View original (French)

VM from a physical disk

Solved
Anonymous user -  
 iceT -
Hello,
It is possible to create a VM with a physical disk. I tried it with VMware, VirtualBox, and even Hyper-V: it does not boot.

I am running Windows 10 20H2 and would like to be able to run my Ubuntu (which is on an external SSD) as a VM.
The SSD is indeed "offline." It has 4 partitions:
- FAT32: 480MB (EFI system partition)
- Ubuntu partition of 280GB
- 2 NTFS partitions

Caption=Samsung PSSD T7 SCSI Disk Device
DeviceID=\\.\PHYSICALDRIVE3
Model=Samsung PSSD T7 SCSI Disk Device
Partitions=4
Size=500105249280

With VirtualBox, I created a vmdk file, but when I start the VM, I get "FATAL: No bootable medium found! System halted."
With VMware, it does not boot either. (I tried with the entire disk and just a few partitions, it's the same)

I do not understand why it is not working.

5 answers

Answer 1 / 5
avion-f16 Posted messages 19182 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 511
 
Hello,

Have you created the vmdk disk as suggested in this article?
https://www.serverwatch.com/guides/using-a-physical-hard-drive-with-a-virtualbox-vm/

Is the error "FATAL: No bootable medium found! System halted." given to you by VirtualBox itself, or by the virtual machine that actually opens?

In the first case, it would indicate that VirtualBox cannot access the virtual disk/physical disk.

In the second case, it would indicate that the virtual machine starts correctly with access to the physical disk, but that it does not have a suitable partition/boot. This is the error typically encountered when connecting a disk without the appropriate formatting to a real computer before installing the operating system.

What type of VM (BIOS or UEFI) are you creating?

Is the disk formatted according to this type of machine, that is to say:
1. If VM BIOS = MBR disk
2. If VM UEFI = GPT disk with EFI partition

I am not a VirtualBox user so I cannot assist you other than by making suggestions.
1
Anonymous user
 
For the vmdk file, yes, it's with this command.

I checked a few things in the settings (I wasn't in EFI), and now the VM boots to the grub. It's already better, but after selecting "Ubuntu," I get a black screen and that's it.
If I choose "advanced options for Ubuntu," then "ubuntu, with Linux ......," something appears but it gets stuck: 
Loading Linux 5.8.0-40-generic...
Loading initial ramdisk...
_
1
iceT > Anonymous user
 
Hello

I didn't quite understand what you were trying to do. I think your problem comes from your motherboard. In the BIOS or UEFI mode, you may not have the option to enable virtualization and HYPER-V to then create your VMs on Windows. If you have these options, you need to enable them. Creating your VMs on a physical hard drive is automatic unless you customize the destination of the directory during the installation of the different OS in virtualization. Can you give us the reference of your motherboard? To check the activation of the virtualization option in the BIOS? As for your problem with Ubuntu on an external SSD, it is normal that it doesn't boot from it because your file was not originally installed in a VM.. and you will get a complete clean installation of Ubuntu in a VM.
If your motherboard doesn't have these options, it is useless to keep trying to make VMs.
In that case, I would recommend upgrading your motherboard and getting a more expensive one that has the option in the BIOS to enable virtualization.
0
avion-f16 Posted messages 19182 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 511 > Anonymous user
 
First of all, do you confirm that installing and starting the same OS (same architecture, same version, ...) in a VM with a virtual disk works correctly?

This error seems to indicate an architecture incompatibility between the OS installed on the hard drive and the machine (virtual in this case) that is trying to run it.

1. What is the CPU of the host machine?
2. What is the architecture (32, 64, ARM, ...) of the host machine's OS?
3. What is the architecture (32, 64, ARM, ...) of the OS installed on the external disk?
4. What is the architecture of the virtual machine?

In GRUB, you can try modifying the boot line (key "e").
On the "linux" line, you can try to:
- remove "quiet"
- remove "splash"

This will give you some information.

You can also try adding "nomodeset" to see if the error is caused by a module.
0
Anonymous user > avion-f16 Posted messages 19182 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention  
 
Yes, I can easily launch other VMs whether they are Linux or Windows.
1. Host CPU = Intel Core i5 10600K, Motherboard = MSI Z490-A PRO (with BIOS dated 10/13/2020), 16GB of RAM at 3200 MHz
2. Windows 10 Pro 20H2 64 bits
3. Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS 64 bits
4. "Ubuntu (64-bits)" is selected

I tried without quiet, splash and with nomodeset: I always get the same thing, a black screen, not even a blinking cursor.
0
avion-f16 Posted messages 19182 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 511 > Anonymous user
 
As long as the VM starts without error and GRUB is displayed, it means that the virtual machine has access to the external disk. The initial question seems to be resolved.

As for why Ubuntu is not loading (and solving that), I suggest opening a new thread in the appropriate forum, specifying that it concerns a physical machine to virtual machine conversion.
https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/ubuntu-179

It is likely necessary to regenerate the initramfs using the installation ISO of the distro (Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS 64 bits) mounted in the VM and set as a boot option.
0
Answer 2 / 5
Pouti
 
I don't think it's possible like that. The solution would be to create an image of the physical system that would be converted into a virtual machine. For that, you have Paragon Hard Disk Manager which does it very well.
0
Answer 3 / 5
Anonymous user
 
It's possible, there are options for that in VMware and Virtual Box, it's just not very well known, apparently. There are some tutorials online.
If no one knows, that's okay, I can manage without it.
0
Answer 4 / 5
iceT
 
Hi,

you say it's possible, maybe, you might be using virtualization software like the professionals in the business world, VMware Sphere or something like that which is much more efficient than VMware; just an idea; or maybe you’re looking for software that allows you to convert your Ubuntu on SSD to VMDK format. To boot correctly on your Linux SSD under Linux.
0
Answer 5 / 5
jeanbi Posted messages 15399 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   2 383
 
Hello
what's the point!!!!
besides, your thing is impossible.
see you+

--
FC 25--- Debian 6.0-
The best things require patience. (JC ANGLADE)
-1
avion-f16 Posted messages 19182 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   4 511
 
Hi! There are interests and it's entirely possible, at least with QEMU/KVM :)
I personally use it to access my Windows system when I'm on Linux, it helps avoid unexpected reboots to switch between the two if I need to work on software on both systems at the same time :)
Why not install Windows on a virtual disk like for other virtual machines? Because sometimes, I boot Windows during startup (not in a VM) to take advantage of the "native" performance (even though KVM is quite efficient).
0