Disk read error from a new VM after using CloneVDI to transfom a VHDX to a VDI

[ggirf14]

I'm trying to virtualise an aging computer running Win7.
I used Disk2vhd v2.02 to produce a VHD file that worked ok with what seemed to be a small bug (file errors that had to be repaired).
The VM seemed to be fine until I tested the third essential software that gave me many components missing errors even after uninstall - reinstall the software.

I'm now testing Disk2vhd v2.02 to produce a VHDX file that I'm trying to transform to a VDI using CloneVDI.
I now have the VDI file but when I try to boot the vm for the first time I get early in the boot the following error:
A read disk error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart.

VBoxlog-2024-01-28-23-35-37.txt

(75.57 KiB) Downloaded 87 times

Thanks for you time.

[scottgus1]

I think in both cases, using Disk2VHD, yielding VHD and VHDx, you're facing the same problem: the aging Windows 7 PC has a bad disk. Disk2VHD or other cloning software depends on a good source.

Alternatively, with the VHDx run, did you make sure to get all the source disk partitions?

[ggirf14]

I only selected the C drive partition and left the two hidden partitions blank. Do you think this may cause a problem?

I will look into disk diagnostic tools for a sata ssd drive on the original machine. Do you have any suggestion?

[scottgus1]

I only selected the C drive partition and left the two hidden partitions blank. Do you think this may cause a problem?

did you make sure to get all the source disk partitions?

The C partition doesn't contain the boot loader.
*********************************

disk diagnostic tools for a sata ssd drive on the original machine. Do you have any suggestion?

After a reliable restorable disk image to preserve the data that's there, try good ol' CHKDSK.

FWIW product recommendations may go off topic in time. The 3rd-party software I would have recommended for the disk image is no longer free...

[ggirf14]

On the old machine I ran chkdsk and diskgenius with no error found.
My USB external drive receiving the vhd file is oficially 3.0 and up. I checked in device manager and found USB 3.0 device + driver are ok.
The original attempt were using the only usb 3.0 port and took about 30 minutes to complete. This attempt I used the esata port and it took about 3 hours. And yes all partitions were selected this time.

I created a new VM and waited for CPU activity to drop to 0 before login. After login I just waited for CUP to be at 0 and a good minute after receiving a popup about restarting the computer was needed I created a snapshot. On shutdown explorer closed and the message "computer is shutting down" was on screen. My host computer's task manager was showing high cpu ranging between 50 - 70% but 0 disk activity for 5 minutes. I used the power off command from the gui and powering on gave me an error message, restoring the snapshot and power on gave me the same error below:

VM Name: 5th from Esata port

Parent UUID {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} of the medium 'C:\Users\user_name\VirtualBox VMs\5th from Esata port\Snapshots\{43b9407e-3940-4077-af03-89894f4476d6}.vhd' does not match UUID {c7a13433-d674-4e1a-bbd5-7d53f63d7c17} of its parent medium stored in the media registry ('C:\Users\user_name\.VirtualBox\VirtualBox.xml').
Result Code:
E_FAIL (0X80004005)
Component:
MediumWrap
Interface:
IMedium {ad47ad09-787b-44ab-b343-a082a3f2dfb1}

[scottgus1]

I'm not certain what went wrong with the snapshot, but adding snapshots adds complexity. Since you already have a full VHD from Disk2VHD as a transfer backup of the original PC, if you make a copy of this VHD for the VM to use, then you will have the original VHD as a backup. No need for snapshots.

If the transfer process fails, you can always just write another copy of the VHD from the USB drive over the VHD the VM is using and start over. Or if a stage of the process works, after shutting down the VM, make a copy of the VHD in the VM to other backup media. Then use that copy as the working stage backup to restore when necessary.

BTW the OS will have to recalculate itself when transferring from the physical PC to the different hardware of the VM, so some disk churning, CPU activity, and hardware driver changes are inevitable.

You'll have to start over with a new VM and a new copy of the VHD. Undoing damaged snapshots in a VM is hard.

[ggirf14]

@scottgus1
Thank you for the leads.
It looks like the bulk of my problems were from using the vhd from a usb drive.
Once I got the vhd on C drive of the host the disk errors and bleuscreen and all other problems went away.

Guest additions seems to be installed and doing what it's suppose to do: device manager is clean, I was able set Z drive pointing to sub c drive folder of the host, sharing clipboard and drag and drop all works fine.

For any Virtualbox neebee like me that are reding this:
What is not in this thread that I only realised tonight is the newly created vhd from the original computer is not like an ISO to install an os it is the actual virtual hard drive and any update you do to your new vm will edit this vhd. This means that to the opposite of an ISO file the vhd should be copied from the external drive to the local drive of the host and never create a vm pointing to the vhd file on the external drive.


I will educate myself by reading the manual to secure what I now have.
As per suggestion from scottgus1 I will look into making a copy of the VHD.

[scottgus1]

Glad you're up and running! A couple things that may help:

Running from USB is usually OK, if it's USB 3 or faster, a solid not loose physical USB connection, and the physical drive is an SSD.

VHD has a design flaw that can kill the data under certain circumstances. It may be better to clone that VHD to VDI. Mpack's CloneVDI is really easy to use for cloning to VDI.