Virtualizing Windows XP currently installed on an old PC in Win10
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Caribou-22
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jee pee Posted messages 31872 Registration date Status Moderator Last intervention -
jee pee Posted messages 31872 Registration date Status Moderator Last intervention -
Hello,
As indicated in the title, I have a laptop running Windows XP that I would like to convert into a virtual machine to use on another PC running Windows 10 via VirtualBox (or another if needed).
I followed this tutorial to create an image of my hard drive containing XP and successfully converted it into a VDI file: https://www.arsouyes.org/blog/2020/24_Raw_to_VDI/
However, I tried to boot this VDI disk in VirtualBox on my work PC running Debian 10 at first. But Windows XP won't start :/ I get the screen asking for safe mode, command prompt, normal startup, etc. And a black screen with a white blinking cursor in the top left corner regardless of the choice, hmm
And if I enable the IO-APIC: BSOD loop and restarts --"
What can I do to fix this? Thank you very much in advance!
Configuration: Linux / Firefox 78.0
As indicated in the title, I have a laptop running Windows XP that I would like to convert into a virtual machine to use on another PC running Windows 10 via VirtualBox (or another if needed).
I followed this tutorial to create an image of my hard drive containing XP and successfully converted it into a VDI file: https://www.arsouyes.org/blog/2020/24_Raw_to_VDI/
However, I tried to boot this VDI disk in VirtualBox on my work PC running Debian 10 at first. But Windows XP won't start :/ I get the screen asking for safe mode, command prompt, normal startup, etc. And a black screen with a white blinking cursor in the top left corner regardless of the choice, hmm
And if I enable the IO-APIC: BSOD loop and restarts --"
What can I do to fix this? Thank you very much in advance!
Configuration: Linux / Firefox 78.0
2 answers
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Hello,
This is a way of doing things that may or may not work. It's the same as taking the XP disk from a Dell laptop and installing it on an HP desktop computer ;-) The limit is that the OS, when it starts up, uses the programs and drivers corresponding to the original hardware. A command destined for, for example, the motherboard that doesn't match can cause everything to crash. This is more true for an older OS like XP; W10 will be more flexible because it comes with support for installing new peripherals.
What is possible to do is to boot the VM with the XP installation CD and attempt a repair.
The true method of P2V (PiToVi - physical to virtual) is to use a tool. In the past, I used VMware Converter. It mainly takes care of replacing the physical hardware components in the machine's image with their logical equivalents for the virtualization hypervisor.
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Hello and thank you! :)
I wasn't familiar with P2V indeed. I tried using Disk2vhd run from Windows XP to save the image to an external SSD.
I attempted it twice. Each time I get a hang-up at the very end of the backup as seen here:
What can I do? Do you know of any other reliable P2V tool? Thank you in advance.- This tool does exactly the same thing as what you did, so even if it worked, it should lead to the same result: a VM that doesn't start.
I only know VmWare and its Converter tool, and it has been 10 years since I last used it. - Thank you! With VMware Converter, it works! I was able to convert my system into a .vmdk disk image and launch it with VirtualBox!
However, I have a new problem: In the VM, Windows XP is no longer activated :/ How can I activate it? (In 2021, I hope it's not complicated to activate a completely obsolete XP --") - Well done. Regarding the license issue, Windows detects that it's not the original machine. You need a valid XP license key that corresponds to the version (Home, Pro), hoping that it will be accepted by an installation that is originally an OEM Windows. And the key you need is a genuine license, not the one marked on a sticker on PCs that, under XP, wasn't directly usable (from what I've personally tested).
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