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I need to delete two Oracle VirtualBox snapshots from /dev/sda because it is running out of space.

Unfortunately there is even not enough space to remove them by VirtualBox Manager. It seems to me it is because VirtualBox Manager uses the trash function of Unity and this function does not enough space to move the file for recycling purpose.

How to

  • change my Trash folder from /dev/sda to /dev/sdb or somewhere else where there is enough space to save the recyclable files
  • or how to disable this feature for /dev/sda where the OS and VirtualBox are located.

After fixing this issue, hopefully with some good answers here, I am going to move the default snapshot directory for this machine on /dev/sda where there is more space available.

David Foerster
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Dirk Lehmann
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  • Delete them from the command line. rm -f /path/to/file . I assume you are using nautilus so https://askubuntu.com/questions/374640/how-can-i-add-delete-option-to-the-drop-down-menu – Panther Jun 22 '17 at 19:18
  • You can also permanently delete from the GUI Files manager by holding down the Shift key while clicking "Delete" or pressing the Delete key. – Byte Commander Jun 22 '17 at 19:32

1 Answers1

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By simply deleting a snapshot from the OS VirtualBox does not get noticed.

To save hard disk space it is therefore much safer (and faster) to create a cloned VDI of the current machine's state on a different storage medium. Snapshots can be excluded by doing so. We can then detach the old VDI and attach the cloned hard drive to the VM.

After we had tested that the cloned machine runs as ecpected we then may safely remove the original VDI including all snapshots.

Takkat
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