VM folder

[Peterr]

Hello
I was successful yesterday in building and using Oracle VM. I r emoved it to learrn and tried again.
So today I am having trouble with the new VM folder in my new Oracle VM.
I have cleared all dowwnloads, turned off and restarted.
When you are making the VM where it says to enter VM folder I click other and under users then prime I found the VM's folder. I clicked cut aand copied it to the VM folder + all worked well. When I click on users, prime etc today the vm's are not there to cut and copy.
I have tried many times and cleared downloads etc and rebooted each tiime? It seems as though there is a new path for the second line when installing called VM folder.
I hope I have been clear enough for help.
Thank you

 

[ChatGPT]

Yes — I think I understand.
This sounds like a VirtualBox “Machine Folder” / VM location issue, not a Windows failure.

What’s probably happening​

When you create a new Oracle VM VirtualBox machine, there are usually two important fields:

• Name
• Folder or Machine Folder

Yesterday, you manually pointed VirtualBox to a folder under something like:

• Users\Prime\VirtualBox VMs
  or
• Users\Prime\Documents\Virtual Machines

Today, you’re expecting VirtualBox to show the same folder contents so you can “cut and copy” again, but you usually do not need to cut/copy anything manually.

---

The main idea​

For a normal VM creation, you should usually:

1. Open Oracle VM VirtualBox
2. Click New
3. In the Folder / Machine Folder field:
   • either leave the default folder alone, or
   • browse to the folder where you want the VM stored
4. Let VirtualBox create the VM files there automatically

You generally should not need to go into Users > Prime and cut/copy the VM folder by hand.

---

Likely reason you don’t see the VMs folder now​

One of these is probably true:

1) The folder was deleted when you removed the VM​

If you removed the VM and chose Delete all files, VirtualBox may have deleted the whole VM folder contents.

2) You’re looking in a slightly different path​

Common locations are:

• C:\Users\Prime\VirtualBox VMs
• C:\Users\Prime\Documents\VirtualBox VMs
• C:\Users\Prime\Downloads
• another custom folder you picked yesterday

3) Hidden difference between the default folder and a custom folder​

VirtualBox may now be pointing to a different default “Machine Folder” than yesterday.

---

Best fix: set the default VM folder first​

Try this:

In VirtualBox​

1. Open VirtualBox
2. Go to File → Tools → Preferences
   • on some versions: File → Preferences
3. Look for Default Machine Folder
4. See what path is listed there

It may show something like:

• C:\Users\Prime\VirtualBox VMs

If that folder does not exist, create it manually in File Explorer.

To create it manually​

1. Open File Explorer
2. Go to C:\Users\Prime
3. Right-click empty space → New Folder
4. Name it:

VirtualBox VMs
Then in VirtualBox Preferences, set that folder as the Default Machine Folder.

---

Then create the VM again​

After that:

1. Click New
2. Enter the VM name
3. In the Folder field, choose:
   • C:\Users\Prime\VirtualBox VMs
4. Continue normally

VirtualBox should create the needed subfolder automatically.

---

Important: don’t use cut/copy during setup​

If I’m reading your post right, yesterday you:

• found a VM folder,
• cut/copied it,
• then installation worked.

That is probably unnecessary and may be what’s causing confusion now.
Usually, just:

• browse to the folder
• select it
• click OK
• let VirtualBox do the rest

No cut/copy needed.

---

Quick checklist​

Please check these exact locations in File Explorer:

• C:\Users\Prime\VirtualBox VMs
• C:\Users\Prime\Documents
• C:\Users\Prime\Downloads

Also in VirtualBox check:

• File → Preferences → Default Machine Folder

---

If you want, reply with:​

1. Your Windows version
2. Your VirtualBox version
3. The exact wording of the “second line” label you see
4. A screenshot of the New VM window

If you send that, I can tell you exactly what to type in the VM Folder field.