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vboxme / Portable-VirtualBox

Portable-VirtualBox is a free and open source software tool that lets you run any operating system from a usb stick without separate installation.
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Any working alternatives? #89

Open ghost opened 2 years ago

ghost commented 2 years ago

As this project seems to be abandoned and outdated, do you know if there is any similar project which is being maintained and up-to-date?

Johnsonsaji01 commented 2 years ago

I found a way to get Portable Virtualbox to run the latest update. You first need to make sure you have a 64-bit Operating System

1) Download the Portable Virtualbox installation file 2) Install Portable Virtualbox - download the installation files and check the box: Extract the files for a 64-bit Operating System, then click "OK". 3) After the extraction is complete, install the official VirtualBox by clicking here 4) Copy the official Virtualbox installation files, then paste them into the 64-bit installation of Portable Virtualbox. Note> If Windows says that there are multiple files with the same name, choose to replace the files in the destination 5) After that, you can open Portable Virtualbox and you are done!

p060477 commented 2 years ago

but network -bridged- won't work... :(

L4Xi commented 2 years ago

As this project seems to be abandoned and outdated, do you know if there is any similar project which is being maintained and up-to-date?

for me was greenvbox always best portable virtualbox solution because... works :) http://greenvbox.org/

p060477 commented 2 years ago

As this project seems to be abandoned and outdated, do you know if there is any similar project which is being maintained and up-to-date?

for me was greenvbox always best portable virtualbox solution because... works :) http://greenvbox.org/

i -totally- agree up to now is the only truly -portable- Vbox hats off greenvbox.org !

ghost commented 2 years ago

Is it trustworthy? I dunno why but it looks a bit suspicious to me.

L4Xi commented 2 years ago

Is it trustworthy? I dunno why but it looks a bit suspicious to me.

in what way? it's only register necessary services from actual VB location... that's all

ghost commented 2 years ago

Is it trustworthy? I dunno why but it looks a bit suspicious to me.

in what way? it's only register necessary services from actual VB location... that's all

I would like to know the details of the way of how portability works for it. So it only registers VB services at startup and removes them at shutdown?

L4Xi commented 2 years ago

Is it trustworthy? I dunno why but it looks a bit suspicious to me.

in what way? it's only register necessary services from actual VB location... that's all

I would like to know the details of the way of how portability works for it. So it only registers VB services at startup and removes them at shutdown?

and why not test it by yourself? ... its not radioactive :D
and no it is not automatic, ...thru GUI buttons manually register or unregister services (simple windows commands)

p060477 commented 2 years ago

Is it trustworthy? I dunno why but it looks a bit suspicious to me.

in what way? it's only register necessary services from actual VB location... that's all

I would like to know the details of the way of how portability works for it. So it only registers VB services at startup and removes them at shutdown?

and why not test it by yourself? ... its not radioactive :D and no it is not automatic, ...thru GUI buttons manually register or unregister services

correct ;) :) !

ghost commented 2 years ago

The thing is: VBOX.ME has source code available on GitHub so you can look yourself how it's built from the ground up. When it comes to GREENVBOX there is no source code available so we don't really know what it does.

L4Xi commented 2 years ago

The thing is: VBOX.ME has source code available on GitHub so you can look yourself how it's built from the ground up. When it comes to GREENVBOX there is no source code available so we don't really know what it does.

... it simply register VB services with basic windows command like: (from log)

> %SystemRoot%\System32\regsvr32.exe /s VBoxProxyStub.dll
> %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe /s x86\VBoxProxyStub-x86.dll
> %SystemRoot%\System32\regsvr32.exe /s VBoxC.dll
> %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\regsvr32.exe /s x86\VBoxClient-x86.dll

but if you're "only 100% opensource way" then I guess it's not enough ;)

ghost commented 2 years ago

That's it? How about portability of settings and numerous registry entries that VirtualBox creates/uses?

nukadelic commented 1 year ago

Have anyone found anything alternative other then the chinese green box by now ? Not super keen on gambling with the xi-variant on my machine

p060477 commented 1 year ago

up to now no...i'll be very interested too... ;)

nukadelic commented 1 year ago

looked around , seems like nowdays there is windows sandbox , didn't have the Pro ver of win , so i ended up getting vmware , its free for personal use ( the software is 888 MB after installation )

p060477 commented 1 year ago

but is -portable-...??...and is there the way to use network bridged..??

nukadelic commented 1 year ago

don't know

Gockel67 commented 1 year ago

http://portableappz.blogspot.com/2017/03/virtualbox-5116-113841-x86-amd64.html

p060477 commented 1 year ago

that is a -nearly- fake...no able to use the bridged net but only nat so it is very very poor as alternative...and the owner when i told him this bug simply ignore... for me is to be -> avoid <-

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

virtualbox already have an option to make it semi-portable: the manual says: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch10.html

You can specify an alternate configuration directory by either setting the VBOX_USER_HOME environment variable, or on Linux or Oracle Solaris by using the standard XDG_CONFIG_HOME variable. Since the global VirtualBox.xml settings file points to all other configuration files, this enables switching between several Oracle VM VirtualBox configurations.

In this configuration directory, Oracle VM VirtualBox stores its global settings file, an XML file called VirtualBox.xml. This file includes global configuration options and a list of registered virtual machines with pointers to their XML settings files.

so setting that variable solve the problem of portabilizing the machines, now i can format my pc , then put that variable and everything will work as before.

a simple command will portabilize virtualbox: say for example that you want to always save your machines to E:\VBOX, then open a command line window (cmd) and run this: setx VBOX_USER_HOME E:\VBOX that s all.

if you want virtualbox to be fully portable (in the sense of removing all files and registry entries...etc ), then a simple script to install virtualbox and uninstall it will solve it.

now we can install the latest virtualbox and have it working without errors.

if you think that those forks work fine with virtualbox v7 then you are wrong https://github.com/zongou/portable-vbox https://github.com/vkalenic/Portable-VirtualBox https://github.com/timsky/Portable-VirtualBox

they did simple changes and left a lot of things that should be done, for example the drivers and services are not fully cleaned, use for example https://github.com/zongou/portable-vbox fork , compile it, install it, run virtualbox and stop it, see services , you will find a service of virtualbox there (VBoxSDS)... and other errors will happen too of services and drivers not starting..etc. so use the official installer it will work better

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi, but in yr case have you tried the bridged network ?...and it works or you have to set the nat one...?? could you pls so summerize all the steps to have VB -Fully- portable...?? thxs so much in adv cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

@p060477 yes bridged network works off course because we are simply installing the full virtualbox then we make it semi portable as I described above.

what grade of portability you want? do you want only to move the VM as you like, or you want to move the VM as you like and also remove all the virtualbox registry and settings once you close it?

describe to me your usage case and i will guide you , because everyone understand a different thing of portability

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi,first thxs for yr attention, i'd like to have VB portable...so i'd like it to be put in a usb pen or external hd and to have it working in other pc's ... thxs again cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

@p060477 you are welcome. here are the steps: I created this gist https://gist.github.com/badrelmers/20990cd518fed05e5f171961c63e85ba open the link and click Download ZIP, unzip the file you downloaded, then follow the details I described in the link. if you get any problem tell me.

I will repeat the same thing here because maybe I forget and delete that gist someday, so new comers to this thread can found the answer here. so use the gist link or do the following, it is the same:

portable virtualbox using the latest virtualbox installers


@echo off
setlocal
pushd %~pd0

:: ###################################################################
:: please configure this if you download a newer virtualbox installer
:: ###################################################################
set "VirtualBox_installer=VirtualBox-7.0.8-156879-Win.exe"

:: ###################################################################
:: from here you do not need to change anything
:: ###################################################################
set "install_dir=c:\myVirtualBox"

echo.
IF NOT EXIST "%VirtualBox_installer%" ( color 4F & echo. & echo %VirtualBox_installer% was not found, if you downloaded a new installer or changed its name then please change this script to point to the new installer, you have to change VirtualBox_installer line. & echo. & pause & exit /b )

set "portable_dir_name=myVMBOX"
set "VBOX_symlink=c:\%portable_dir_name%"
set "VBOX_Real=%~dp0%portable_dir_name%"
mkdir "%VBOX_Real%" 2>nul

rem never use rd /S it will delete the real dir content if it was created with junction.exe in xp
IF EXIST "%VBOX_symlink%" rd /Q "%VBOX_symlink%"
mklink /J "%VBOX_symlink%" "%VBOX_Real%" >nul

setx VBOX_USER_HOME c:\%portable_dir_name% >nul

set "VBOX_USER_HOME=c:\%portable_dir_name%"

IF NOT EXIST "%install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe" call :install

"%install_dir%\VBoxManage.exe" setproperty machinefolder "c:\%portable_dir_name%\Machines"

echo starting VirtualBox...
start "VirtualBox" "%install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe"

echo.
echo.
echo.
echo exiting in 7s
timeout 7

rem pause
exit /b

:install
    tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VirtualBox.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VirtualBox.exe">NUL
    if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set dirty_install=yes
    tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VBoxSDS.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VBoxSDS.exe">NUL
    if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set dirty_install=yes
    tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VBoxSVC.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VBoxSVC.exe">NUL
    if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set dirty_install=yes

    IF EXIST "%ProgramFiles%\Oracle\VirtualBox\VirtualBox.exe" set dirty_install=yes
    IF EXIST "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Oracle\VirtualBox\VirtualBox.exe" set dirty_install=yes

    if [%dirty_install%]==[yes] ( 
        color 4F & echo.
        echo   VirtualBox is already installed or you are running a portable virtualbox. 
        echo   only one virtualbox can run at the same time, and there should not be more
        echo   than one installed virtualbox. if you have virtualbox installed please 
        echo   uninstall it first, and if you are running a Portable virtualbox then stop
        echo   it first, and run this script again. exiting...
        echo. & pause & exit 
    )

    echo installing VirtualBox, please wait...
    "%VirtualBox_installer%" --silent --ignore-reboot --msiparams "INSTALLDIR=""%install_dir%""" VBOX_INSTALLDESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 VBOX_INSTALLQUICKLAUNCHSHORTCUT=0 VBOX_START=0
    IF NOT EXIST "%install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe" ( color 4F & echo. & echo %install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe was not found, VirtualBox could not be installed. exiting... & echo. & pause & exit )

    echo VirtualBox was installed
exit /b

@echo off
setlocal
pushd %~pd0

:: ###################################################################
:: please configure this if you download a newer virtualbox installer
:: ###################################################################
set "VirtualBox_installer=VirtualBox-7.0.8-156879-Win.exe"

:: ###################################################################
:: from here you do not need to change anything
:: ###################################################################
set "install_dir=c:\myVirtualBox"

echo.
IF NOT EXIST "%VirtualBox_installer%" ( color 4F & echo. & echo %VirtualBox_installer% was not found, if you downloaded a new installer or changed its name then please change this script to point to the new installer, you have to change VirtualBox_installer line. & echo. & pause & exit /b )

tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VirtualBox.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VirtualBox.exe">NUL
if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set VirtualBoxrunning=yes
tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VBoxSDS.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VBoxSDS.exe">NUL
if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set VirtualBoxrunning=yes
tasklist /fi "ImageName eq VBoxSVC.exe" /fo csv 2>NUL | find /I "VBoxSVC.exe">NUL
if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" set VirtualBoxrunning=yes
if [%VirtualBoxrunning%]==[yes] ( 
    color 4F & echo.
    echo   VirtualBox is running. please stop it first. exiting...
    echo. & pause & exit 
)

echo uninstalling VirtualBox, please wait...

IF EXIST "%~pd0extractedinstaller" rmdir /Q /S "%~pd0extractedinstaller"
"%VirtualBox_installer%" --silent --extract --path "%~pd0extractedinstaller" >nul
pushd "%~pd0extractedinstaller"
REM FOR /f "tokens=*" %%G IN ('dir /b VirtualBox*.msi') DO start "VirtualBoxremove" /wait MsiExec.exe /norestart /uninstall "%%G" /quiet
FOR /f "tokens=*" %%G IN ('dir /b VirtualBox*.msi') DO start "VirtualBoxremove" /wait MsiExec.exe /norestart /uninstall "%%G"
popd
rmdir /Q /S "%~pd0extractedinstaller"

IF EXIST "%install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe" ( color 4F & echo. & echo %install_dir%\VirtualBox.exe was not uninstalled. run me again or uninstall it from the Control Panel & echo. & pause & exit )

setx VBOX_USER_HOME "" >nul
reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment /v VBOX_USER_HOME /f >nul

echo.
echo VirtualBox was uninstalled

echo.
echo.
echo.
echo exiting in 7s
timeout 7

REM pause

If you want to uninstall virtualbox use the Control Panel or uninstall_virtualbox.bat (this is optional).

That is all, now everytime you start virtualbox using start_virtualbox.bat it will start in a portable mode, the virtual machines we create will be saved to F:\myVMBOX inside your USB, and you can use the USB in any machine now, virtualbox will always find your virtual machines from your USB.

If you download a newer virtualbox executable, then change in both files this VirtualBox-7.0.8-156879-Win.exe to the name of the newly downloaded exe name.

tip:

if you want to migrate your old created virtual machines to our new portable folder (for example your old virtual machines created with the portable virtualbox or any other one), do the following:

that is all, all your older virtual machines are now registered in virtualbox database and are saved inside your USB. you will find them inside your USB F:\myVMBOX.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

@Badrelmers: if i'm welcome you are really very very welcome! thanks so much indeed! you are really a genius! apologize my very poor skils and level...i'd like to ask few questions but apologize for their very poor level...maybe are stupid but this is my level...:

1) now i've also a shortcut of virtualbox on my desktop it is i think the link to start the program...but i've understood that when i want to start i've to use the start_virtualbox.bat file , and not that shortcut link...am i wrong? 2) now i see the program installed in my control panel with all other programs i've installed...is it correct? is there a way to not
have it -installed- there in my control panel, as a truly portable sw...or in this case it is impossible? 3) if a new vers is issued maybe: VirtualBox_installer=VirtualBox-7.0.9-xxxxx-Win.exe should i have to modify the field 9 in the 2 bat files,start and unistal, with that new name to have all updated?)) 4) trying to use an old vm created with leidian ldplayer, is a virtualized android o.s. : https://www.ldplayer.net/other/version-history-and-release-notes.html but in the folder Machines i've 2 files .vbox: leidian-1.15-windows.vbox and leidian.vbox which have i to double click...?? anyway tried both but always get error in opening: Unable to load R3 module C:\myVirtualBox/fastpipe.dll (fastpipe): Error 2 trying to open (or duplicate handle
for)>'C:\myVirtualBox/fastpipe.dll' (VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND). Codice uscita: | E_FAIL (0X80004005) Componente: | ConsoleWrap Interfaccia: | IConsole {6ac83d89-6ee7-4e33-8ae6-b257b2e81be8}

so many many thxs for yr attention and very very useful and gentle helping cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

@p060477 good questions.

now i've also a shortcut of virtualbox on my desktop it is i think the link to start the program...but i've understood that when i want to start i've to use the start_virtualbox.bat file , and not that shortcut link...am i wrong?

yes, you are right, you should always start Virtualbox using the start_virtualbox.bat file only. I edited the scripts to remove the shortcut link that you see in the desktop:

now you should not see any shortcut in the desktop

now i see the program installed in my control panel with all other programs i've installed...is it correct? is there a way to not have it -installed- there in my control panel, as a truly portable sw...or in this case it is impossible?

no, it is impossible.

if a new vers is issued maybe: VirtualBox_installer=VirtualBox-7.0.9-xxxxx-Win.exe should i have to modify the field 9 in the 2 bat files,start and unistal, with that new name to have all updated?))

yes, you have to modify the field 9 or anything else changed in the name, simply copy the new executable name and replace the old name. you have to do this in both files start_virtualbox.bat and uninstall_virtualbox.bat.

when you want to install a new version do the following:

N.B.: please follow the order I described above, first uninstall the old version, then edit the files...etc

trying to use an old vm created with leidian ldplayer, is a virtualized android o.s. : https://www.ldplayer.net/other/version-history-and-release-notes.html but in the folder Machines i've 2 files .vbox: leidian-1.15-windows.vbox and leidian.vbox which have i to double click...??

I cannot answer this correctly without looking in the files... but you can follow this reasoning and decide your self: every .vbox file should have an image near him with the extension .vdi (or other extension if you created the virtual machine using something different than the default), the image icon have a red color and should have a big size (this is where your machine reside). so see if you have two or only one red icon inside that folder:

anyway do not be afraid to click on the .vbox files, nothing bad can happen. you can simply open both of them and see if one gave error or not, if both are real images they will be added to your virtualbox manager Gui, then start them and decide which one you want to keep. to remove the one you do not need simply right click on the virtual machine inside the virtualbox manager Gui and click remove, then choose Remove only or Delete all files:

good luck.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi, first thxs again for yr patience: in the Machines folder i see: a large file: data.vmdk about 8gb but is named data.vmdk and the icon is blue ,the same as the 2 .vbox files... anyway clicking on both .vbox only create one vm in the vb manager Gui but trying to start i always get an error: get error in opening: Unable to load R3 module C:\myVirtualBox/fastpipe.dll (fastpipe): Error 2 trying to open (or duplicate handle for)>'C:\myVirtualBox/fastpipe.dll' (VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND). Codice uscita: | E_FAIL (0X80004005) Componente: | ConsoleWrap Interfaccia: | IConsole {6ac83d89-6ee7-4e33-8ae6-b257b2e81be8}

and how to add the extensions pack? : https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.0.8/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.0.8.vbox-extpack this: Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-7.0.8.vbox-extpack

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

at the begining i thought that leidian ldplayer is some type of android mod OS iso that you installed using an old virtualbox, but it results that leidian ldplayer is an android emulator and those images you were talking about were created automatically by leidian ldplayer to gave you some type of android system image. why you suppose that virtualbox is able to run those images? you should not do that, you have to use those images with leidian ldplayer. from the error you describe it seems that the images are programmed to load some dll from the parent folder from where you copied those images, fastpipe.dll seems some type of dll injection that change the behavior of the virtual machine used by ldplayer , I don t think those are normal virtualbox images but seems a modification based on an old virtualbox version (v4 i guess). you can test this: do not move those images to c:\myVMBOX\Machines, keep them inside its original folder, they were programmed I guess to load the fastpipe.dll and other things for sure from its parent folder. so double click on .vbox file from the ldplayer folder and see if virtualbox is able to load them, but i think it will not work. I cannot help with this , I have no experience with ldplayer and I don t know how it works.

and how to add the extensions pack?

simply double click on it, and it will be installed inside virtualbox, virtualbox will guide you with the rest after you double click on the that file.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi,first so many thxs for yr kind patience, you wrote: "so double click on .vbox file from the ldplayer folder and see if virtualbox is able to load them"...: done and vb is able to load...but has the same error when i try to start the vm but the worst thing was about my very very poor skills... i have to admit that thinking that it do not work i've deleted the vm from the vb manager Gui but i choose - delete all the files-...so now the vm has disappeared also from its ldplayer folder.... infact start it now i see that i lost all its configurations...and apps that i've found and configured... so apologize me again if i ask a very stupid question: is there a way to recover that vm....??...or, as i guess and i suppose, it is lost forever and never...?? apologize me again thxs for yr kind patience cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

ooh :( if you did not write anything in the partition where the vm was saved you may be able to recover that vm. do not write anything to the partition where the vm was saved. download this https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva and install it and see if you can find them with it.

if not then download this one too https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm and see.

you will find the VM for sure, but you cannot know if it can be recovered to 100% until you recover it and you test it. I hope you will be able to recover it , good luck.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi and thanks again for yr kind patience recuva doesn't try anything... data-recovery seems better...and maybe has found the vms...but..when i start the ldplayer a new default vm was created so now i see that last one (the default one with no apps...) ...and not the one before...the one with all my configurations and apps installed.... maybe this is due to: "if you did not write anything in the partition where the vm was saved "... :( so i go to my f/myVMBOX/machines hoping to find the vm leidian in...the one that i was not able to start.... and i find it...but....inside there are only the 2 .vbox files...not the vdmk virtual machine.... what you think...??...am i hopeless...??...:( thxs in anycase for yr great patience apologize me again cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

there is an older GetDataBack that was called GetDataBack for NTFS (it is not the actual getdataback pro...), it was super good, but it s dead now, i have a copy i was using 12 years ago! you cannot buy it anyway because the official site do not sell it, it s dead. this is a portable version (cracked for sure), if you want to risk and use it then here you go: i m against using cracked software, but this software is dead anyway so there is no other solution, and there is also the problem of viruses and rootkits, i was using this copy in windows xp when i was crazy and security was the last thing i think of, if i were you I will not use it. i did scan it now with virustotal and it showed not viruses, but who knows (it is easy to create an undetectable spyware,that spy on your keyboard, passwords and credit cards, believe me, antiviruses are very stupid and blind, they offer something that they can never achieve 100%, and they detect only the known spywares that was discovered mostly by a human errors). anyway if you want to risk and use it then i uploaded it to google drive, do the following:

again, do not save anything on your USB or the leidian partition, do not start leidian from the partition where vmdk was saved. (to do tests, install leidian in another partition and start it from there and do your tests).

save a copy of the two .vbox files that you told me you found in your USB, and save a copy of your leidian folder in an external drive or a different partition.

i have some questions:

and again do not use your USB or the leidian partition, do not start any program from them; do not copy any file to them, you can copy from them , but do not copy to them, so we may be able to recover something if not everything if God want.

there is also https://www.lsoft.net/file-recovery/index.html if you want to test with it to, but i never use it before so i don t know if it works well like GetDataBack , but you lose nothing, test it too , maybe you can recover with it then you do not need to use GetDataBack which as i said is a risk because it seems a cracked version (maybe i m wrong, because in fact it s a portable registered version made by http://portableappz.blogspot.com/) , that site is very old in offering portable versions, but i don t know if he crack them or he buy a license then he use ThinApp, Turbo Studio or jauntePE ..etc to create a permanent registred portable version that works like a virtual machine...

if you install GetDataBack you may be interested in testing too the option named "Sustained file system damage", so instead of choosing I want to recover deleted files in the steps above, choose "Sustained file system damage" and repeat the same steps. good luck

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

i updated my last message, read the last part of "Sustained file system damage", it is a good method too that take into consideration overwriting partitions. save all the vmdk's that you recover. if you test them and they do no work just keep them for more tests later.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi and thxs again for yr very kind support and patience about your questions:

how much drives you have?

3 , ->1000gb,500gb and 200gb

how much partitions you have?

7 , -> 3 in the 1000gb,2 in the 500gb, 2 in the 200gb

which windows version you are using?

win 10 home 64 desktop

which leidian version you had installed?

i've the latest ldplayer vers 9.0.46 of 2023 may 17th: https://www.ldplayer.net/other/version-history-and-release-notes.html

what type of information you had in that vmdk? files like txt pdf doc ..etc? or installed programs that you configured..etc?

only app as it is an android virtualization, i use it to use apps in my win 10 home 64 for ex: whatsap with all the chats and chronology saved....that now i've terribly lost... :(

that vmdk was created by you or was created automatically by leidian?

starting the sw, the one above: 9.0.46, with its file dnplayer.exe ,

does leidian allow you to create more than one vmdk virtual machine or only one?

2: data.vmdk of 8.5gb ,the lost one..., , and sdcard.vmdk of 55mb the thing to underline is that this sdcard.vdmk,55 mb, is the only .vdmk file
still saved inside the myVBOX/Machines/Leidian folder, to sum up now :

Immagine

what you think?? am i hopeless??... :( apologize me again thxs so much indeed cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

good, you have sufficient hard disks and partitions to do the tests without touching your USB or leidian partition. we will need this later once you have a recovered vmdk.

have you recovered the vmdk? if you tested the programs I told you before and you found nothing, then here is our last attempt:

I tested https://www.lsoft.net/file-recovery/index.html and it works very well. but it is a demo it does not allow to recover big files. if you buy/find a full version you can use it like that:

once the scan finished do:

if you found it, right click on the file and select Recover, then select where you want to save it (save it outside the USB, and do not put it in the leidian partition to test if it boots fine, just keep it for now in a safe place)

if you find multiple files repeated, recover them all 3

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi first thxs again for yr kind helping and patience i'm trying the 1st way so using yr precious old copy of vers 4.01 getdataback when i arrive to this: "in the new window,select the partition where vmdk was residing in the leidian folder: click on Physical drive, if you have different drives choose the one where vmdk was saved before, click the + button near the drive , and choose the partition where vmdk was saved before" : i arrive here:

Immagine

cause the vmdk was saved in the O/ partition of 1st Physical drive so i choose the O logical partition and i choose the 1st hard drive of 1000gb and i click the (+) before but as you see it expand an unkown first partition of 2tb...???...is it a bug...?? i do not have any unknown partition of 2tb...and is beyond the mechanic's laws...how to have 2tb in nearly 1tb...??!!...:( where is the fault...?? anyway i click next and follow the yr so clear instructions but...i only found the newest .vdmk files...infact testing them in a ldplayer, obviously in other partion as you clearly indicate, do not give me back my old ldplayer vm configuration... the one where i've for example whatsapp with all my old chats...and so on.... again so much thxs from the very deep of my bleading heart.... apologize my stupidity and ignorance... thxs so much cheers

p060477 commented 1 year ago

you suggest: " GetDataBack you may be interested in testing too the option named "Sustained file system damage" : done also this but found only the latest .vdmk...so the one with all the config. lost, and all whatsapp chats lost...,, i find some file/folder in this partition that have the black line as -deleted- so maybe those are recuperable... but the vms's files have not that image...seems that they were the only created and never cancelled... so maybe the process made by myVMBOX when i choose: -delete machines- has really made them -disappeared...volatilized... maybe instead if i went manually in their folders and i made by myself their deletion now the sw, getdataback should be able to recognize them as -cancelled- and so recover them...but maybe this -automatic- process should be very different... anyway now i'm doing the further trying: the one you suggest for latest: https://www.lsoft.net/file-recovery/index.html it's now running but i see: extimated time: nearly 24 hours... :(... is it correct...?? for only a partition of 309gb...??...:( thxs so much again for all you are doing for me cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

extimated time: nearly 24 hours... :(... is it correct...?? for only a partition of 309gb...??...:(

yes, he is doing some nice work internally and can find everything he can, the problem is that it s not free so you will not be able to recover the files, you will only be able to see that the files we want exist at least. then you decide to buy that software or something else...

i do not have any unknown partition of 2tb...and is beyond the mechanic's laws...how to have 2tb in nearly 1tb...??!!...:( where is the fault...??

maybe because the getdataback version is very old (from 2009-2010, there was no win 8/10 yet), I see that you already took the risk and you used that version, I think that now you can take the risk again and download a relatively newer version from the same site from where I downloaded that old version years ago. https://portableappz.blogspot.com/2014/02/getdataback-simple-100-en.html Download the one named Portable GetDataBack 4.33 for FAT-NTFS En-Fr-De-Ru (4.1 MB) not the other one.

did you scan both the USB and the leidian folder?

there is something I do not understand, when you scan the USB do you find the vmdk? if yes, did you test that mvdk? if yes, does it gave you error that it does not run, or it runs well but it does not contain the files and configs you expect?

there is more probability that you recover something from the USB than the leidian folder (that is of course if you are sure that you copied the vmdk to the USB before the disaster). so to win some time do the most of the testing with the USB first

I do not know if you checked the following options as I told you before: lets resume it again now with pics

recovery

first, I attempted to replicate the same disaster you had, I copied a virtual machine I had to my USB, I add it from the usb to the virtualbox manager, i deleted the vm and choosed delete all files.

now i went a little bit extreme: I copied some files to my USB to destroy the VM I deleted so it cannot be recovered easily, and if i recover it i get a corrupt vm

then I attempted to recover this deleted vm using the following steps, do the same too:

in the same window you see different entries with green circle, you are supposed to test them all. choose the first and click next 2

now we should have some vmdk files. I was able to recover the vm I deleted,so you should be able to recover your vmdk too. lets start with the hard part now...

dealing with the vmdk file

we have two cases:

case 1: the file run fine inside leidian

so we finished

case 2: the file gave error in leidian and virtualbox

first, post here the error or pic of error that you get when you open the vmdk with leidian and virtualbox

it will not be easy to deal with a corrupted vmdk, I was not able to get some good results from my intentionally corrupted vm, but here are some notes that may gave you an idea:

7Zip

download it and install it https://www.7-zip.org/download.html

7Zip is able to open and show all of the files of a virtual machine (vdi, vmdk,vhd)

right click on the vm and choose 7-zip>open archive. now you can extract any file you want from the vm, of course the vm should not be corrupted.

lets see how we can deal with a corrupted vm so we may be able to convert it to a valid vm that 7zip can open.

qemu

qemu is like virtualbox but works better in linux, we can use it to convert the vmdk to diferent formats

save the following code to a file and name it: converter.bat


@echo off
set "path_to_vmdk=G:\blabla\data.vmdk"

mkdir %SystemDrive%\vmdk_repair 2>nul
pushd %SystemDrive%\vmdk_repair
echo converting...
"%SystemDrive%\Program Files\qemu\qemu-img.exe" convert  "%path_to_vmdk%"  vmdk_converted_with_qemu.bin

c:\myVirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe convertdd vmdk_converted_with_qemu.bin vmdk_converted_with_VirtualBox.vdi

copy /Y  "%path_to_vmdk%" %SystemDrive%\vmdk_repair\vmdk_repaired_with_VirtualBox.vmdk
c:\myVirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe internalcommands repairhd %SystemDrive%\vmdk_repair\vmdk_repaired_with_VirtualBox.vmdk -format VMDK

explorer %SystemDrive%\vmdk_repair

pause

change the line where it says G:\blabla\data.vmdk , change it to the full path to your recovered vmdk file

double click on the bat file, when the conversion finishes a new window will be opened containing the converted files. you should see three files:

now right click on vmdk_converted_with_VirtualBox.vdi and choose 7zip>open archive, you should be able to see the files inside vmdk now.

rename vmdk_repaired_with_VirtualBox.vmdk to the original vmdk name and use it with leidian to see if it works

do this test: go to virtualbox manager and create a new machine but instead of creating a new virtual hard disk choose use an existing virtual hard disk file, and choose vmdk_converted_with_VirtualBox.vdi as a virtual disk as in the picture image

start the machine an send me the error you get.

more options

https://superuser.com/questions/940300/can-i-fix-corrupted-vmdk-image-verr-vd-vmdk-invalid-header https://superuser.com/questions/236205/how-do-i-recover-files-from-a-corrupt-vdi-file https://superuser.com/questions/976831/verr-vd-vmdk-invalid-header-in-virtualbox-after-hard-reset https://serverfault.com/questions/324271/virtualbox-grain-table-inconsistency

it is not an easy task to repair a damaged vm...

good luck

p060477 commented 1 year ago

first thxs so much again for yr incredible supporting and helping

1) about : https://www.lsoft.net/file-recovery/index.html : yes being demo i won't be able to copy/recover but i'd like at least to see that damned vmdk... so i went sleep leaving it running....but this mornig a bad surprise...the application wasn't runnig yet.... so i went to my event viewer and i see this:

`00.55.59 (date as per hour,midnight,55 min,59 sec) Nome dell'applicazione che ha generato l'errore: FileRecovery.exe, timestamp: 0x63505d88 Nome del modulo che ha generato l'errore: FileRecovery.exe, timestamp: 0x63505d88 Codice eccezione: 0xc0000005 Offset errore 0x000000000018d832 ID processo che ha generato l'errore: 0x2aa4 Ora di avvio dell'applicazione che ha generato l'errore: 0x01d993043359e5e4 Percorso dell'applicazione che ha generato l'errore: E:\RECOVER\strumenti\Active File Recovery/FileRecovery.exe Percorso del modulo che ha generato l'errore: E:\RECOVER\strumenti\Active File Recovery\FileRecovery.exe ID segnalazione: e22104b1-fde7-475b-b57b-0d2255c4d749 Nome completo pacchetto che ha generato l'errore: ID applicazione relativo al pacchetto che ha generato l'errore: Nome registro: Application Origine: Windows Error Reporting Data: 31/05/2023 00:56:25 ID evento: 1001 Categoria attività:Nessuna Livello: Informazioni Parole chiave: Classico Utente: N/D Computer: pc Descrizione: Bucket errato 1879733102511434121, tipo 4 Nome evento: APPCRASH Risposta: Non disponibile ID CAB: 0

Firma problema: FileRecovery.exe 63505d88 c0000005 000000000018d832

` 2) yes i scan both and in the USB i found only sdcard.vdmk about 55mb to sum up in leidian,LdPlayer, in my vms with the .vbox files i had 2 vdmk by default: the data.vdmk ,nearly 8gb (the one lost) and the sdcard.vdmk,nearly 55 mb, that wasn't cancelled in the disaster also in myVMBOX machines i had the 2 .vdmk in the leidian vm but,created by clicking on the .vbox files as per yr instructions, but when discoverd that this did not work i cancelled it in the vbox gui manager ,choosing to delete all files, that was the disaster cause after i do not find anymore my data.vdmk,8gb, nor in leidian vms where it was before all this history, and not in the myvmbox machines where was uploaded clicking on .vbox file...then i was scared and when you are scared you do much more errors and mistakes so i went to my external hd where i've an old copy of my leidian vms and i put it in my pc...so i realize that it was so old and i did not have in it whatsapp and all my chats saved in cause at that time i did not have installed that app in that vm...so now in my pc i'm able to use only that -old- leidian vm with ldplayer...because i'm not able to find the newest data.vdmk , the one lost in the distaster due to my cancelling it in myVMBOX deleting -all files-...

3) about the trying with getdataback 4.33 i put here the images...as you see at the end i'm only able to see the data.vdmk, are 2 cause now i've also saved one in another folder called OLDvms of ldplayer in case of need,, but both 2 data.vdmk are the same and are the one i recovered by an old copy saved on external hd, so to sum up they both not have all my latest config and moreover my whatsapp chats...cause that was all inside the damned data.vdmk that a great fool such as me and my great ignorance have dramaticaly cancelled...:(

here are the images:

Immagine

here you see that the sw still insist to state that my 1st hd has 2tb that is impossible......anyway i choose the latest part,7th, where are the LdPlayer leidian vms,: https://www.ldplayer.net/other/version-history-and-release-notes.html to remind is the vm lost

Immagine2

here as you see i got only one green circle...

Immagine3 Immagine4

these are after scan the 2 folder in topic, the one where was the lost vm, in the ldplayer folder, and the one of myVMBOX machines , where i deleted it by my ignorance and so stupid skill...

Immagine5

and this is the final result after search following your very clear instructions: "you can do a search like the pic: once you sort the files by size you may find the vmdk easier"

as you see at the very end only the 2 data.vdmk has been discovered, so the one that i've now on my pc after disaster, one in the main folder as vms, and one as backup as OLDvms, but i do not see the data.vdmk i cancelled... you say: "you will see different folders with random numbers, those are the deleted files"...: in those random numbers folders there is any of the .vdmk files -> as i did not ever cancelled a .vdmk at all... ...so to sum up the 2 that appears are the one that i still have now on my pc...as the .vdmk cancelled by mistake in myVMBOX was litterally disappeared...volatizided...never existed....

what you think...am i hopless..??.. :(

apologize me again and forever...

cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

there is something strange here. the file should appear in the recovery if it was in the USB in the past. in the first time when you added the vmdk to virtualbox did you copy manually the vmdk to the usb then you clicked the .vbox from the usb, or did you click on the .vbox from the leidian folder? describe to me exactly how you added that vmdk to virtualbox in the first time.

p060477 commented 1 year ago

in this way:

tip:

if you want to migrate your old created virtual machines to our new portable folder (for example your old virtual machines created with the portable virtualbox or any other one), do the following:

start virtualbox using start_virtualbox.bat.
now close the virtualbox we just started.
open c:\myVMBOX folder (c:\myVMBOX is just a symlink shortcut to your USB folder F:\myVMBOX), you have to open c:\myVMBOX for this trick to work not F:\myVMBOX.
inside c:\myVMBOX create a folder and name it Machines if it does not already exist.
now inside c:\myVMBOX\Machines put all your old virtual machines folders, so you will have at the end something like that for example:

c:\myVMBOX\Machines\win10VM c:\myVMBOX\Machines\win7VM c:\myVMBOX\Machines\UbuntuVM

now enter to every folder inside c:\myVMBOX\Machines and double click the file that ends with .vbox extension (it have a blue icon).

so i act on the symlink c::\myVMBOX not on O:\myVMBOX ( O:\ is the partition where i create the folder myVMBOIX imitating yr F:...) as per yr: "you have to open c:\myVMBOX for this trick to work not F:\myVMBOX."

thxs so much again for yr attn and patience cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

thats means that you copied the vmdk manually to the usb, in that case the file should exist in the recovery list of getdataback. upload to somewhere the two .vbox files that you still have in c:\myVMBOX\Machines, and post the link here.

and one thing more, in the getdataback search window , sort the files by name this time (not by size as we did before) and see if there is more than 2 data.vmdk files (maybe it exist but have small size because it was overwrited)

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi and thxs so much again for all you are doing i copied manually the data.vdmk,8gb, and sdcard.vdmk and the 2 .vbox files from my O:\ldplayer\leidian\vms folder to: the symlink c::\myVMBOX\Machines
then i double click both the .vbox files, asking before if there was a difference but you say it was the same so i click on them one by one. this is what i did before my disaster... this is ordering by name: it appears a 3rd data.vdmk but is in the folder outside the vms of ldplayer...and as you see the all 3 are not -.cancelled- but are items still live now on the pc....:

Immagine6

here are the 2 .vbox files still there: https://upload.disroot.org/r/TCPgVVuP#gErVkt4jv8lQUHeReVgeiJor+Dyb1oZpUNQYUXNnOyo= https://upload.disroot.org/r/1owR5kMm#Zc6RQ3HayT+kVZjayuuWQbni61J15i0P9lGnA0qTv6Y= thxs so mcu again for yr kind patience

cheers

p060477 commented 1 year ago

i upload also this: https://upload.disroot.org/r/gqNsTewv#dPo1wug1lmDbm3kRSHUMfMnfZV1ABPsVmm/3d0uaDqo=

cause in the vms folder of O;\ldplayer i had this 2 .vbox: leidian.vbox leidian-1.15-windows.vbox and i asked you among these and i put them in the c:\myVMBOX\Machines ,with the 2 .vdmk, and so i clicked on them after disaster now in that folder i've the 2 updated before: leidian-1.15-windows.vbox leidian-1.18-windows.vbox this is another mistery... :( apologize me again cheers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

do the scan with getdataback, go to the myVMBOX folder inside getdataback and take a picture of the content of that folder like this image i want to see what he detect inside the folder where the vmdk was saved before you delete it

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi first so many thxs again here it is the myVMBOX , the one that in my physical hd is in : O:\myVMBOX, folder inside getdataback

Immagine

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

download https://www.7-zip.org/a/7z2300-x64.exe install it go to where 7zip was installed, or simply open a folder then copy past this in the navigation bar %SystemDrive%\Program Files\7-Zip

right click on 7zFM.exe and select run as administrator

in the new window of 7z click this button image click that button several time until you see this: \\. image

now doble click \\. , and choose one of the entries called PhysicalDrive... , you have to choose the one where your USB partition is created; you can know it by the hard drive size image now if you see entries called 0.ntfs 1.ntfs...etc then click the one that have the same size as your USB partition where the vmdk was saved. image then click on [SYSTEM], then $Extend, now select $UsnJrnl (don t doble click on it,just select it with the mouse), now click on this: file>Alternate streams image you should see $J take a picture of that window and send it

another thing:

p060477 commented 1 year ago

hi, first thanks again the are the answers to your gentle questions: 1) yes both in O:\ 2) yes in that physical 1st hd of 1tb i've 3 partitions: C:\ with win 10 home 64 installed, N:\ , and O:\ 3) yes always from that cuase i've portabilized it, so it is not installed but its folder is in O:\ with its dnplayer.exe to start 4) yes i've nearly all my portable softwares in it...so the majority of my operations i did on my pc are there...in O:\

here is the image you ask, apologize me if i did not understand well what you ask.... cause i'm very very ignorant and my skills are so low and poor...:(

Immagine

here are the -properties- of SJ :

Immagine2

in my case i find the voice : "alternate data streams"...not yr "alternate streams" thxs so much again chhers

badrelmers commented 1 year ago

but I told bro several times to not write anything to where the vmdk was saved before!! that explain why it does not appear in getdataback result sorry brother but you lost that vmdk for ever do not lose your time attempting to recover it, everytime you write something in the partition the old data is deleted for ever, most of the programs that you run from a partition write data inside the partition and more if it is a portable app , portables write everything to the partition where they reside...

this is a lesson you learned at least, never put your eggs in one place;always backup important things in an external drive, because hard disks die at any time , viruses and ransmwares are everywhere, and humans commit errors...

and using a vm to save your data is a double layer of complexity and problems why you do not use whatsapp directly from windows? there is already a windows desktop version

p060477 commented 1 year ago

i wish having had a bro like you...my life should be so very different and much more easy and sweet...but this is another history... i told ytou that i 'm so ignorant and not skilled....i 've understood not to touch the folders of MYVMBOX and LdPlayer...not he entire O\ partition where the layed...how i really beg your pardon and apologize me for ever and never... so you think that also the so deep Active File Recovery Ultimate, then one who needs 23hours and that crashed after 7 hours ,will fail...?? and you ask: "why you do not use whatsapp directly from windows? there is already a windows desktop version"...: cause to use it you have to manage the QR code...and i could not cause the very old phone i've, is an iphone5, has its back photocamera broken... so until it was compatible,has ios 10...,with whatsapp i use it...when i was allerted that it will becam obsolete for that app i installed , in portable way, Ldplayer on my pc in order to virtualize a sort of android vm where i was able to use apps, and i start using whatsapp here.... i know i'm a "digital death"... really apologize me i thank you again from the deep of my heart cheers