9 Advanced topics
cases, VirtualBox backs up the old settings file in the virtual machine’s configuration directory. If you need to go back to the earlier version of VirtualBox, then you will need to manually copy these backup files back.
In detail, the following settings files are in use:
•In the configuration directory, VirtualBox.xml is the main configuration file. This includes global configuration options and the media and virtual machine registry. The media registry links to all CD/DVD, floppy and disk images that have been added to the Virtual Disk Manager. For each registered VM, there is one entry which points to the VM configuration file, also in XML format.
•Virtual machine settings and files are, by default, saved as XML files in a sub- directory of the Machines directory, which VirtualBox creates under the main configuration directory (see above). You can change the location of this main “Machines” folder in the “Global settings” dialog.
By default, for each virtual machine, VirtualBox uses another subdirectory of the “Machines” directory that carries the same name as the virtual ma- chine. As a result, your virtual machine names must conform to the con- ventions of your operating system for valid file names. For example, a machine called “Fedora 6” would, by default, have its settings saved in
.VirtualBox/Machines/Fedora 6/Fedora 6.xml (on a Linux or Solaris host).
If you would like more control over the file names used, you can create the machine using VBoxManage createvm with the
The virtual machine directory will be renamed if you change the machine name. If you do not wish this to happen, you can create the machine using VBoxManage createvm with the
•VirtualBox keeps snapshots and saved states in another special folder for each virtual machine. By default, this is a subfolder of the virtual machine folder called Snapshots – in our example, .VirtualBox/Machines/Fedora 6/Snapshots. You can change this setting for each machine using VBoxManage as well.
•VDI container files are, by default, created in the HardDisks directory under the main configuration directory (see above). In particular, this directory is used when the “Create new virtual disk” wizard is started to create a new VDI file. Changing this default is probably most useful if the disk containing your home directory does not have enough room to hold your VDI files, which can grow very large.
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