How to Back up a VirtualBox

With VirtualBox you can run Mac OSX on Windows or Linux machines.

VirtualBox is a virtual machine application that can be used to run different operating systems on your computer. VirtualBox is opened like any other program, but it has the ability to run Windows, Linux, Mac and other popular operating systems. VirtualBox systems can be backed up to a ".vdi" file, which will preserve your settings and installed programs. These files are useful if your operating system crashes, and you would like to restore it from an earlier date.

Instructions

Back Up VirtualBox on Mac or Windows

1. Open up VirtualBox. On a Windows machine, click "Start," then "Programs." Find "VirtualBox" and click on it. On a Mac, navigate your Finder window to "Applications." Find "VirtualBox" and click on it.

2. Select "File" from the program's top menu, then select "Virtual Media Manager." You will see a list of the current operating systems you are running on VirtualBox.

3. Highlight the operating system you wish to back up and select the "Release" icon located above the list.

4. Locate "/home/user/.VirtualBox/" to find your .vdi file. This will contain all the information from your VirtualBox operating system.

Back Up VirtualBox on Linux

1. Open up a terminal window. This will typically be under "System Tools" on your Linux machine.

2. Type: "VBoxManage clonevdi /location/your_virtualmachine.vdi /destination/your_virtualmachine_backup.vdi" and hit Enter. Change "location" with your desired location for the file.

3. Wait for the process to complete. You will see "Clone Hard disk created in format 'VDI' " when it is finished. You will now have a backup file of your operating system.

References

• My-Guides.net: How to Copy and Transfer or Backup a VirtualBox Virtual Machine .vdi
• How to Geek: How to Backup and Move VirtualBox Machines