[Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]] sdembiske:
A bulletproof way to put FWUL persistent in (Windows) Virtual Box...

After some trial and error came up with this solution that does the job completely for putting the FWUL_v3.1_x86_64_persistent.img in Virtualbox with no issues. You do not need, for example, a 32GB flash drive/USB stick in order to put the 30GB size image in virtual box, you don't need to burn the .img file to a flash drive/USB stick ... i.e., in fact

you don't

even

need a flash drive

to set it up properly,

provided you have enough free disk space on your hard drive.

To avoid any issues, make sure you are logged into the your Windows PC/Laptop as an Administrator or a User with admin rights and ensure Virtualization is enabled in your Bios if it is listed there.

The trick is to copy the downloaded FWUL_v3.1_x86_64_persistent.img (just the .img, not the containing folder you extracted) over to:

C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox

or wherever your Oracle\VirtualBox folders are located when you originally downloaded the program and installed it.

Then, open a command prompt in the VirtualBox folder and enter the following command:

VBoxManage convertdd FWUL_v3.1_x86_64_persistent.img FWUL_v3.1_x86_64_persistent.vdi --format VDI

This converts the .img file to a .vdi file. It takes a little bit of time to complete but when you see the command prompt show up again, it's done.

Next double click on the Oracle VM VirtualBox icon on your desktop and select New when it opens. After setting up the name (FWUL) and operating system info (Linux + Arch Linux 64bit)* and memory size (min 2000 suggested), select under Hard Disk "Use an existing virtual hard disk file".

* Ensure you select the 64 bit version of Arch Linux, even if your PC/Laptop is 32 bit.

Click on the folder to the right on the bar below and navigate to:

C:\Users\Your_User_Name\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\

- the .vdi file you freshly created will be there - just click on it to get it to load - when all done and back at the regular VBox screen, add any folder/flash drive on your host machine (in settings) you want to share with your guest os and then just click on the FWUL program and click the "Start" arrow above and enjoy FWUL Persistent in Virtualbox.

Note

: All users

Remember to do a system upgrade (this does not update to a new FWUL version , that will have to be a new installation) with the following terminal command:

trizen -Syu --noconfirm

LG G4 users

After installation, remember to update SALT to the latest version - to do your SALT backup in FWUL persistent directly to your VirtualBox shared Host folder, refer to post # 526 and keep in mind: a Full backup in SALT of your device can be up to 32GB so make sure you have enough disk space on your Host hard drive to handle it.

Troubleshooting

:

First, confirm you have downloaded only from this location in the FWUL OP for the persistent versions (my concern here is that you have downloaded a forgetful version):

https://androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=214529

Make sure you are running the latest version of (Windows) VirtualBox and that you have installed the Extension Pack as well.

Even if your Windows PC/laptop is 32bit, the VirtualBox drop-down menu should allow you, in the 'New' setup menu, to select Linux and under that entry, the 64bit Arch Linux OS (it should be right above or below the 32bit version in the drop-down menu) - that is what FWUL is based on, so it's important to select the 64bit only ... i.e., it doesn't matter that your PC/laptop is 32bit.

Ensure you are matching your .img file name in the conversion command exactly to the persistent .img file name you downloaded, extracted and moved over to the VirtualBox original install folder to run the conversion command. Copying and pasting the conversion command from my post, is the most error free way to do it, provided the file name matches exactly to the .img file you downloaded.

Important: Insure you have enough available hard drive space on you PC/laptop to install the size of FWUL .vdi disk you created, in addition to the .img file you downloaded.

Check the following two locations on your PC/Laptop hard drive for the .vdi file you created from the conversion command.

C:\Users\Your_User_Name\VirtualBoxVMS

C:\Users\Your_User_Name\AppData\Local\VirtualStore \Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\

If you need to try again, remove the FWUL install and delete all FWUL related files - double check the two file locations above to make sure there are no FWUL related files there whatsoever.

Note

: Updated to V3.1

IF, you are still facing challenges converting FWUL persistent .img files to .vdi files for use in Windows VirtualBox after going through the troubleshooting checks, I have taken the time to create and upload ready-to-go FWUL persistent VDI's that can be installed directly into VirtualBox.

The links to download these VDI's are in post # 527