Add iso hdd image

[dedeibel]

Hi,

I was just trying to use my Win XP installation iso image in Virtual Box but it seems like there is no way to do this, is there? You can use isos as rom disc drives but not for hard drives? Is there a way to convert the iso into a virtual box image file?


Thanks

[mpack]

There is no such thing as an ISO image of a hard disk drive. ISO is the media format and filesystem used by CDs and DVDs, hence an ISO image is always an image of a CD or DVD - and there is a substantial difference between that and a hard disk image. So no, you can't pretend that an ISO image is a hard disk, but you can pretend it's a CD/DVD (which is what VBox allows).

[dedeibel]

Okay, so this was the wrong term, sorry. I mean a simple hard disk image file.

[mpack]

Okay, so this was the wrong term, sorry. I mean a simple hard disk image file.

In your case, the issue is not just some pedantic thing about using the wrong term in a question: my answer explains why you can't do what you wanted. I.e. you can't use an ISO image as a virtual hard disk, you can only use it as a virtual CD. If your image file is not an ISO image as you originally stated, then you should ask the question again, this time telling us what the file actually is, for example by telling us how it was created, and then tell us what you want to do with it.