Christian Will
2017-08-31 10:32:00
I have an example of how to autostart a VirtualBox VM during Windows startup. I'm running Windows 10, but it shouldn't be much different on Windows Server 2016.
The startup folder on my system is:
C:\Users\chriwill\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
In that folder I placed a batch file kubuntu.bat with following content:
"C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" startvm kubuntu --type headless
In my example the VM is named kubuntu. You'll have to change it for your instance.
ADDON:
If you need help finding the startup folder on your windows instance press keys WINDOWS+R and enter shell:startup.
reference: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch08.html#vboxmanage-startvm
Does the VM shutdown properly when Windows shuts down or reboots?
I've found the VM will shut down (hey that's two words there) properly when I bounce or kill the host box properly, yes. The main hurdle is the (re)start on boot afterward.
While doing it with a batch file is acceptable for after the user logs in, it will never be able to achieve it on boot, which is what this question asks. For a proper solution, see this answer below: stackoverflow.com/a/67305915/5387389