VM Portability/XML: Shared folder path is not absolute => Fixed in SVN

[Technologov]

I am pushing the new v4.0 architecture to the limits.

Hosts: WinXP --> RHEL5 x64, VBox v4.0.0

VM cannot be moved from Windows to Linux host due to shared folders.

VirtualBox ERROR:

Failed to open virtual machine located in /home/alexey/Windows XP Unattended3/Windows XP Unattended3.vbox.

Shared folder path 'E:\' is not absolute.

VM cannot be imported.

Workaround: Manually Remove Shared Folders from XML.

-Technologov, 29.12.2010.

[Technologov]

VBox VM XML

[Technologov]

It would be nice if VirtualBox reduces the importance of this issue from Error to Warning.

-Technologov

[patrick.steiner]

I can confirm this bug on a OS X Host

[Dan Rollo]

see this forum post for more info:

​http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38061

[Frank Mehnert]

This will be fixed in the next maintenance release.

[Technologov]

Reopened. Still broken in 4.0.6.

[Technologov]

IMO, on VM import (Machine->Add) it should warn user about existing incompatible shared folders, and offer the user to delete them. (from all snapshots)

-Technologov

[Jacky]

Just tried on V4.0.8, still outstanding, guess has to modify the xml manually...

[Charles Burns]

I don't think this was fixed in a maintenance release. If it was, it's regressed. Still a problem in 4.1

[MarcelS]

Confirmation - still a problem in 4.1.
IMHO: If detected, Import-Dialog should ask for valid path and/or deletion of shared folder.

[Christian Pötzsch]

Fixed in SVN. The fix will be included in the next minor version.

[Andrei ILIE]

Same problem on VirtualBox 4.1.2

I need to import a VM with shared folders already set, but because I do not have that folders (I don't have D: on linux), the import fails:

WinXP host (with shared folders) --> WinXP guest --> Linux host

possible dup: Ticket #7001

[rivimey]

Just experienced this problem on 4.1.2... not easy to workaround when all you have is an .ova file.

I looked at the trunk svn for vboxmanage and could find no evidence of change there of the sort I would expect -- which is "import" commands to ignore shared folder specs (as for e.g. a floppy) and dry-run check that the shared folder is ok.

I agree that, from the GUI, it would be nice to have a prompt for the updated folders.

My variant of the problem was exporting a Debian VM from Win7 and importing on an Ubuntu machine. I'd just updated the Ubuntu vb to 4.1.2 (why is "natty" still 4.0.4). My workaround was to use "sed" on the .ova file to edit the bad path to one in /tmp that had the same number of characters.

[Frank Mehnert]

VBox 4.1.4 contains the fix.

[tturner]

I'm in Vbox 5.0.8 on OS X and I still see this problem. We support both Windows and OSX hosts and need to automate the removal and adding of these mounts.

SFO1212438846Q:Org-migration localuser$ vboxmanage sharedfolder add "DevBox3.3.8" -name "Public" -hostpath "C:\Users\Public" --automount shell-init: error retrieving current directory: getcwd: cannot access parent directories: No such file or directory VBoxManage: error: Shared folder path 'C:\Users\Public' is not absolute VBoxManage: error: Details: code NS_ERROR_INVALID_ARG (0x80070057), component SharedFolderWrap, interface ISharedFolder, callee nsISupports VBoxManage: error: Context: "CreateSharedFolder(Bstr(name).raw(), Bstr(hostpath).raw(), fWritable, fAutoMount)" at line 1020 of file VBoxManageMisc.cpp