2

I start windows with a database server in a virtual box by the command:

VBoxManage startvm Wind10 --type headless

Then maybe I want to show the gui by

VirtualBox

or by

VBoxSDL --startvm Wind10 --separate

to do some work there. Afterwards I want to close the gui again but the headless windows os to continue running neatlessly (without having all the database clients being crashed by rebooting it). I found a solution for ubuntu (Is it possible to launch GUI of headless VirtualBox' machine?) with a menu entry "Detach GUI", but this entry is missing in my OpenSuse 15.3.

Gerald Schade
  • 323

2 Answers2

2

Starting the VM from VirtualBox itself you can choose Detachable Start:

GUI Detachable

This will bring Detach GUI -option to the VM menu:

Detach Display

This also gives an additional shutdown option that just closes the GUI but leaves the VM running:

Shutdown Detach

To start the VM with detachable GUI on commandline, use command VBoxManage startvm <VMNAME> --type separate.

This also works when restoring a saved VM.

In my system both Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack for host OS and VirtualBox Guest Additions for guest are installed by default (download links for current version 6.1.26 r145957). However neither of these is required for Detachable options to be available.

Tested and confirmed with VirtualBox 6.1.26 on OpenSUSE Leap 15.3, Debian 10 and MacOS Mojave (host OS:s).

Peregrino69
  • 5,004
1

As a workaround, after using:

VBoxSDL --startvm Win10 --separate

from a putty command line, I close the GUI by Ctrl+C at that command line, followed by:

pkill VBoxSVC -9

Thereby, the Virtual Machine seems to continue in the background the whole time and I might be able to open the GUI again in the same manner.

Gerald Schade
  • 323