Can't read Windows XP Mode disc image

[peter_wade]

I am running virtualbox 4.1.0 on Windows 7 Professional. I installed Windows XP mode but I can't get the Microsoft virtual PC software to run in more than 16 bit colour so I am trying to use the XP disc image in virtualbox.

I found out that I can't just copy the .vhd file but the help file says that I should be able to use the VboxManage clonehd command on a copied file by specifying the filename instead of the uuid. I have tried this giving it filenames for input and output but I still get an error message saying the medium is not in the media registry.

[mpack]

The XP mode VHD file is probably a difference image, hence only a partial image, not usable on its own.

VBoxManage clonehd can do nothing with a partial image, I'm not sure where you got that from. The parent image must be registered (first).

[peter_wade]

The .vhd file is about 6 gigabytes and it's the only .vhd file in virtual PC directory so I can't see what it could be a difference from or a part of. Is there any way of finding this out?

[stefan.becker]

Have you created a new guest pointing to this image? Or just copied the file?

[mpack]

The .vhd file is about 6 gigabytes and it's the only .vhd file in virtual PC directory so I can't see what it could be a difference from or a part of. Is there any way of finding this out?

You could try opening the VHD with CloneVDI (see sticky at top of "Windows Hosts") forum. If CloneVDI rejects the file on the grounds that "source is a difference image", then you have a differenced image. If CloneVDI is happy, then it should be possible to make VirtualBox happy too - it would just be a matter of creating a proper VM around it, as Stefan mentions.

However, AFAIK, Win7 XP mode creates difference images by default. The root VM is tucked away in a program folder I think (I haven't looked at XP mode since Win7 was first released). Only the differenced offshoot goes into the <user>\VM folder.

[peter_wade]

Thanks, mpack. CloneVDI told me it was a difference file but I found another .vhd in Virtual PC's program folder which it does accept.

I had copied the file and was trying to create a guest but it kept complaining that the .vhd file was not in the registry which is what got me started on clonehd. Now I have run ClonVDI on this other .vhd file the new guest does accept the converted file.