Separate Mode

Separate mode is an alternative front end for local and remote virtual machines. Separate mode is based on the VBoxHeadless front end but uses the user interface to control and display virtual machines, rather than an RDP viewer program. The VirtualBox Remote Desktop Extension (VRDE) is not required for separate mode.

Separate mode enables the guest graphical user interface to easily attach to and detach from a running VM. Users with several running VMs can use separate mode to display the required VM, while keeping all other VMs in the background until they are needed.

Separate mode has some security advantages, compared to using the VBoxHeadless front end.

Using Separate Mode

The following list describes some typical operations in separate mode.

To start a virtual machine in separate mode:

Right-click the VM name in the machine list in and select Detachable Start in the Start submenu.
To detach from a virtual machine in separate mode:

On the virtual machine's Machine menu, select Detach GUI.
To attach to a virtual machine in separate mode:

Right-click the VM name in the machine list in and select Show.
To stop a virtual machine that is running in separate mode:

Right-click the VM name in the machine list in and select an option in the Stop menu.