Vagrant Up failing because the name already exists

Question

I've recently started using Virtualbox, Vagrant and VVV for my local Wordpress development environment. It's very slick.

One issue I've had is that after shutting things down with 'vagrant halt', the next time I start with 'vagrant up' I get this error:

==> default: Setting the name of the VM: vagrant-local 
The name of your virtual machine couldn't be set because VirtualBox
is reporting another VM with that name already exists. Most of the
time, this is because of an error with VirtualBox not cleaning up
properly. To fix this, verify that no VMs with that name do exist
(by opening the VirtualBox GUI). If they don't, then look at the
folder in the error message from VirtualBox below and remove it
if there isn't any information you need in there.

VirtualBox error:

VBoxManage.exe: error: Could not rename the directory 'C:\VirtualBox VMs\ubuntu-cloudimg-trusty-va
230_94704' to 'C:\VirtualBox VMs\vagrant-local' to save the settings file (VERR_ALREADY_EXISTS)
VBoxManage.exe: error: Details: code E_FAIL (0x80004005), component SessionMachine, interface IMac
VBoxManage.exe: error: Context: "SaveSettings()" at line 3015 of file VBoxManageModifyVM.cpp

I visit the location listed C:\VirtualBox VMs\ and indeed, that directory 'vagrant-local' already exists. If I delete (or rename) this directory and run 'vagrant up' again, the machine starts. But, it also performs the full provisioning process. Which, of course, takes a very long time.

I'm using all the default configurations for VVV and Vagrant out-of-the-box. What should I do to help VirtualBox "clean up properly" and recognize that it doesn't need to recreate the VM every time I halt and restart.

Or, am I just missing something?

"Beginner level" responses are welcome, if not preferred. I'm a beginner in this area and I appreciate the help! Thanks.

---

CURRENT STATUS: I've deleted the VM in question from C:\VirtualBox VMs\; Running Git Bash as administrator, I've been able to use vagrant up (full provision takes place), vagrant halt, and vagrant up again all with expected results (no provisioning on second up). As of now, it appears that everything is working. Appears... :)

Answer 1

If you are on a Mac, and vagrant destroy doesn't work, and you get the message: The name of your virtual machine couldn't be set because VirtualBox is reporting another VM with that name already exists. Then you need to go to the VirtualBox VMs folder in your user folder and delete the VM folder.

It's in a weird state where it can't build the VM because it's trying to create settings for a folder that is already there with the same name.

Answer 2

Mine was a little simpler than most of these. I checked the "Virtual Box VMs" directory (for windows) and deleted the folder that was named what it was trying to be named as. This resolved the issue for me.