Home > Questions

How to Copy Files from a Virtual Machine to an External Hard Drive?

I'm just looking for some methods to copy files from a Virtual Machine to an external hard drive. Can anyone give me some do's and don'ts?

Best Answered by

iBoysoft author Vain Rowe

Vain Rowe

Answered on Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Before you begin to copy files, checking if the hard drive is formatted to the OS-compatible file system is a must. Your writing actions may go failing if the file system of the hard drive is incompatible with the OS. 

If the file system of the external hard drive is incompatible with the Virtual Machine OS, you need to format the drive in advance. Make sure you have backed up the data on the drive properly because formatting wipes everything on your drive.

For information about how to format a hard drive, please read:

How Initialize & Format External Hard Drive on Windows PC?

How to Format an External Hard Drive on Mac?

Then, you need to close your OS in Virtual Machine. In the Settings tab of your Virtual Machine software on your computer (not the Settings tab of the Virtual Machine OS), you need to change the settings under "USB" or "External hard drive" to "ask what to do" or "Connect to Virtual Machine" when an external hard drive is connected to your computer.

Boot your Virtual Machine OS again, and connect your external hard drive. If you have checked "ask what to do", you will get a notification asking if you want to connect the external hard drive to the host OS or the virtual machine OS. If you have enabled "Connect to Virtual Machine", the external hard drive will be connected to the virtual machine OS automatically.

Now, you can copy files to your external hard drive by following the steps below:

Step 1: Open the files that you want to copy and left-click your mouse to cover the files.

Step 2: Right-click the selected files and tap Copy from the dropdown menu.

Step 3: Double-click your drive to open it, and press the Command + V keys to paste them.

Step 4: Wait for the copying process to end.

Hope this answer helps you!

People Also Ask

Read More Questions

Read More Advice From iBoysoft's Computer Experts

how to fix cursor disappearing on Mac

Mouse Cursor Disappears on Mac: Why & How to Fix

Why does your cursor keep disappearing on Mac? Here is a complete guide of what to do when the cursor disappears on Mac. Get the mouse pointer back now.

How to Tips

o que é o bootloader

Bootloader: O Que É E Como Funciona?

Se você está curioso sobre o bootloader, veio ao lugar certo. Este post guia você pelo bootloader de forma abrangente, incluindo suas definições e padrão de funcionamento. Basta clicar!

how to save an image on Mac

[Top 4 Ways] How to Save an Image on Mac in Different Ways?

A useful tutorial to tell how to save an image on Mac or MacBook, including saving those pictures that are set against saving.

News Tips