[SOLVED] After converted from VMware: no mouse/keyboard no MBR!!!

[Pattyyivi]

It is really worth make use of w2000 on virtual machine, the Windows 2000 pro appears as en excellent system when updated
through unofficial Japanese support team (you'd better use Google translate )
(the updates make Windows2000 run latest software, e.g. intended for w7+, such as CyberFox, revealing thus the "incompatibilty obstacles" are blatantly intruduced by M$ as purely artificial marketing wise like)
which apperas to be still supported
and
even they offer their unofficial WindowsUpdate service

You can download VMware w2000pro installed image, which is nice to apply the Japanese unofficial updates, but apparently there is no such for VirtualBox, so conversion is needed.

Just moved/converted VMware virtual machine image with w2000pro,
through VMware's ovftool
and (afterwards) VirtualBox'es:
File->Import Appliance...
menu option,

like e.g. following these steps

The both sages of conversion went well, without any warning nor compliants,
however, the resulting system can't boot, the message of no operating system putted out.

As to remedy it, putted Rescatoux CD and have chosen Windows MBR repair.
Now the booting sticks on blank dark screen.

However, to make boot anyway, have used Hiren's Boot-CD, and in it's menu have hitted the first option:
"Boot from Hard drive (Windows Vista/7/2008 or Xp)"
and the system booted at last!

However without the support of keyboard and mouse so it is impossible to do anything, especially unistal VMware-tools and install VirtualBox's Guest Additions.

What to do?

[BillG]

Didn't you remove the VMTools before you converted? This is recommended, because it is very difficult to impossible to do it later.

In fact it is recommended to remove any sort of guest additions from a guest OS before you try to convert it to a different virtualization system.

[Pattyyivi]

Why any of tutorials do not mention about it?
BTW, and isn't it possible to remove somehow afterwards the tools, e.g. by booting pqmagic CD, mounting into the partition and then to delete relevant files? And which ones?

Because the simple "uninstall" apparently isn't enough, after doing the steps the issue of missing keyboard & mouse in the resulting virtual machine still persists.

[BillG]

I would go back to the original vm, boot it under VMWare and remove the VMTools, then do the conversion again.

[Pattyyivi]

Exaclty, this is what I do however keyboard & mouse are still missing, there is no input and nothing possible to do, including logging in as Administrator or any user (stuck on login gui prompt) -- maybe this is the reason why new drivers cant emerge quickly at session start themselves?

Allright, again used Hiren's CD, booted MiniXP, there run regedit and "load hive", loaded c:/Winnt/system32/config/software,
there set autologin as Administartor, unload hive and rebooted:

Code: Select all

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
"DefaultUserName"=Administrator
"DefaultDomainName"=<you'd better don't touch>
"AutoAdminLogon" =1
"DefaultPassword"=<The password>

(BTW, removed some sort of VMware entry, with vmware applets paths, from
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
which I come acroos there)

Now the system logins itself as Administrator, and indeed: some unattended drivers installations go on, including the standard 101/102 key keyboard and a mouse.

After restart, both keyboard and mouse already work, so I run VirtualBox'es GuestAdditionCDImage.

Already have running system, it is nice however
it still boots exclusively through Hiren'sCD external boot option, no MBR fixes helped so far
- any suggestions please?

[Pattyyivi]

Problem solved, run iso of Windows7 instal, then have chosen
repair option and command prompt, and in it put the commands:

Code: Select all

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

also ran the following to activate the partition:

Code: Select all

c:\diskpart
DISKPART>select disk 0
DISKPART>select partition 1
DISKPART>active

and it WORKS!!!

THANK YOU for your active & effusive help & support
BTW the tools, like menu command "File->Import Appliance..." should take care of such things like malformed MBR and boot record, and also VirtualBox Guest Additions could clean additions/tools from a previous brand VM.

[michaln]

BTW the tools, like menu command "File->Import Appliance..." should take care of such things like malformed MBR and boot record, and also VirtualBox Guest Additions could clean additions/tools from a previous brand VM.

No, it really shouldn't. It's meant to bring the imported files to a state where the VM can be started in VirtualBox. That does not include modifying disk contents.

Although if you have some time to spare, you can contribute such functionality

[Pattyyivi]

However at least importer/converter should offer such an option at conversion. Because as now Oracle support hardly mentions about those problems and the result is, every new user who would like to convert guest windows from VMware to OracleVirtualBox must discover all the cumbersome procedure anew oneself, despite countless ones already got through this drama, with more or less of success.

[socratis]

every new user who would like to convert guest windows from VMware to OracleVirtualBox must discover all the cumbersome procedure anew oneself

Or you can use that new functionality of the internet: search engines.

[mpack]

@Patty. You really need to get some experience of the software before you start offering design change ideas, otherwise your suggestions come off as hopelessly naive.

I suspect that none of us would consider it useful to warn users that VirtualBox is not VMware. We would regard that as a statement of the obvious. By the same token, we consider it obvious that software designed to interact with VMware at a low level will not be compatible with software which is not VMware.

Nor should VirtualBox be deciding for itself what content should be on a disk and what shouldn't, nor even flagging it up. Disk content is your business.

VirtualBox is a tool. You are expected to learn how to use it properly.