User`s guide

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C HAPTER 10
Working With Snapshots
A snapshot is a saved state of the virtual machine. Snapshots can be created manually or
automatically when the virtual machine is running. After you make a snapshot, you can continue
working with the virtual machine and revert to the created snapshot at any time of your work.
Snapshots are stored in the primary OS inside the virtual machine bundle (p. 14), in the
Snapshots subfolder. Each snapshot has a number of files, including the .sav file that
contains the virtual machine's state, the .mem file that contains the memory dump for the virtual
machine, and other different files of the virtual hard disk.
Note: Snapshots are not backup copies or clones (p. 234) of your virtual machine. You cannot
use them alone without your virtual machine or move them from the virtual machine bundle.
You may need to make snapshots in the following cases:
 If you are configuring a software that requires a lot of settings, you may want to explore the
settings functions before selecting them. For testing the settings, create snapshots at
branching points.
 If you want to mark milestones in the development process. If something goes wrong, you
can always revert to the previous state or create a branch of snapshots starting with the
particular milestone snapshot.
Note: Snapshots cannot be created for virtual machines that use the Boot Camp partition.
In This Chapter
Making Snapshots................................................................................................................. 250
Managing Snapshots ............................................................................................................. 251