Access VirtualBox shared folders in Yosemite

Solution 1:

AFAIK the shared folder feature of VirtualBox only works with the VirtualBox guest additions. The additions can't be installed in a OS X/macOS guest. Thus you can't use this feature.

Instead share a folder in the OS X/macOS guest system by enabling "File Sharing" in System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing.

If the default public user folder is not sufficient, add another folder and determine user permissions. The protocol can be chosen by hitting the "Options" button.

Depending on your host system you can also configure a shared folder there.

Visibility of the guest's shared folder:

Let's assume the host system's only physical network interface (e.g. an Ethernet adapter) has an IP in the network 192.168.0.0/24.

If you attach the guest's network adapter to the Bridged network > (Host's) Ethernet adapter and configure the guest's Ethernet adapter with a (unique) IP of the 192.168.0.0/24 network, the shared folder of the guest is visible for all hosts and virtual hosts in the 192.168.0.0/24 network. To access the folder your hosts have to talk afp, smb (or nfs - which has to be set up seperately) of course.

If you attach the guest's network adapter to the Host-only network > vboxnet0, the shared folder of the guest is visible for all guest hosts attached to the vboxnet0 network on the same machine and the host machine itself.

If you attach the guest's network adapter to a NAT network > vboxnatnet01, the shared folder of the guest is visible for all guest hosts attached to the vboxnatnet01 network on the same machine and the host machine itself. If you enable port forwarding properly the shared folder is also visible for other hosts or virtual hosts in the 192.168.0.0/24 network.

Solution 2:

I installed "Guest Additions" on macOS High Sierra to solve this problem:

1. (Menu VB) Devices -> Insert Guest Additions CD image ...
2. It appears in the VM "Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Addition" icon
3. Open it and start the installation

To use a shared Folder:

1. (Menu VB) Devices -> Shared Folders
2. In the folder list, select andconfirm a directory on the host machine
3. Restart VM

Solution 3:

I've found a "half-solution" for the same problem. I made ".iso" image and connect it to the guest OS as CD. The disadvantage is a one way direction from Host to Guest but for me it was ok because I needed to pass some files for testing.