virtualbox.org

Hi all

This may look like another standard problem but i can't seem to get it fixed with any other topic i've found so far.
I'm desperate after trying a full day, every option I can find to make this work.

when i configure a good setup and press start I get a fatal error "can read from boot medium".

What did i do:
general
Name: "Winxp"
Type: Windows
Version: "win XP 32-bit"

System
first HD then CD/DVD or the other way around makes no difference.

storage:
Controller IDE
Type PIIX 4
Host I/0 cache selected

Hardrive IDE prim master
connected to "winxp"
Virtual size 10 GB
Dynamix allocated
location users/.../ Virtualbox...

CD/DVD prim slave
type Image ( as it is an ISO)
location /users/.../desktop
Lice CD
connected to "winxp"

then i press start and get the error. With this screen still open I start Terminal.

Using the "diskutil list" command I can't see the partition that should have been made.
So i'm guessing Virutalbox doesn't have the correct rights to create a virutal drive?

I'll be online regulary to follow up any additional questions.

PS Excuse me if my English isn't perfect. It's not my native language.

Groet

Freek

Free_Jacob wrote:Using the "diskutil list" command I can't see the partition

You shouldn't see any partition. That's the whole idea of a virtual machine. It's isolated from your actual machine. As far as your error can't read from boot medium (it's can't, not can, right?), that means that your iso is not readable. Where did you get the iso from?

Hello socratis,

i have tried the official iso from the microsoft website : www.microsoft.com/nl-be/download/details.aspx?id=25129
I also created an iso from the original install cd using disk utility (schijfhulpprogamma). I tested this iso back on a windows machine and it started.

already many thanks for you respons i hope to find a solution together.

Freek

the .iso from the Microsoft site is not a full XP install. It is the SP3 upgrade .iso.
if the .iso you made was from a SP3 upgrade CD, it would boot on a PC that already has XP on it, but not in VirtualBox.

You need a full copy of XP to install in VirtualBox.

- That SP3 iso is clearly a mistake by me. I'll search for an other file.

- The cd-iso I made is definitely a full version but is it possible that I have to do more than just make a virutal-copy?
Do i have to make it bootable somehow? Do you know a good guide for doing this?

- My last option now is to go and buy a CD-drive and attach it to my Imac.
That should clear out if it's a correct ISO-file.

already many thanks for the help so far

Freek

Free_Jacob wrote:The cd-iso I made is definitely a full version. Do i have to make it bootable somehow?

I'm sorry to have to tell you this but, no, it is not a full version of XP. It's a patch, an update, a service pack. It is not and it can not be made into a bootable CD.

Let us ignore the SP3 ISO from now on.

Please give us the exact wording of the label on the install CD you have made an ISO from - I appreciate that it may not be in English, but it may still be useful. I particularly want to know if your equivalent words for "Upgrade" or "Recovery" appear anywhere.

Also - make clear that you made this ISO by imaging the CD, and not by copying files into an ISO container, as the latter will not copy boot sectors.

The cover of this CD says:
Microsoft windows XP Professional
included SP 2 version 2002
with the remark "to be only delivered with new pc's"
I bought the cd ( in an applestore) and used it in the past on my MBP to successfully create a Bootcamp partition.
(This option is now no longer available because it asks for a windows 7 version.)



To make this cd virtual, I've done the following:
Connected my laptop by LAN to my Imac. Shared the drive. Opened disk utility/file/new/diskimage from folder (schijfkopie van map). Note that the only other option available is empty diskimage ( lege schijfkopie).
To exclude the translation problems maybe a bit more the short-key for this option is: shift (arrow up) + option ( apple logo) + N.

It would be a lot easier it VB would allow me to directly use the shared cd-drive from the laptop. Trying to do this I get only the disk content with an setup.exe. This .exe is of course not recognized as a disk image.

Freek

Free_Jacob wrote:The cover of this CD says:
Microsoft windows XP Professional
included SP 2 version 2002
with the remark "to be only delivered with new pc's"

Good, that sounds like you have a generic OEM edition XP32-SP2 setup CD.

I can't comment on the disk image tool you used - I'm not familiar with it as I don't use Macs. I can't be sure that an ISO image was created (i.e. just a raw image of the CD, no header or compression). If it was me I'd find a Windows PC and image the CD using ImgBurn.

The only doubt I have is, please confirm the error message you get with this ISO. This discussion has been confused by mixing in errors from two very different ISO files.

Guys

thanks for all the help but I found a solution.
I made and image with Daemon on the laptop and used that instead of the image from Diskutility.
I've got windows running so I can get to work.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Freek

Good. Thanks for letting us know.

Glad you have it working. I just wanted to mention there are several ways to create a bit for bit copy of a CD/DVD on Macs, such as a Windows install disk.

One is to use Disk Utility. Just be sure to choose DVD/CD master from the image format drop down menu. Then change the .cdr extension to .iso
Another is using the dd commands in the terminal
Another is using the hdiutil commands in the terminal
Of course there is also software, free and otherwise.

I hate typing so for details search Google for info on how to create .iso OSX.