Virtual XP Machine - Copy

iseeuu · Aug 22, 2009

Good work! Becoming our "vhd" expert, huh? :thumbsup:

Kari · Aug 22, 2009

Thanks, mate. Don't know about being an expert. I just need Virtual Machines at my line of work.

Kari

JackStockton · Sep 2, 2009

Didn't work for me. :cry:

I even tried copying and editing the .vmcx file. When I try to run it or check the settings, I get an error that I don't have premission or the file is missing, then it disappears.

Kari · Sep 2, 2009

JackStockton said:
Didn't work for me.

I even tried copying and editing the .vmcx file. When I try to run it or check the settings, I get an error that I don't have premission or the file is missing, then it disappears.

It works. Please do not misunderstand me but it have to be a self caused issue, like misspelling or forgetting something.

Here's a short checklist:

Do not change the file locations:
- The vmcx-files should always be located in C:\Your_Username\Virtual Machines
- The vmc-, vhd- and possible vsv-files should always be located in C:\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines
The virtual machine you copy must be powered down, not hibernated
All virtual machine files belonging to a certain virtual machine must have exactly the same name, only difference being the filename extension
Tutorial, point 7: vhd-name must be changed in both absolute and relative type
Tutorial, point 10: MAC-Address must be a valid 32-bit hexadecimal
Tutorial, point 13: vhd-name must be changed in both primary_disk1 type and vmc_path type

So, check spelling, check the files needed are in the right folders, and check you edited the right files; for example after copying and pasting the files edit the copies, not the originals.

Good luck.

Kari

kaw · Oct 4, 2009

Beta to RC

It's worth noting that if you go from W7VPC Beta to RC, the instructs listed are not quite enough (if you're using dynamic disks). You also need to copy the parent disk to the exact same location on the new computer. In my case, this simply meant copying over the "C:\Program Files\Virtual Windows XP" folder.

Night Hawk · Oct 12, 2009

Here I was able to backup the entire virtual machines folder before proceeding to place them into the new folder on a fresh install of 7 to see the XP Mode as well as a previous Vista on vhd install run again.

Later when the VPC RC and XP Mode RC were released the same vhd used for Vista needed a fresh install where the 32bit 7 RC was used to replace Vista on that same vhd!

rfeague · Jan 14, 2010

I see same problem as JackStockton

I've been through the steps a few times with care, and I see the same strange behavior JackStockton mentioned where the .vmcx disappears as soon as I click on it. I will post a solution if I figure it out, but I just wanted to reinforce that JackStockton is not imagining things, and as near as I can tell, not failing to follow the directions with care.

Night Hawk · Jan 14, 2010

Welcome to the Se7en Forums! rfeague

One thing I found fast from the time this guide was first posted here and once the final XP Mode was available was that copying no longer worked as it had been seen with the XP Mode RC version which was the only version available at the time.

The final version runs like an installer with a preconfigured setup mode for each fresh install there unlike the RC. The guide here worked then for the RC version however but now needs to be updated.

When the RC version was used on a second 7 RC installation I would simply create a new shortcut once the files/folders were copied over once a fresh install of the Virtual PC was seen first to have it work then.

First you now install the VPC, restart the system, and then install the XP Mode later to watch the setup take place.

Kari · Jan 15, 2010

JackStockton said:
Didn't work for me.

I even tried copying and editing the .vmcx file. When I try to run it or check the settings, I get an error that I don't have premission or the file is missing, then it disappears.

rfeague said:
I've been through the steps a few times with care, and I see the same strange behavior JackStockton mentioned where the .vmcx disappears as soon as I click on it. I will post a solution if I figure it out, but I just wanted to reinforce that JackStockton is not imagining things, and as near as I can tell, not failing to follow the directions with care.

Night Hawk said:
Welcome to the Se7en Forums! rfeague

One thing I found fast from the time this guide was first posted here and once the final XP Mode was available was that copying no longer worked as it had been seen with the XP Mode RC version which was the only version available at the time.

The final version runs like an installer with a preconfigured setup mode for each fresh install there unlike the RC. The guide here worked then for the RC version however but now needs to be updated.

When the RC version was used on a second 7 RC installation I would simply create a new shortcut once the files/folders were copied over once a fresh install of the Virtual PC was seen first to have it work then.

First you now install the VPC, restart the system, and then install the XP Mode later to watch the setup take place.

I really do not know why some of you guys are experiencing problems. To re-test the validity of this tutorial, I checked everything once more this morning.

I followed tutorial literally and it works. In the attached screenshot from this morning you can see two independent XP Modes open at the same time, both having different software installed, both connected to network.

kaw said:
It's worth noting that if you go from W7VPC Beta to RC, the instructs listed are not quite enough (if you're using dynamic disks). You also need to copy the parent disk to the exact same location on the new computer. In my case, this simply meant copying over the "C:\Program Files\Virtual Windows XP" folder.

I have Virtual PC and XP Mode RC, and this method works as it did with beta. The base vhd-file in C:\Program Files\Virtual Windows XP should not be copied, it is as the name says the base to every copy of the XP Mode.

Kari

Night Hawk · Jan 15, 2010

When Vista was on one vhd I copied the vhd itself over to the next drive and ran it there. The same worked for the 32bit 7 RC upgrade over that but all this was seen on the VPC and XP Mode RCs not final.

When going to start up the XP Mode RC with a new vhd already sitting blank waiting for an OS instead of seeing the XP Mode come right up the installer for Windows disk in the drive would load!

The images here are part of a guide I made up for installing Vista on a VM last summer. The finished XP Mode however will still see the "press any key to boot from dvd" message and then proceed onto the XP Mode's desktop.

rfeague · Jan 17, 2010

Works for some

Kari said:
I really do not know why some of you guys are experiencing problems. To re-test the validity of this tutorial, I checked everything once more this morning.

I followed tutorial literally and it works.

Hi Kari -
I have no doubt this works perfectly for you, and I am grateful for your efforts to post these instructions. But clearly it doesn't work for everyone. Now we just need to figure out what's different between our setups. I'm on the release version of Windows 7 Professional v6.1 build 7600. The VM I was trying to copy is not the original Windows XP Mode vm, but rather a new VM I created from scratch. Maybe that's the difference? My vm disk is of type "dynamic", not "differencing" like the pre-configured XP Mode vm. As such, it has no parent disk specified. I have undo disks enabled, which may have an effect as well (although I made sure to discard all the changes before copying the VM). The other difference I can see is that my networking is not "Shared" like it is with the pre-configured XP Mode VM, but I doubt that matters.
-Roy

Kari · Jan 17, 2010

Ok, rfeague. I'll try to install new virtual machine using my old XP Pro disk. I'll be back to tell how it went.

Kari

Kari · Jan 17, 2010

Did not find my XP install CD, so I tested now with Vista Ultimate.

I installed first Vista to a Virtual PC virtual machine. When it was installed, I turned it of and followed this tutorial step by step to make an independent copy.

I then booted both, changed desktop on one and installed Firefox to the other, only to check that they really are two fully separate machines. Everything works, as you can see in the attached screenshot.

I do not know what else to say. If the computer can run Virtual PC, making a copy of any virtual machine is just so easy as told in this tutorial.

Kari

Night Hawk · Jan 17, 2010

The reason the XP Pro disk wasn't seen is that XP is not supported on the VPC. Vista is required. The Vista install later to 32bit RC worked when copied over to a second RC by simply creating a new shortcut to the vmc file itself. Virtual Box or another VM ware.

You still have to install the Windows Virtual PC before you can do anything else however. The setup for the XP Mode mainly preconfigures the vhd as it detects the hardwares on your system as it creates the new files on the drive in the designated folders there.

Even 7 was installed to the VPC as you can see here but has one unresolved problem connecting. The device manager there shows everything properly including the virtual ethernet adapter while the XP Mode and previous Vista and 32bit RC vhds never ran into this. Blocked by Windows Firewall until on the excepted programs list!

rfeague · Jan 18, 2010

Kari said:
I do not know what else to say. If the computer can run Virtual PC, making a copy of any virtual machine is just so easy as told in this tutorial.

Kari

Hi Kari -
I appreciate your dedication! What kind of disk did you use in the new VM you made? As noted previously, mine is type "dynamic"; I wonder if that matters?

My computer can run Virtual PC just fine. Both the Windows XP Mode default VM and my new made-from-scratch VM work fine. But making a copy of my new VM from these instructions does not work for me. Don't take it as an offense or an indication that there's something wrong with your instructions. I'm sure there is just a difference between our setups.
-Roy

Kari · Jan 18, 2010

I'm always using dynamic disks with virtual machines. Anyway, disk type should have nothing to do with this.

Could you attach the vmc and vmcx files of your new VM here for us to see? Just copy them to a new folder and change the filename extension to .txt, or zip them, and then attach to a new post.

Kari

badboy · Feb 6, 2010

Thanks, this really helped.

Alohci · Feb 20, 2010

Really excellent article. Very helpful. However, step 14 has a small mistake. The vmc_path should be set to Windows XP Mode - Copy.vmc not Windows XP Mode - Copy.vhd

Kari · Feb 20, 2010

Hello Alochi, welcome to the Seven Forums.

That was a really bad typo! Thank you for pointing that out to me. Typo is now fixed.

Kari

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