virtualbox.org

Hi! I have installed VirtualBox on a Windows 7 and XP machine. I have then downloaded MS' XP mode image, and installed and configured it on the 7 host. After copying the vbox and vhd to the XP machine, I see that the "Device Instance Id" on the VBOX HARDDISK Properties has changed. How is this possible? Can I do anything to lock the ID so it's consistent?

If you did not clone the VHD then the disk UUID cannot have changed, in which case I'd guess the "instance id" is invented by Windows when it detects a new drive, which it will most likely do because the disk controller will have changed relative to the Virtual PC instance.

Incidentally, VirtualBox will not allow you to run an XP Mode image other than on a Win7 host (not sure about Win8). It may even restrict you to a specific Win7 host, I don't know. We will not help you to defeat the terms of the XP mode license. If you try it anyway then what normally happens is that you get an activation message after a few days.

Oh, I did not think of that. The XP machine was just for testing anyways, the important thing is to be able to run the same image on several PC's. Due to licensing on an old program, I need to keep the same ID of the hard drive (I thought it was the serial number, but maybe it's instance ID?).

BTW, I am not trying to pirate any software. We have several licenses, but the vendor is facing bankruptcy, and can only activate new installations a short while.

Don't worry, I'm not the license police - any Windows licensing concerns are for discussion between you and Microsoft (or their lawyers ). I'm just saying that when you hit problems getting an XP mode VM to run on an XP host, then we can't be seen helping you get around the blocks.

Software dongles usually use a hardware signature of some kind, which is not usually a straight disk ID (that would be too easy to patch), though the disk ID might form a part. If so then copying the VHD does not actually change the disk ID (stored in the boot sector, so as long as the boot sector is preserved, you're ok), but it may change the disk UUID, and building a new VM will certainly change the VM UUID. The various UUIDs are available to the guest via the BIOS DMI interface, however I have no way to know what goes into the signature used by your software dongle. If the software is relatively old then it probably isn't much (e.g. I P2V'd my old PC when I bought a new one, and my old FlexLM protected software didn't even notice. Not that it matters, as that software drives a bit of hardware that a VM can't reach!).