makes backups harder.

Some folks put their guest virtual drives on a different host disk, while the guest folder and the rest of the files stay in the default machine folder. Additionally, such a backup can be transferred to any suitable host, any host OS, and the guest will start right up. Restoring is as simple as copying the guest back over the damaged original. A simple 'FC' file-compare for local backups, or decent hashes (SHA256/512, Whirlpool, etc.) for offsite backups, can confirm the integrity of the backup. Copy that guest folder, and you've backed up your guest.

vbox file is what keeps the activation, btw), the guest's virtual drive files, and the Snapshots & Logs folders all inside that one guest folder. The default layout of a guest is one guest folder, with the guest. (Backing up just the guest virtual disk will definitely send your guest's activation south.) The best backup is a simple file-copy of a properly-formatted guest folder, with the guest fully shut down, not save-stated. Clone and Export change things in the guest, which may (will?) cause reactivation, and Move, well, moves, it doesn't copy. Neither Clone, Move nor Export will give you a backed-up still-activated guest.

Oracle virtualbox backup virtual machine