How to resque and save files from a VirtualBox with Knoppix?

[Rikhard]

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } I am running Windows 7 in VirtualBox within LinuxMint. If something would crash and I couldn't boot into Windows anymore, is it possible to use Knoppix, go into Windows in the vdi-file and copy important files to a usb-stick or to another safe location.
I can do that if Windows is normally installed on a harddisk, but how to do that in a Virtual machine?

[Forester]

I am running Windows 7 in VirtualBox within LinuxMint. If something would crash and I couldn't boot into Windows anymore

Hi Rikhard and welcome to the Knoppix forums.

May I clarify a few things ?

Your Virtual Box machine has Linux Mint as the host OS and Windows 7 as the guest OS ? (Assuming Yes)

You are not using any kind of 'raw' virtual disk just the default Virtual Box kind of virtual disks ? (Assuming Yes)

When you first installed Windows 7 you shut down the virtual machine and made a back up of the vdi-file so that you could clone your virtual machine in the event that Windows 7 totals itself with no help from yourself ? (Assuming No)

You have a second virtual disk (a virtual D: drive) on which you put all your important files just in case Windows 7 totals itself with no help from yourself ? (Assuming No)

Some things never change, eh ?

Are you intending to create a new virtual machine with a new virtual disk and installing WIndows 7 on the disk ? Do that. Clone (aka back-up) the virtual disk so you never have to install Windows 7 again or worry about running out of re-license attempts.

Run up your new virtual machine with the new virtual disk as the boot (aka C) drive and the bad virtual disk as a second (aka D) drive and see what you can rescue.

is it possible to use Knoppix.

There is no reason why not.

Create a virtual machine that will boot from CD. Either point that at your real CD/DVD reader and pop your Knoppix CD/DVD into the drive or point the virtual CD drive at a Knoppix iso (the kind you download from the Internet). Make sure the virtual machine has your totalled virtual Windows 7 vdi-file as a virtual hard drive. Boot and do it the hard way.

The real clever thing about virtual machines is that you build them to throw away. Do it right and you don't need to rescue anything: you just replace the totalled guest OS with a clone of the backup you made when you first installed the guess OS.

[Rikhard]

You made the right assumptions.
The vdi-file is in /home/rikhard/virtual boxVMs/windows7 where I also created a folder for communication between Mint and windows.
This is the first time I use VirtualBox, a sort of experiment.

But you gave me good hints how to proceed. So, I can use Knoppix after all.

But I have not the faintest idea how to create a virtual machine that will boot from CD. This is of course not the right forum for those questions, but if you or some one else has a link please post it.

thanks

[Forester]

But I have not the faintest idea how to create a virtual machine that will boot from CD.

Then how on earth did you manage to install Windows 7 in the first place ?