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I have installed VirtualBox on Ubuntu 11.04. I launched it from the console and added a virtual Windows XP. Everything was working okay, but when I added VirtualBox as a shortcut to my menu it opens without this Windows virtual machine.

Why is this and how would I change the shortcut so I can see my VM?

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How did you start it from the console exactly? Which commands did you type? Were you logged in as another user when you did so? – slhck♦ Sep 26 '11 at 11:21
I have just type virtualbox – skowron-line Sep 26 '11 at 12:02
Quick test. When you open a fresh new terminal and enter sudo virtualbox, do you see your VM there? Now, if you enter just virtualbox, are they gone now? – slhck♦ Sep 26 '11 at 12:04
Yest VM is there when I open new terminal – skowron-line Sep 26 '11 at 12:05
yes XP is there – skowron-line Sep 26 '11 at 12:07

1 Answer

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You configured your VirtualBox installation as the wrong user, i.e. root. You were probably starting VirtualBox with sudo virtualbox and therefore your whole configuration was written to /root/.VirtualBox instead of /home/your-username/.VirtualBox.

  • First, stop all instances of VirtualBox.

  • According to VirtualBox 4.0 documentation, you should find your VM in root's home folder, which we'll open with this command:

    gksudo nautilus /root/VirtualBox\ VMs &

  • Here, you should see a directory for the Windows VM. Take that directory, and copy it to /home/your-username/VirtualBox VMs. Close the Nautilus window.

  • Then, take ownership of this folder again. Might not be necessary, but doesn't hurt.

    sudo chown -R your-username /home/your-username/VirtualBox\ VMs/

  • Now, restart VirtualBox over the normal menu shortcut or by running virtualbox from the Terminal. Are you able see your VM now?

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It didn't help, still I cant see my XP – skowron-line Sep 26 '11 at 12:54
Does your /home/your-username/VirtualBox VMs folder now contain the Windows machine? Are you the owner of said folder (by looking at its permissions)? You could also try to set up a new VM and choose the .vdi file that is now in your home folder as the disk. – slhck♦ Sep 26 '11 at 13:10
I tried to export from root and import on my acount by there was some errors, so I decied to reinstall XP on this acount. Thanks for helping – skowron-line Sep 26 '11 at 13:42

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