Convert physical computer to virtual

[drjones]

Hi, I might have a need soon to convert a clients Windows XP machine into a virtual for him to run on his new Windows 7 computer, so that he can continue using some extremely old software.

I ran across this article, does anyone have any other tips, tricks, or methods for doing this? http://www.addictivetips.com/window...ical-machine-in-vmware-virtualbox-virtual-pc/

I think the one time I did this a long time ago I ran into a big licensing snag though; any tips for overcoming that?

I use virtual machines (VirtualBox) daily, so I'm reasonably experienced with the process of creating new machines from a Windows 7 ISO, just looking for help on virtualizing an existing physical Windows XP computer.

Thanks!

 

[Brand]

It you are trying to virtualize an OEM license of Windows XP to run on hardware other than the hardware that it came on you will be in violation of the EULA. I am not sure how far Microsoft is willing to work with you on that.

 

[ComputerPro]

virtual

I take it its not Win 7 pro, so no licensed virtual XP then right? We set an office up with win7 pro boxes and had to run virtual XP for a legacy app. Ran the client and server portion directly in virtual XP with no issues, other than a virtual network adapter change.

 

[Brand]

I take it its not Win 7 pro, so no licensed virtual XP then right? We set an office up with win7 pro boxes and had to run virtual XP for a legacy app. Ran the client and server portion directly in virtual XP with no issues, other than a virtual network adapter change.

That still only allows for the prebuilt and licensed Windows XP VHD that gets downloaded from Microsoft. It does not allow for transferring an OEM license of Windows XP.

 

[drjones]

Ok, a couple issues on this:

- The computer won't boot, which is what prompted my client to finally move to a new PC. Can I still create a Virtual Machine from it by slaving the hard drive to another computer?

- I think the machine is running Windows 98. No that's not a typo. It's an extremely old Dell with the NT/98 sticker on it. I looked and VirtualBox will support Win98, so hopefully shouldn't be too big an issue.

 

[drjones]

Wow, I *think* I may have gotten this....

I downloaded the free disk2vhd from microsoft, plugged the old hard drive into my computer via USB adapter, hit the "create" button, took literally under a minute as there's only 1.5GB total of data, including the OS, loaded the VHD file into VirtualBox and looks like it's all good!!!

The virtual machine booted up & seems to run OK!

I'll keep you guys posted, but this may be solved. Thank you for the help!

 

[Rob_NNCC]

Thank you for this information. Highly helpful!

 

[JustInspired]

Wow, I *think* I may have gotten this....

I downloaded the free disk2vhd from microsoft, plugged the old hard drive into my computer via USB adapter, hit the "create" button, took literally under a minute as there's only 1.5GB total of data, including the OS, loaded the VHD file into VirtualBox and looks like it's all good!!!

The virtual machine booted up & seems to run OK!

I'll keep you guys posted, but this may be solved. Thank you for the help!

Great news indeed.
BTW, was it a Windows 98 machine?
I have a similar client who is running an old decrepit P3 and Win 98 but they have some old hardware that connects via serial and parallel ports so I'm not sure if it will even work on a new computer.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I downloaded the free disk2vhd from microsoft,

That's what I've used a lot...on desktops, and servers...with good success.
I see that Paragon Software released a free tool to do this also.

 

[drjones]

Alright, so it seems to be working fine....any guidance on how to install a graphics driver for the virtual machine to increase the resolution?

 

[drjones]

Great news indeed.
BTW, was it a Windows 98 machine?
I have a similar client who is running an old decrepit P3 and Win 98 but they have some old hardware that connects via serial and parallel ports so I'm not sure if it will even work on a new computer.

Hi, yes it was in fact a windows 98 machine. Seeing it boot up instantly reminded me of my college days.

I don't know what to tell you about that old hardware, but I do know that they simply must start moving to newer hardware and software. Pushing off hardware and software upgrades that long is foolish and inviting disaster.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Alright, so it seems to be working fine....any guidance on how to install a graphics driver for the virtual machine to increase the resolution?

Most Hypervisors have a system enhancement tool set that you push install into the guest. Microsoft Hyper-V has the "System Integration" tools, and VMWare has the "VMWare Tools" that you install. I haven't played with VirtualBox in many years...but I'm sure they have some tools that you install with a "right click...install" option on the guest when it's powered off. Although...not sure how that would work with Win9X client....

 

[KompuKare]

Most Hypervisors have a system enhancement tool set that you push install into the guest. Microsoft Hyper-V has the "System Integration" tools, and VMWare has the "VMWare Tools" that you install. I haven't played with VirtualBox in many years...but I'm sure they have some tools that you install with a "right click...install" option on the guest when it's powered off. Although...not sure how that would work with Win9X client....

Well, unfortunately VirtualBox has no WinDOS (Win9x/ME) video drivers AFAIK. Think the only things is to follow a tutorial like this
https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=9918
which talks about using SciTech Display Doctor (anyone remember that from DOS days?) but that's hardly ideal. VMWare does claim WinDOS support though.

Incidentally, the few times I've tried this the VMWare Converter has worked very well. The whole thing with transferring licences is typical though: with Microsoft it's not just about what works but also what is allowed by their EULA. Linux is so much easier in that respect.

 

[ShinyTech]

I normally just make a .gho image file of the hard drive then use the command line to convert the file to a .vmdk that can be loaded in virtualbox

Using a ghost image back with ghost 11 then converting it is very easy, the only problem I ran into is loading drivers once the virtual machine is done as the storage drivers can cause it to blue screen on boot.

Heres a reference on the command line utility to run to do the conversion
http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/converting-image-file-format-gho-vmdk-and-vmdk-gho

 

[drjones]

Most Hypervisors have a system enhancement tool set that you push install into the guest. Microsoft Hyper-V has the "System Integration" tools, and VMWare has the "VMWare Tools" that you install. I haven't played with VirtualBox in many years...but I'm sure they have some tools that you install with a "right click...install" option on the guest when it's powered off. Although...not sure how that would work with Win9X client....

Yes, VirtualBox has "Guest additions" that you can install, however as the poster directly after you correctly noted, Win98 is unfortunately not supported. Oh well, the resolution is low but not unworkable.....