Disk2vhd: Creating Virtual Hard Disk Without Checking "Prepare For Virtual PC"

Question

I'm building a server for a client who was previously running on an old dell optiplex XP Machine that was used for data/database storage. These are all legacy apps that won't run on modern operating systems so I wanted to create a VHD via disk2vhd. So I ran the software hoping to take the image back to my place for testing but I forgot to tick that little "prepare for virtual PC box." No surprise that the image doesn't boot in virtual box.

1. Is checking that box neccesary in order to run inside a VM and...

2. Is there any other way to test this virtual hard disk or perhaps convert it to a VM compatible image?

Solution

According to the command-line help, this option tells Disk2vhd to install a HAL driver compatible with Virtual PC, if the OS (WinXP/Server 2003) does not support it by default.

-h Fix up the HAL in the VHD to be compatible with Virtual PC (Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 only).

(Note that it specifically refers to Microsoft Virtual PC, not Oracle VirtualBox nor any other virtualization software! It is not needed for Hyper-V, either.)

Comments

[Ramhound]

It is indeed required to check the box, although, I can't image its not possible to make the modification yourself. Although how quickly you can do that is likely less time it would take to just generate the image the correct way.

[Java Girl]

Thats the thing, my client is an hour away and since I don't have a car that means I get up at 5am an hop on a bus. But your right, that would be easier if I had the resources readily available.