How do I change the snapshots directory in VirtualBox on Windows?

Question

I have a SSD Hard drive representing C:\, which is only 30GB.

Therefore, I install all my (non-critical) apps on my large G:\ drive. My VirtualBox installation is on G:\, as well as the hard disks. However, I found that the snapshots directory still defaults to C:\Users\David\.VirtualBox\....

How do I put this on my G:\ drive by default?

Answer 1

VirtualBox snapshots reside in the Machine Folder. You should be able to change the default machine folder using the menu option File->Preferences, under the General tab.

Answer 2

"One thing I would like to add is that you can't change your snapshots directory for a VM in which you currently have snapshots saved."

Not true. First, follow the advice of the first answerer, and change the default machine folder by going to File>>Preferences>>General and changing the path. This only changes the path for subsequent machines you create, not for those you've already got.

Now, close VirtualBox, and move the contents of your Users/YourUserName/VirtualBox VMs folder to whereever it is you want it. Then the edit Users/YourUserName/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml file. Change the paths there to your VMs to wherever you've moved your VM folders, reboot your machine, and you're good to go - no Snapshot flattening required!

Answer 3

Procedures to change snapshots folder in VirtualBox:

1 - Shutdown intended virtual machine;

2 - Right click on virtual machine, go to Settings > General > Advanced;

3 - Change Snapshots destination folder. A good value is a subfolder of your virtual machine hard disk folder.

Hope this helps preventing loses as I had suffered.

Answer 4

Here's a summary of the other answers posted here, along with another option I discovered.

1. Set the default machine folder by choosing File: Preferences: General. New virtual machines will store their disk files and snapshots under this directory. However, it doesn't affect existing machines.
2. For an existing machine, open its settings, go to the advanced tab, and change the snapshot folder. This will only work if the machine has no snapshots, so you'll have to merge them all first.
3. If you can't merge all the snapshots or you don't want to, you can just clone the machine. The clone will use the default machine folder selected above.

Answer 5

Small steps:

1. Shutdown the targeted VM
2. Move the targeted files from C:\Users\my_user\VirtualBox VMs\Windows\Snapshots to G:\My Snapshots Folder or any folder you see fit
3. Open C:\Users\my_user\VirtualBox VMs\Windows\Windows.vbox config file and find the Machine node (by name)
4. Replace:
   • snapshotFolder value from Snapshots to G:/My Snapshots Folder (slash is used so you should leave it like that)
   • all location values from Snapshots to G:/My Snapshots Folder