Virtualize a operating system

[Fielding]

Virtualize a operating system

Suppose I have a pc under linux and I want to virtualize into a virtual machine running with windows 7.

Can I import this machine to virtualize ?

What are the possibilities.

I have read is possible under VMWare.

Best Regards

[mpack]

Of course it's possible. Any operating system disk image can in principle be moved from one PC to another (regardless of whether any or none of them is virtual), with varying degrees of difficulty. The central tool is some method of imaging a disk and moving that image to the other PC. In the case of a Linux system, the image is probably best taken with CloneZilla. On a Windows host the raw CloneZilla image is probably most easily converted to VDI by the host, using CloneVDI. If that wasn't available then the conventional route would be to boot a "live CD" inside the guest to "restore" the disk image, which would be held in a shared folder or USB drive.

Once the VM begins to boot you are then into hardware reconfiguration territory, the ease of which depends on the guest OS and what features you need to get working.

[Fielding]

Is possible with a retail windows version of xp or 7 into a virtual machine or have any additional difficulty ?

[mpack]

There are no additional difficulties related to VirtualBox. Retail versions of both XP and Win7 require reactivation if they are moved to new hardware, including virtual hardware. Activation issues may lead to licensing issues, basically that you are expected to use these licenses on a single host, or on one "PC" at a time - however Microsoft are better placed to give opinions on what their licenses allow.

[Fielding]

Understood

Best Regards