existing WinXP to .vdi

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michaelzorn
Posts: 2
Joined: 13. May 2008, 14:04

Wrong Command

Post by michaelzorn »

Hi All,
I am a newbie of virtual box and I tried to apply the procedure described in this topic to definetely pass from XP to Ubuntu with XP virtual machines but I get 2 problems:
1) when I write this command
VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk ...
I get this error message
Syntax error: Invalid command 'createrawvmdk'
2) if my native xp stays on /dev/sda1on 1st patition what would be the correct syntax of the complete command
VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename .VirtualBox/VDI/WinXPraw.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/hd[a..z] -partitions [1..9] -relative
i suppose:
VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename .VirtualBox/VDI/WinXPraw.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/sda1 -partitions 1 -relative.
Thank you all in advance.
Bye[/list]
pete_l
Posts: 62
Joined: 23. May 2008, 15:10

Re: Transfer a physical partition to virtual disk

Post by pete_l »

Ingo wrote:OK, I've done it for Windows XP like this:

... instructions removed ...

13. repair your copy, see http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Migrate_Windows

that's it and should always work as long as repair does it.
In the Migrate Windows document, there is a line:
> The easiest way is to use the excellent MergeIDE utility from the German c't computer magazine

As a warning, I followed these instructions on the W2K-SP4 box I'm intending to migrate. After using the mergeide script, my box now won't boot. I get the following
STOP c0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The registry cannot load the hive (file)
\SystemRoot\System\Config\SOFTWARE
or it's log or alternate
...
when I boot, either normally or in safe mode.
First-aid is being applied as I write this. Hopefully the damage is not too severe
pete_l
Posts: 62
Joined: 23. May 2008, 15:10

more - including a critical error from VirtualBox

Post by pete_l »

OK, there's more (including a nice juicy dump from Virtualbox after I imported the physical
disk containing this (now very) dead W2K instance to a VMDK file and vb'd it.

A copy of the VB log is available at my website
and an image (captured by VB as part of it's diagnostics) of W2K booting up is
here

Looks like a complete re-install of W2K and all my software is the only remaining course
of action. :( Just as well it's a rainy bank-holiday this weekend.
jonrodolea
Posts: 6
Joined: 4. Nov 2008, 09:38

Post by jonrodolea »

Hi there,
I'm wondering whether anyone can help me with a similar problem; I have a ThinkPad T400 running XP, and I want to run this XP setup on my mac using VB.
I reduced the partition size to 40GB on the T400 using gparted.
I then took the hard drive out of the T400 and put it in a USB enclosure and plugged it into my mac. I ejected the NTFS partition (/dev/disk1s1) and ran these commands successfully in the Terminal

Code: Select all

dd if=/dev/disk1s1 of=/Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/XP.img &&
VBoxManage convertdd -format VDI /Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/XP.img  /Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/XP.vdi &&
chmod 666 /Library/VirtualBox/HardDisks/XP.vdi
I've attached this disk to a Machine in VB, but no matter what I try, I just get a black screen with a (non-flashing) cursor when I try to boot from it.
I've used a Windows installer CD to Recover the installation,
I've booted from a live Ubuntu CD to remove drivers like agp440.sys, intelppm.sys and more.
I tried all the things suggested on the excellent http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Migrate_Windows, except I don't understand the steps about how to run the MergeIDE utility - should I run MergeIDE on the T400, then run the conversion commands in the Terminal again to make a fresh vdi?

Any ideas would be MOST appreciated.
Last edited by jonrodolea on 14. Jan 2009, 22:47, edited 1 time in total.
baf
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Post by baf »

Try booting from a complete windows cd. Select rescue console. There run fixboot and fixmbr. See if that helps. Good luck.
Some say: "You learn as long as you live".
My way: "You live as long as you learn".
vbox4me2
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Post by vbox4me2 »

Its much easier to do this with clonezilla live CD and an additional VDI disk as secondairy clone disk, then swap'm around inside VB.
TerryE
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Post by TerryE »

If you are not getting into the NT bootstrap loader (it loads the boot.ini file) and the NT kernel, etc., then it is an MBR or NT bootstrap problem. Setting the partition active + running fixboot and fixmbr should at least get you into the driver load sequence.

If you are into the driver load sequence, then booting in safe mode with driver booy diagnostics should tell you where you are stalling. Try these and come back with detailed error messages.
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jonrodolea
Posts: 6
Joined: 4. Nov 2008, 09:38

Post by jonrodolea »

Thanks very much for your suggestions everyone!
TerryE wrote:If you are not getting into the NT bootstrap loader (it loads the boot.ini file) and the NT kernel, etc., then it is an MBR or NT bootstrap problem. Setting the partition active + running fixboot and fixmbr should at least get you into the driver load sequence.
Thanks Terry, I presume this is the case as I don't get any error messages, just a cursor.
Could you please clarify how to set the partition as active?
Is it by using fdisk at the command prompt (in recovery console)?
TerryE
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Post by TerryE »

I could say that this is an easy one to check on the internet, but the short answer is that this is an fdisk option :-)
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nixer
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by nixer »

I used dd in a linux host to clone a xp install, conversion went well, but now it will not get beyond the mup.sys loading in safe mode. I have renamed the agp440.sys and the intelppm.sys files within the guest os, but it still will not work.

Has anyone managed to get beyond the agp440.sys and mup.sys problem?
mpack
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by mpack »

nixer wrote:Has anyone managed to get beyond the agp440.sys and mup.sys problem?
Yes, the instructions of this page worked for me. Note in particular the MergeIDE step prior to creating the image. I also installed "Recovery Console" as a boot option prior to imaging. Then after I had "restored" the image into a VM I ran recovery console and disabled the "agp440" and "processor" services. XP booted fine after that.
nixer
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by nixer »

Thanks mpack, but I followed these instructions but I still get a hangup during a safemode boot at mup.sys.

In the Recovery Console the agp440.sys file/service is not found. It just isn't there. I will start over again within the next couple of days.

I do thank you for your help.
mpack
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by mpack »

nixer wrote:In the Recovery Console the agp440.sys file/service is not found. It just isn't there.
It isn't necessarily there. I assume the agp440 service has something to do with AGP graphics chipsets, which the PC I was migrating from did have and therefore this service existed. If your recovery console says "no such service" or something like that - and you've checked for typos - then that's fine, it means that service can't be causing a problem, you proceed to the next step.
nixer
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by nixer »

I found this page and it had some helpful information. I have tried all that I have read and still can't get past the mup.sys hang. I will keep looking and trying new things as I find them.

http://www.digizenstudio.com/blog/2008/ ... on-issues/

The link above pointed to this page and I had the exact problem as mentioned here:
http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/995

I figured that since the agp440.sys service was not found then it probably wasn't important, but I didn't know for sure.

At this point I am ready to try the recovery installation to see if it fixes it. I will backup the .vdi file, just in case it gets corrupted.

Thanks...
dineshj
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Re: existing WinXP to .vdi

Post by dineshj »

You have to try with free VMware converter as mentioned here http://www.sysprobs.com/physical-virtua ... ualbox-p2v
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