Tutorial
Make a Copy of VirtualBox .vdi
Scenario / Question:
How do I make a copy of an existing VirtualBox .vdi disk file
Solution / Answer:
Use VBoxManage clonevdi
Copy VirtualBox .vdi
There are a few steps involved in order to make a copy of a VirtualBox .vdi disk file.
#1. Shutdown the Virtual Machine or make sure it is not start/on
#2. Release the .vdi file – File > Virtual Media Manager > Select the virtual machine disk to be copied > Click “Release”
#3. In a terminal or shell prompt (use the full location paths for .vdi locations)
VBoxManage clonevdi /root/.VirtualBox/Original.vdi /root/.VirtualBox/NewCopy.vdi
#4. Add the new virtual disk image – File > Virtual Media Manager > Add
#5. Re-attach original virtual disk image to its VM
Fabio Milano has written 79 articles for us.
Fabio Milano is a certified RHCE, MCP, and CFOI. He runs an IT consulting and services company called RDS Support inc. Website:http://www.rdssupport.com
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To release the .vdi file using the command line you can do:
# remove disk from VM “moody”:
sh0x@vbox:~# VBoxManage modifyvm moody -hda none
# restore copied VDI and open medium in virtualbox
sh0x@vbox:~# VBoxManage openmedium disk /opt/VBox/HardDisks/moody.vdi
# add disk to VM
sh0x@vbox:~# VBoxManage modifyvm moody -hda /opt/VBox/HardDisks/moody.vdi