virtualbox.org

I repair computers, and I want to be able to rebuild the Windows OS user profiles without the pc. since I have limited time with the computers sometimes because the computer may be being used for a business.
So I understand that you can boot a physical drive with the VBox Vm.
So I cloned the drive from the pc to another hard drive to rebuild the Windows OS user profile, because the OEM imaging software is still intact, so as not to have down time and test that everything is working correctly.
So the question I have is does the processor have to be the same type with the VBox Vm to boot the drive, because I understand that windows will not boot with different hardware configurations like changing from a(n) Intel to AMD processor.
To clarify if the physical drive came from a Intel i3 can it be booted using an AMD with VBox VM or does it have to be a(n) Intel processor??

Not a "Using VirtualBox" question. I'll move the topic to "Windows Guests" since that is the subject matter.

If we are talking modern Windows guests, I'm not aware that it should have any technical problem booting with a changed motherboard (any move between physical and virtual is effectively a complete motherboard change). It will of course fail activation and may require an Internet connection to locate missing drivers.

One question: why the assumption that you need raw disk access? It is far easier to clone the source PC to a virtual HD and then back again later for the migration back to physical. This avoids a LOT of potential issues, such as crossing the 2TB drive size barrier, use of MBR vs GPT on the host or guest etc.... none of which seem like necessary complications for your stated objectives.

I have no issues with the virtual drive cloning but it’s my first experience with using virtual machines, but I’ve attempted to boot with the physical drive as a windows guest and it only makes it to the Windows 7 logo and stops. So this was the reason for the question about the change in processors with Vbox Vm.

I’ve tried to change the system options in different ways changing the chipset using 1core then 2, checking different things under system, tried safemode gets stuck at classpnp.sys. I’m stumped

Unless you can get something close to your original, you may need to boot it from the Win7 CD and do a repair. Hardware changes can be forgiving with recent OSes, but up to a point...

The AMD vs Intel shouldn't matter, but remember that you have more to a computer than the CPU alone...

You should stick to settings defaults unless the know the exact effect of a change. Don't thrash, you only sink deeper.

Otherwise, we can't make any meaningful comment without a log. With the VM fully shut down, right click it in the GUI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip file. Attach the zip here.

I tried to boot into the repair counsel from the hard drive, I get the vista loading bar and the screen goes black assuming it loaded but I just can’t see anything, I tried different video modes but still got a black screen.

Was this a generic Win7, or was in bundled with a branded PC (Dell, HP etc)?

Looking around, hanging at classpnp.sys is a known problem when booting up a royalty OEM install of Win7 on the wrong hardware. If that's the case then you would have the same problem with a physical to physical migration.

As Socratis said above, your best bet would be to boot the VM from the original setup DVD and try a "repair install". Do NOT do this if you are still trying to use a raw disk, as that will most likely kill the existing physical installation.

I found the following website useful, as it discusses a similar classpnp problem: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Fo ... progeneral.