Trying to migrate from VMware Fusion - XP won't start

[Dean285]

Folks

I am trying to migrate vmware fusion running windows xp to virtualbox. Actually I was migrating from parallels but from what I saw on the web it was recommended to first import to vmware fusion and then use the vmdk file on virtualbox

I created a new vm with virtualbox and selected the option to use an existing virtual hard drive and selected the vmdk file. The issue is when I start the XP VM on virtualbox it says it's running - there are no errors reported but it just shows a black box and nothing else happens

Any help on getting this to work would be greatly appreciated.

I am running Mavericks on OSX and the latest version of virtualbox for MAC

[mpack]

You shouldn't believe everything you hear on the web, e.g. I can't think of any good reason why a double migration would give you fewer problems than a direct one.

The procedure is basically: remove any platform specific VM tools, run mergeide, then export the disk image using Disk2VHD. Build a VBox VM around the VHD, being sure to pick in IDE disk controller (don't care what it had before), and check that the IO-APIC setting matches what it was in Parallels. XP hanging on a black screen usually indicates that you got IO-APIC wrong.

Remember to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions to get an integrated mouse and faster graphics.

[Dean285]

Thanks for your response - The problem is when I upgraded to Mavericks the release of Parallels that I have won't run - It is insisting that I upgrade to parallels 9 (for a fee). So at this point I am unable to get into parallels to remove any of the tools. Do you know of any other way around this? I'm tired of paying for a new release of parallels everytime osx revs and really want to get off that platform.

[BillG]

As mpack said, the first problem is additions. You really need to remove them before you start. The next problem is device drivers. The "hardware" in a vm is no more consistent across different platforms than across hardware platforms. It depends on what the developers thought was a good option at the time.

You can try booting a vm with a minimal config to reduce device driver problems, but it might be faster to do a clean install. You will need to reinstall the applications but you can use the migration wizard to transfer your files and settings.

[Dean285]

Thank you! I'll start a clean install - seems like the best solution at this point

Cheers
Dean