XP mode crashed - my fault or software/hardware problem?

[ToughDiamond]

To conveniently back up and restore my changes to the Windows XP Virtual Machine operating system, rather than reverting to a full Ghost image of the whole partition including Windows 7, I've been simply copying the 2 files Windows XP Mode.vhd and Windows XP Mode.vmc from
C:\Users\HP\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines
to a data drive and then copying them back to the same place to restore. It all seemed to be working flawlessly for a while, but the other day when I started XP after restoring those 2 files to the right place, it gave some error messages - can't remember the exact details but one thing it did was to repair registry entries - it said it had done that successfully, but very soon afterwards XP crashed and then it wouldn't start at all.

So my question is, have I been trying to use a quick and dirty backup and restore method that just isn't fit for purpose, or is the method perfectly good but there's a fault somewhere else? it seems likely that a file or two got corrupted somehow, but I can't see what would have done that.

 

[townsbg]

It's probably something that happened inside the virtual machine. What error message are you getting?

 

[ToughDiamond]

It's probably something that happened inside the virtual machine. What error message are you getting?

I wish I could remember. It happened pretty quickly, Windows flashed up a message saying it was repairing something in the registry. It seemed to be successful, but then the whole virtual machine crashed. I panicked and immediately restored the entire Win7 system partition using a Ghost image, which seems to have set everything straight again so far, but of course it also meant that I learned very little.

Hmm.......I received a notification that there had been a post here from Lance1 as follows, though the post seems to have been deleted

It is possible that the XP Mode install may be corrupted and also copying back and forth over and over can also cause the same thing to happen. Try Uninstalling and then reinstalling XP Mode and then run your VM files again.

Copying back and forth is exactly what I'd been doing, so I guess that's the explanation. As I've reverted to that Ghost image of the entire partition and thus restored XP back to apparent normality, hopefully I won't need to reinstall XP Mode, though I can't completely rule out the possibility that the corruption began before I created the Ghost image - like I say, everything looks fine again so far, but there's an outside chance that I'm sitting on a time bomb.

Problem with reinstalling XP Mode is that there are numerous tweaks I made to XP without documenting them very thoroughly, so it could be a pretty long job going that way.

I'm wondering what exactly goes wrong when I copy those 2 files back and forth. I can't see why the files themselves would get corrupted purely as a result of the copying process itself. I guess they just don't contain everything necessary and that they go out of kilter with something else. I don't even know where the idea of copying them back and forth came from, I must have read it as a tip somewhere.

 

[townsbg]

After you start booting up XP hit the F8 key. Look for the option to disable automatic restart. Also try safemode.

 

[ToughDiamond]

After you start booting up XP hit the F8 key. Look for the option to disable automatic restart. Also try safemode.

Thanks. I tried the F8 key but nothing happened. I don't know how I'd access safe mode.
The good news is that XP is still working happily.

 

[townsbg]

You access safemode from F8. If XP is running go ahead and follow the steps in this guide to disable automatic reboot that way if it bluescreens again you can see what the error message is. How to Disable Windows Automatic Restart on System Failure

 

[ToughDiamond]

You access safemode from F8. If XP is running go ahead and follow the steps in this guide to disable automatic reboot that way if it bluescreens again you can see what the error message is. How to Disable Windows Automatic Restart on System Failure

OK I disabled Automatic Reboot. Though I don't recall seeing a blue screen when XP was crashing. Still, switching it can do no harm, and might do some good.
The other thing that occurred to me is that if it crashes again it might create an error log. So I'm wondering what I would do to access that. Only trouble is, if it shuts down and refuses to start again, I don't suppose it would be even possible to look at it.

 

[ToughDiamond]

Update:
I found out a couple of things I've been doing wrong, which might well explain the trouble I was getting:

1. It seems I might not have been backing up enough of the Virtual Machine files -

• [FONT=&quot]Virtual Hard Disk/Differencing Disk file C:\Users\{your name}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vhd[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Parent Disk file C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\Windows XP Mode base.vhd[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Virtual Machine Configuration file C:\Users\{your name}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\Windows XP Mode.vmc[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]If the Undo Disks are enabled, you will need to back up the Undo Disks file C:\Users\{your name}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\VirtualPCUndo_Windows XP Mode_{#_#_##############}.vud[/FONT]

That last one doesn't seem to exist on my PC anyway, but the Parent Disk one in bold does, and I've not been backing it up - who would have suspected there were two .vhd files?

2. I've been shutting Virtual XP down by simply clicking the cross at the top right corner of the screen. That only hibernates it, which may accumulate problems over time. it's very likely safer to shut it down properly, which apparently is done from the Task Manager.

Here's where I found the info:
News, Tips, and Advice for Technology Professionals - TechRepublic

 

[townsbg]

If undo disk isn't enable you won't find those files. Check out this like to see if it is on. Windows Virtual PC and Undo Disks | Ben Armstrong’s Virtualization Blog I'm not sure what the second file is because I'm never successfully been able to use XP mode but it looks to me like the source used to setup XP mode. If that's true you should just be able to download it again if needed. I've used XP as well as other versions of windows on Virtual PC but I couldn't get XP mode to work. As for shutting down you can do so from the start menu. Really using XP is the same as from an actual computer if you even had one with XP on it.

 

[ToughDiamond]

If undo disk isn't enable you won't find those files. Check out this like to see if it is on. Windows Virtual PC and Undo Disks | Ben Armstrong’s Virtualization Blog I'm not sure what the second file is because I'm never successfully been able to use XP mode but it looks to me like the source used to setup XP mode. If that's true you should just be able to download it again if needed. I've used XP as well as other versions of windows on Virtual PC but I couldn't get XP mode to work. As for shutting down you can do so from the start menu. Really using XP is the same as from an actual computer if you even had one with XP on it.

Thanks, I've only just seen your post. That additional file's "last modified" date actually hasn't changed since I first installed XP mode, which I think must mean that it's never needed backing up or restoring.


As for the article, it doesn't seem to explain how to turn Undo Discs on and off, it just says it's a feature present in Virtual PC 2007. I can't find anything on my PC that tells me what version of Virtual PC I've got.


I've had no trouble with XP since I started shutting it down fully rather than just clicking the cross on the top right (which only hibernates it), so my guess is that my problems were simply caused by never doing that full shutdown, which is notorious for building up problems. I'll keep my eye on it and report back if it starts going dippy again.


I wish I could remember how I installed XP mode, then I might be able to help you get yours running. All I can recall is that I downloaded it from Microsoft and didn't get any trouble running it.

 

[townsbg]

I tried only once to use XP mode because I have my own licenses for XP and I already had a functioning XP virtual machines. So when I couldn't get it to run I did try it again. Still though it's the same as running any other virtual pc. You have 2007; that's the only version available to Windows 7. From the virtual pc console you have to open up the settings for the virtual pc to see if undo disk is enabled. I'm not at home now so I can't check where exactly to go.

 

[ToughDiamond]

I tried only once to use XP mode because I have my own licenses for XP and I already had a functioning XP virtual machines. So when I couldn't get it to run I did try it again. Still though it's the same as running any other virtual pc. You have 2007; that's the only version available to Windows 7. From the virtual pc console you have to open up the settings for the virtual pc to see if undo disk is enabled. I'm not at home now so I can't check where exactly to go.

OK, I think I found it - it'll be Undo Disks in Settings. Pretty obvious once I'd found out that rightclicking the XP Mode icon had Settings in the drop-down menu. Never needed it before AFAIK. I also found a switch to throw that makes XP Mode shut down properly when the cross at the top right of the XP screen is clicked. Weird that the default setting was to hibernate it. And I see a lot of people find Undo Disks makes things complicated, so I'll probably just use that as a last resort. Good to know where it is though.

 

[townsbg]

It it wasn't enabled that would explain when those files don't exist. What undo disk does is write any changes to temporary files rather than the permanent one until you either discard the changes or make them permanent which integrates them into the permanent file. I'm not sure if there is a performance decrease but it certainly complicates things especially if you have multiple restore points which can be done with VMWare. Integrating the changes takes awhile especially the longer you have gone without doing so. IMO it's not a good idea for long term use. VMWare makes it more confusing but changing the wording, having them created automatically, and changing the wording compared to Virtual PC. If you don't need it I wouldn't turn it on. It has to read files from both the permanent file as well the temporary files and you have increased space usage.

 

[ToughDiamond]

Yes it looks like I'd best avoid using it for the time being at least. One thing I noticed in the settings was the option to make XP mode shut down (instead of hibernating) when the cross on the top left is clicked. I don't know why they made it hibernate by default. It's quicker and easier to just minimise it if I want to resume my work in XP later.