How to import an existing Windows 2000 into Virtualbox

[Stofken]

I was able to :
- create a Bootable Rescue Media with Macrium Reflect. Under Advanced Settings I choose another Base WIM, Windows PE 3.1 (WAIK).
- boot from that Rescue Media, I ended up in some XP looking environment with a slightly different version of Macrium Reflect.
- I was able to Image selected disks, but I ended up with an mrimg-file. What to do next? I have read there is a feature in Macrium Reflect under Other Tasks to transform that img to a VHD, but I can't see it in v7.2.4440.

As for the cloning of the source disk, I still have not found another IDE disk, or at least, they aren't cheap, even for a 20GB disk it's about $50. So I might have have to perform the MergeIDE directly on the source disk.

[scottgus1]

Having the .mrimg means you imaged the disk instead of cloning it. The image is a good backup for restoring. At the point in my earlier instructions about getting the contents into a VHD:

Once the VHD is mounted and you have a new drive letter for it, use Macrium to clone the USB-attached drive to the VHD.

You would do this instead:

Once the VHD is mounted and you have a new drive letter for it, use Macrium to restore the .mrimg on the the USB-attached drive to the VHD.

Then proceed as shown. However, at this stage you would have not run MergeIDE on the W2000 OS yet. Frankenstein moments are ahead.

Just a thought, if you're doing this for a client, and I definitely don't know the correct cultural steps in Belgium, but if it were me over in the US, I'd let the client know what's necessary to ensure their old PC is unchanged and bill them for the $50 disk.

MergeIDE is still the best to do. Do your best to figure out how to run that program on the original W2000 PC. I'd work by hook or crook to get an old working IDE drive, even out of another old PC, that I could use to Macrium-clone that W2000 OS then run MergeIDE on the clone drive in the W2000 PC box before bringing it into Virtualbox. After you do the clone to the new IDE disk, do a Verify if possible, to confirm the cloning process.

[Stofken]

I've already asked the client to look for another IDE disk in old inactive pcs. If not, indeed $50 buys a whole lot of peace of mind

[scottgus1]

One other thing in additon to the MergeIDE, see that link Mpack posted on the first page about Migrating Windows. There's a couple video drivers that may cause trouble too. If you can get a clone, not an image, then you can access the contents of the W2000 OS directly and dig in and find the video driver files flagged in that tutorial and remove them easily before bringing the drive contents into the VHD.

[Stofken]

Thank you, again, for the helpful advice. My neighbour seems to have some older spare IDE drives and I have noticed that the old Compaq might have a free 3,5" expansion slot, so with a little luck, I could make a clone without an additional (USB) cable. Then bring the clone home and trial/error fix drivers.

EXPANSION / CONNECTIVITY
Bays
2 (total) / 1 (free) x external 5.25" x 1/2H
1 (total) / 0 (free) x external 3.5" x 1/3H
2 (total) / 1 (free) x internal 3.5" x 1/3H

[Stofken]

I was able to clone the original IDE drive to 2 other IDE drives with CloneZilla on my Windows 10 pc.
The Windows 2000 pc refused to boot from the CloneZilla Live USB and it's network card was corrupted, so no internet.

I have placed both new drives in the old pc and both show up INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE
So I can't run MergIDE on them. Can I run MergeIDE on my W10 pc with the IDE drive attached or will that corrupt my W10 pc/drives?
The old disk seems to have died and does not spin up anymore, it is also not visible in my W10 pc.

I also have a VHD image of the original disk along the 2 physical clones.
Any advise on what to do next?

[mpack]

IDE controllers are not interchangable, hence the MergeIDE advice and the further advice to apply the change in Win2K before imaging.

If you don't apply the registry changes (i.e. tell Windows how to support additional IDE variants) the easy way then the only other way is an expert mode: mount the Win2K disk in another Windows VM, from there load the external registry hives and modify them. Lots of scope for goofs, and I have no idea what Windows version will be happy to modify a Win2K registry. It was far simpler to do it the right way from the off.

[Stofken]

I know, but as mentioned somewhere more up in this thread. Doing the MergeID on the original disk was risky, so it seemed safer to first create a clone and then apply the MergeID changes on that one.

[scottgus1]

I was able to clone the original IDE drive to 2 other IDE drives with CloneZilla on my Windows 10 pc.

I haven't used CloneZilla, and Mpack has a really low opinion of it. I have used Macrium Reflect before, and have had success every time. I think that booting the actual Windows 2000 PC from a XP-PE Macrium restore CD and doing the clone to an IDE or USB-attached IDE drive with the Windows 2000 drive still in the PC was what I would have shot for. For a clone to boot, the entire drive with all partitions and the MBR needs to have been cloned. I don't know if CloneZilla does or was set to do that.

MergeIDE is just a registry file, there's no actual program to run. I have tried applying MergeIDE to an offline XP registry hive on a physical SATA HD but I couldn't get the OS to boot on the original PC through a USB port, or when cloned to VHD on Virtualbox.

Can I run MergeIDE on my W10 pc with the IDE drive attached

You would need to mount the correct hive file from the W2000 drive in W10's registry editor. Then you could edit the MergeIDE registry file to point to that mounted hive path. I tried that, couldn't get it to work, though. The changes stayed, but the drive didn't boot as mentioned above.

The old disk seems to have died and does not spin up anymore

Not even in the original PC? That's baaaaaad.... Check the drive jumpers, cable, etc.