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Dumb question, but I just want to check: I'm thinking of switching to linux (have been using it in VMs fro several years and don't play games and prefer gnome to windows), I have several virtualbox VMs on windows 8, I'm right in assuming that I can just install VB in ubuntu and then start my VMs from my windows 8 install in ubuntu, right? I don't want to have to set them all up again.

I mean copy all my VMs to an external drive, install ubuntu (which will wipe the drives) and then copy the VMs into ubuntu and start using them.

RISC OS
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    You could move all the VM files to external hard drive and then install Ubuntu. By then, install VM on Ubuntu, copy all the transferred VM files to Ubuntu and use it over there. But the simple way is you could copy all those VM files to another logical partition and use them whenever you want. – Wolverine Jan 14 '15 at 21:11
  • Exactly, just copy/use the same files (as I've stated in my answer), no need to export nothing. I just added instructions to enable the multiverse (which includes VirtualBox) and the instructions to add the VMs back. – Rael Gugelmin Cunha Jan 19 '15 at 10:36

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For a smooth transition to another host for Virtual Box virtual machines the following should be considered:

  • In case we had Guest Additions installed prefer to run the VM in the same or higher Virtual Box version release.

  • If we had installed the Extension Pack we should install this on the new host too.

  • Latest (and older) Virtual Box application releases can very easily be installed from the Oracle repository (also see this question for details).

  • To register the VM in the new host Virtual Box we need to first export the VM appliance as OVF to our harddrive or (recommended) to an external storage. Merge snapshots before exporting as they will not be preserved.

    enter image description here

  • Then we can proceed with importing them to the new host.

    enter image description here

  • Adjust paths to shared folders if defined.

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Takkat
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  • There is no need to export the VMs, as he is using VirtualBox and will continue using it. Like I stated in my answer, just install VirtualBox and add a new machine using existing .vbox files. – Rael Gugelmin Cunha Jan 15 '15 at 10:49
  • @RaelGugelminCunha: they are porting from Windows to Ubuntu. – Takkat Jan 15 '15 at 10:54
  • Yeap, and there is no need of that. Just copy and use the same .vbox. – Rael Gugelmin Cunha Jan 15 '15 at 10:55
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    It's way easier to export the machines than to copy files around. If you just copy files you will need to edit the xml files as there are routes hard coded on then that will change from Windows to Ubuntu, including paths to the hard disk, external media and shared folders. BTW he will need to reconfigure all his shared folders. – Javier Rivera Jan 16 '15 at 08:01
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Yes.

First, enable the multiverse repository (which contains VirtualBox).

Enable Multiverse (Graphically)

  1. Open "Software and Updates":

enter image description here

  1. Make sure Software restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse) is enabled.

Enable Multiverse From Terminal (Alternative)

If preffer command line, enable multiverse from terminal (open with Ctrl+Alt+T) and run:

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox

Import your VM

Open Virtualbox, then go menu Machine > Add.

enter image description here

Browse and select your .box file and click on Open.

Repeat for all VMs.

Rael Gugelmin Cunha
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