Virtualbox VM portable on a USB stick

[WyomingKnott]

I have a USB stick that, on a good USB 3.0 port, benches as fast as my SSD. What I want to do is actually run a VM from it in Virtualbox. Actually be able to plug the stick into home or office PC and continue where I left off. VB is running under Windows 10; the VM is Ubuntu.

As far as I can see, the volumes are in ...user\VirtualBox VMs\VM_name. This has the .vdi for volumes and a .vbox for configuration. However, there is also a ...user\.VirtualBox with XML config and logs.

As far as I can tell, the XML covers all of my VMs and can't be moved to the stick, because then I can't run my local VMs. Do I re-create the VM on my home machine with the same config but attach the .vdi? That gives me the storage, but what about the vm-specific .vbox file? And everything else I don't know?

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Short form: I want a VirtualBox vm on a USB 3.0 stick where I can unplug it from my work machine, carry it home, and continue in the same VM. Preferably one snapshotted so I don't even have to reboot it. How?

TIA

 

[mcnumpty23]

is this any closer to what you mean?

http/www.howtogeek.com/188142/use-portable-virtualbox-to-take-virtual-machines-with-you-everywhere/

 

[mcnumpty23]

anything here useful for you?

http/www.linuxliveusb.com/en/features

 

[WyomingKnott]

If I read that correctly, it builds a Live Linux distro and you boot from the USB device. An excellent thing to do, but not what I'm aiming at. I want the machine to run Windows, and just have everything for my VM on the key.

 

[mcnumpty23]

is this any closer to what you mean?

http/www.howtogeek.com/188142/use-portable-virtualbox-to-take-virtual-machines-with-you-everywhere/

 

[WyomingKnott]

Just one click past the mark, since I was thinking of installing VBOX on the machines that will use this, but this solution does solve the xml configuration issue since the xml and the data will be on the stick. Portable apps rock for, well, portability.

Tnx.

 

[mcnumpty23]

glad i got there in the end or close enough to there that its still useful to you

 

[Alabalcho]

Just a word of advice: USB keys, even USB 3.0, while fast, are not SSDs, meant for continuous write operations. Be prepared that your USB key will become read-only at some point, or even toast.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Just a word of advice: USB keys, even USB 3.0, while fast, are not SSDs, meant for continuous write operations. Be prepared that your USB key will become read-only at some point, or even toast.

Fairly quickly too. The VM files are either being read or written to almost continuously when in use.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Yeah. I figure it's better to copy it to my home drive, work on it, copy it back to the key, go to work, copy it to the work drive...