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→Accessing a Shared Folder from a Linux Guest
If the share is to be transient (in other words it will not be restored when the virtual machine is restarted) leave the ''Permanent'' check box unselected before clicking the ''OK'' button to create the share.
== Creating and Removing Shared Folders from the Command Prompt ==
VirtualBox shared folders can be created from the command prompt using the ''VBoxManage'' command-line tool on the host. VBoxManage is installed by default on Windows hosts in C:\Program Files\Sun\xVM VirtualBox and in /opt/VirtualBox on Linux.
The syntax to create a shared folder using VBoxManage is as follows:
:<tt>VBoxManage sharedfolder add "<virtual machine>" -name "<share name>" -hostpath "<host path>"</tt>
where ''<virtual machine>'' is the name of the virtual machine to which the shared folder is to made available, ''<share name>'' is the name to be assigned to the share and ''<host path>'' is the path to the folder on the host file system. For example to make ''C:\Temp'' on the host system a shared folder named ''MyShare'' available to a virtual machine named ''Fedora 10'', the following command would need to be executed:
<pre>
vboxmanage sharedfolder add "Fedora 10" -name "MyShare" -hostpath "C:\Temp"
VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 2.1.4
(C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
All rights reserved.
</pre>
Note that the target virtual machine must be power off before the command is executed. Failure to meet this requirement will result in output similar to the following:
<pre>
[!] FAILED calling a->virtualBox->OpenSession(a->session, uuid) at line 4233!
[!] Primary RC = VBOX_E_INVALID_OBJECT_STATE (0x80BB0007) - Current object stat
e prohibits operation
[!] Full error info present: true , basic error info present: true
[!] Result Code = VBOX_E_INVALID_OBJECT_STATE (0x80BB0007) - Current object stat
e prohibits operation
[!] Text = A session for the machine 'Fedora 10' is currently open (or be
ing closed)
[!] Component = Machine, Interface: IMachine, {ea6fb7ea-1993-4642-b113-f29eb39
e0df0}
[!] Callee = IVirtualBox, {339abca2-f47a-4302-87f5-7bc324e6bbde}
</pre>
To resolve this problem, power off the virtual machine and repeat the command.
The previously created shared folder may be removed using the VBoxManage tool as follows:
<pre>
C:\Program Files\Sun\xVM VirtualBox>vboxmanage sharedfolder remove "Fedora 10" -name "MyShare"
VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 2.1.4
(C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
All rights reserved.
</pre>
== Accessing a Shared Folder from a Windows Guest ==
On Windows guests, the shared folder should appear as a standard Windows network share listed under ''VirtualBox Shared Folders'', accessible from the ''Network'' option in the ''Start'' menu. If the shared folder is not visible within the Network window (as can sometime be the case), it may be mapped to a disk drive in a command prompt window by issuing the following command:
:<tt>net use <drive>: \\vboxsvr\<share name></tt> where ''x<drive>:'' represent represents the drive letter to be mapped to the shared folder and ''ShareName'' <share name>> is the name assigned to the shared folder during the creation process outlined above. For example, to map a shared folder named ''TempFiles'' to the S: drive on the guest operating system:
<pre>
== Accessing a Shared Folder from a Linux Guest ==
Shared Folders are accessed on Linux guests by mounting the folder at a suitable mount point using the ''mount'' command. This can either be an existing directory, or a new directory may be created specifically for this purpose. The syntax to perform the mount (which must be performed as super-user or using the ''sudo'' command) is as follows: :<tt>mount -t vboxsf [-o ''MOUNT OPTIONS''] ''ShareName MountPoint''</tt>
where [-o ''MOUNT OPTIONS''] represents any optional directives to the mount command, ''ShareName'' is the name assigned to shared folder when it was created and ''MountPoint'' is the path to the directory on the guest where the shared folder is to be mounted. For example, to mount a shared folder named ''TempFiles'' using ''/tmp/mnt'' as the mount point:
