virtualbox.org

I'm new to VirtualBox, so please excuse my limited knowledge.

I'm attempting to run a 32-bit Windows XP virtual box on a 64-bit Windows 8.1 platform. I've successfully installed a new version of Windows XP and then restored all but the System State from a backup file. The virtual machine then runs OK, but I need much of what was in the Registry, etc. So, I then restored System State and re-booted the virtual machine which crashes with a BSOD. I can then boot up in Safe Mode and some of my applications run OK, so the Registry is in a reasonable state. I've tried changing Device Manager entries to match what was there before the System State restore, but I still get the BSOD. Any suggestions about how I find out what is wrong would be sorely welcomed!

If Virtualbox is running the guest before the restore, then Virtualbox is doing its job. Pretend you're trying to restore a full backup of XP including system state to a different computer than the one the backup was made on. (Essentially Virtualbox is just providing the different computer.) Likely there's a google search or two that could help. "Restore XP NT Backup on dissimilar hardware" or something like that.

On the other hand, try a P2V (physical-to-virtual) if you can get access to the original computer. Search this: "XP P2V site:virtualbox.org" And look here: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Migrate_Windows