Workaround to Access Shared Folders on Sun xVM VirtualBox from Windows 7 Guest

Sun xVM VirtualBox is a powerful x86 virtualization product for home and enterprise use which supports a large number of guest operating systems such as Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and OpenBSD. VirtualBox also has Shared Folders feature, which is common among virtualization solutions to provide easy data exchange between hosts and gusts.

In Sun xVM Virtual Box, VirtualBox allows user to select and declare folders and directories on host machine as “shared folders”. After setting the shared folders, user can then access these shared folders from within the guest operating system of the virtual machines. In Windows XP and Vista guest, user can see the VirtualBox Shared Folders from within its entire network neighborhood.

In order to access the host machine operating system shared folders from VirtualBox virtual machine running Windows 7, be it Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (Ubuntu) or others, just start with normal standard step to set up shared folders in the Windows 7 virtual machine. In most cases, there is no need to worry about file and printer sharing for Microsoft Network protocol or Samba requirements. No Guest Additions is required to install too.

  1. In VirtualBox virtual machine window, go to Devices pull down menu and click on Shared Folders.
  2. Click on Add New Shared Folder (Ins) icon on the right. Then browse and select a folder located on host computer that want to be shared with guest computer. Optionally, enter a custom folder name to be known in guest virtual machine. Finish off with OK button.

    Create New Shared Folder in VirtualBox Virtual Machine

    Note: In Folder Path, click and select “Other” to view complete directory tree on the host machine.

  3. Run Windows Explorer in Windows 7 virtual box machine.
  4. Type the following into the address bar to access the shared folder:

    \\vboxsvr\<Shared Folder Name>

    Replace <Shared Folder Name> with the actual folder name used to define the share. For example, \\vboxsvr\Desktop, or \\vboxsrv\media in Linux to access USB, CD-DVD and other media. The shared folders must be explicitly declared in VirtualBox to work.

    Access Host Shared Folder from Virtual Box Machine

  5. The folder’s content on the host computer should be shown inside the guest virtual machine, allowing files and fodlers to be transferred and copied.
  6. Optionally, map a network drive to the shared folder (which should be made permanent) by going to Computer folder, and click on Map Network Driver. Then enter the similar path into Folder text box.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 1:38 am and is filed under Tips & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “Workaround to Access Shared Folders on Sun xVM VirtualBox from Windows 7 Guest”

  1. Steve
    November 19th, 2009 23:05
    9

    i’ve tried it all, nothing works, my host os is arch linux and i’m trying to get my shared folders to work, windows 7 professional is the guest, help

  2. Casp
    October 20th, 2009 21:04
    8

    Good post. Very useful. Thanks

  3. Knows it Better
    August 27th, 2009 15:38
    7

    type net use X: \\vboxsvr\SharedFolder
    in command line, X: is the Drive Letter you want to use, t will create a Network Drive :) displayed under ‘Computer’ where all your Drives are listed

  4. BradS
    August 14th, 2009 11:51
    6

    Edit my previous post:
    If you don’t want to type \\vboxsvr\shared_folder_name into explorer every time you want to access your VirtualBox shared folder, simply create a shortcut (it’s target should be \\vboxsvr\shared_folder_name)in your favorite location, ie: your desktop. Then you can simply double click on your newly created shortcut to open the shared file location. VirtualBox rocks!

  5. BradS
    August 14th, 2009 11:47
    5

    If you don’t want to type \\vboxsvr\ into explorer every time you want to access your VirtualBox shared folder, simply create a shortcut (it’s target should be \\vboxsvr\)in your favorite location, ie: your desktop. Then you can simply double click on your newly created shortcut to open the shared file location. VirtualBox rocks!

  6. Manikandan S
    August 11th, 2009 23:14
    4

    Thanks a lot. Just what I needed. I’ve been trying to make the shared folders feature work for hours together now. Thanks again :)

  7. Rob Maurer
    August 7th, 2009 20:17
    3

    Thanks – Just what I needed!

  8. mark lines
    August 7th, 2009 05:55
    2

    Worked a treat once I just put the folder name in rather than the full path.

    happy win 7 days…….

  9. Sun Virtual Box – a free alternative to VMware? « e-learning from the techie side
    August 4th, 2009 19:15
    1

    [...] with the host system is still giving me challenges, but I think this is a mac issue solved it here, must map a network [...]

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