Backup VMs

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Overview - Ways to Backup Kicksecure VMs Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248#Overview_-_Ways_to_Backup_Kicksecure_VMs Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs#Overview_-_Ways_to_Backup_Kicksecure_VMs|Overview - Ways to Backup Kicksecure VMs]]
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There is not a great and simple way to make backups yet. Best you can do is either:

• File Transfer
• and/or use the export feature of VirtualBox, that will create standalone .ova files which you should be able to easily import on any other machine and/or
• Create a copy of your VM files. There is some important knowledge you have to be aware of, this is documented below.

General Important Recommendation Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248#General_Important_Recommendation Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs#General_Important_Recommendation|General Important Recommendation]]
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Creating backups is only the first step. You should do a test run if you are actually to restore your backup. Otherwise you may experience a nasty surprise that some files are missing for successful restore.

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VirtualBox Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248#VirtualBox Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs#VirtualBox|VirtualBox]]
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If you want to copy your VirtualBox's to another harddrive, only creating a backup of your ~/VirtualBox VMs folder won't suffice. You have to remember to have a backup of your VirtualBox settings folder (~/.VirtualBox) as well, because manually re-creating that folder is difficult and undocumented by VirtualBox's documentation.

Using VirtualBox's VM Cloning Feature for Backups is not Simple Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248#Using_VirtualBox.27s_VM_Cloning_Feature_for_Backups_is_not_Simple Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs#Using_VirtualBox.27s_VM_Cloning_Feature_for_Backups_is_not_Simple|Using VirtualBox's VM Cloning Feature for Backups is not Simple]]
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The clone feature of VirtualBox is not very user friendly for backups for the same reason as above. It works, for cloning VMs, but it is not very useful for easy backups, because general VM settings are still stored in your home folder (~/.VirtualBox) and these are difficult to restore as mentioned above. So if you use the clone feature and backup your VMs on a different harddrive, you have to remember to have a backup of your VirtualBox settings folder (~/.VirtualBox) as well.

Backup VirtualBox Settings Files Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248#Backup_VirtualBox_Settings_Files Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs#Backup_VirtualBox_Settings_Files|Backup VirtualBox Settings Files]]
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Turn off VirtualBox before attempting to backup the VirtualBox's settings folder (~/.VirtualBox).

When you change VM settings, add/remove VMs, add/remove virtual hdds, add/remove snapshots you should create a new backup.

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Adding your VirtualBox settings folder to a revision control system such as git is a good addition to backups of VirtualBox's settings folder. Should VirtualBox damage your settings file and its backup file (happens sometimes), you can try a recent backup from an earlier git revision.

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• File Transfer

Kicksecure A secure by default operating system with the latest security research in place. Copy or share this direct link! Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Backup_VMs?oldid=54248 Click below ↴ = Copy to Clipboard Click = Copy Copied to clipboard! [[Backup_VMs|Backup Kicksecure VMs]]
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