v9.10 update (within VirtualBox) fails to boot; recover .vdi file

[ab736]

I have been using VirtualBox on my Win XP machine to run Ubuntu. I have a lot of data on the virtual hard disk. After attempting an upgrade to Ubuntu v9.10, I am now not able to boot into virtual machine using the virtual hard disk. Is there any way to recover data from the virtual hard disk file (.vdi)?

This looks like it could become a common issue.

I was upgrading my Ubuntu Linux within VirtualBox to v9.10 from the previous version. For some reason or other, the Upgrade Manager did not offer a full upgrade, and would only allow a "partial upgrade". I selected this and the upgrade process began. After this upgrade, I ran Ubuntu again, but it freezes, with the screen showing:

One or more of the mounts listed in /etc/fstab cannot yet be mounted:
(ESC for recovery shell)
/: waiting for /dev/disk/by-uuid/cd177ac5-450e-4b30-b60d-bfdd82b88911
/tmp: waiting for (null)
swap: waiting for UUID=88a0407b-77be-49f5-a242-cca36e16b3ae
/home/eling/host_c_drive: waiting for C_DRIVE


I have tried creating a new virtual machine, using the old .vdi as its hard disk, then installing the new Ubuntu v9.10. However, the new OS doesn't allow me to access the directories and files I have on the old .vdi......
](*,)
Will be grateful for any advice/tips. Thank you!

[mättu]

sorry for replying so late..

I "discovered" a very easy way some days ago and have banged my head against all walls available since.

Just start the virtual machine and boot from the live-cd (or live-image, as you please), then wait for the desktop to arrive, find the "hd" under /media
and save everything you need wherever you need it.
I used a USB-drive for convenience.

Does this answer your question?

:m)