8 VBoxManage reference
8.4 VBoxManage createvm
This command creates a new XML virtual machine definition file.
The
--name <name>
parameter is required and must specify the name of
the machine.
Since this name is used by default as the file name of the set-
tings file (with the extension
.xml
) and the machine folder (a subfolder of the
.VirtualBox/Machines
folder), it must conform to your host operating system’s
requirements for file name specifications. If the VM is later renamed, the file and
folder names will change automatically.
However, if the
--basefolder <path>
and the
--settingsfile <filename>
options are used, the XML definition file will be given the name
<filename>
and
the machine folder will be named
<path>
. In this case, the names of the file and the
folder will not change if the virtual machine is renamed.
By default, this command only creates the XML file without automatically registering
the VM with your VirtualBox installation. To register the VM instantly, use the optional
--register
option, or run
VBoxManage registervm
separately afterwards.
8.5 VBoxManage modifyvm
This command changes the properties of a registered virtual machine. Most of the
properties that this command makes available correspond to the VM settings that
VirtualBox graphical user interface displays in each VM’s “Settings” dialog; these were
described in chapter
3.7
,
Virtual machine settings
, page
45
. Some of the more advanced
settings, however, are only available through the
VBoxManage
interface.
8.5.1 General settings
The following general settings are available through
VBoxManage modifyvm
:
•
--name <name>
: This changes the VM’s name and possibly renames the inter-
nal virtual machine files, as described with
VBoxManage createvm
above.
•
--ostype <ostype>
: This specifies what guest operating system is supposed
to run in the VM. To learn about the various identifiers that can be used here,
use
VBoxManage list ostypes
.
•
--memory <memorysize>
: This sets the amount of RAM, in MB, that the vir-
tual machine should allocate for itself from the host. See the remarks in chapter
3.2
,
Creating a virtual machine
, page
32
for more information.
•
--vram <vramsize>
: This sets the amount of RAM that the virtual graphics
card should have. See chapter
3.7.3
,
Display settings
, page
49
for details.
•
--acpi on|off
;
--ioapic on|off
: These two determine whether the VM
should have ACPI and I/O APIC support, respectively; see chapter
3.7.2.1
,
“Moth-
erboard” tab
, page
47
for details.
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