OS used to access NAS: Windows 11
Model: TVS-671 (CPU upgraded to Intel Core i7-4790S, RAM upgraded to 16GB)
Firmware version: QTS 5.2.9.3499
Network setup: Single port
Subject: Existing Hard Disk dialog shows folder but never lists any files (raw .img, all standard causes ruled out)
Software:
- Virtualization Station 4.1.1.130
Goal: Import a pre-built Home Assistant OS disk image (originally .qcow2, converted to raw .img via qemu-img convert -O raw) as an existing hard disk on a new VM.
Problem: In both the initial “Create Virtual Machine” wizard and the post-creation “Edit → Storage → Add → Add Existing Hard Disk” screen, the file browser shows the containing shared folder but never lists the .img file itself — only subfolders appear. OK stays greyed out, no file selectable.
Key fact: this is not a missing/inaccessible file. In File Station, the file (Home Assistant-VM_01.img, ~33GB) sits in the exact same folder as the VM’s own auto-created disk (Home Assistant-VM_00.img) — both visible, both fully accessible, both showing correct permissions and file size in File Station. Virtualization Station’s own auto-created disk is presumably usable by the VM; my externally-created one, sitting right beside it in the same folder, simply never appears in the Existing Hard Disk browser. The file is demonstrably present and accessible at the filesystem level — the dialog itself appears to be filtering or failing to enumerate it for some other reason.
Troubleshooting already completed, all ruled out:
- Confirmed exact filename/extension via
dirin Command Prompt — no hidden double-extension issue - Confirmed folder permissions (admin, read/write)
- Set up NFS + HybridMount specifically to mount the shared folder and browse via NFS instead of SMB — file still not listed, even though the same file is visible through File Station’s HybridMount view
- Converted
.qcow2→ raw.imgper the dialog’s own stated requirement (“Select a hard disk image with the *.img format”) - Placed the file in the same auto-created subfolder Virtualization Station uses for its own VM disks, directly alongside its own working
_00.img - Renamed the file to match QNAP’s own
_00/_01naming convention - Checked Preferences → Storage → “default folder location for registering virtual machines” — no path was set; explicitly setting it made no difference
Question: Given the file is confirmed present, correctly permissioned, and sitting next to a disk QNAP’s own tooling created and presumably uses successfully — why would the Existing Hard Disk dialog fail to list it? Is there a required registration step for externally-created .img files not exposed in this dialog? Is there a CLI/SSH (virsh or similar) way to attach it directly, bypassing this dialog?