Solved Virtual XP - Assign a drive letter to a host drive

[eddyq]

I loaded the Windows 7 Virtual PC then I loaded the "Windows XP Mode" virtual machine. I am able to see my W7 host drives as "C on EDDYS-E6440". But the software I'm using needs to use a drive letter. I would like to call it W. So I tried to use Tools->Map Network Drive. I used folder == \\eddys-e6440\c the user name == eddys-e6440\eddyq but it says it can't find it: "The network path \\eddys-e6440\c could not be found".

So I used "whoami" on the W7 side and it does in fact show the host and user name are eddys-e6440\eddyq. Then I went to the W7 side and mapped a drive there exactly the same way and that worked (so I know I have all the syntax, names and case correct).

Then I tried creating a new account on the XP side called eddyq (the same user/password as the W7 side). But when I use Start->Log Off the W7 side gets a message saying "Windows Virtual PC has stopped working" (a.k.a. crash). So I tried "shutdown /r" and while restarting the VM it again crashed.

Does Windows XP Mode have this restriction? If so is there any way to make "C on EDDYS-E6440" appear as a simple drive letter?

 

[strollin]

I got it to work eddyq. First of all, make sure that you remove that drive from the Integration Features settings for the VM. On the host machine, create a share to the drive/folder you want to be your drive W:. In the VM, within Windows Explorer, go to Tools->Map Network Drive, set the drive letter to W: then click on Browse. Browse thru your network/Workgroup and find the share that you created and select that share. Depending on how the share is setup you may or may not need to use the link "Connect using a different user name". The click finish and you should now see the share appear as the drive W: in Windows Explorer.

 

[eddyq]

I tried what you said. I changed the settings to remove all drives from "Integration Features". Then it said I had to re-launch the VM. But the Start menu only has Log Off so I just closed the window and it said it was Hybernating. So I re-launched and the drives don't show up anymore (as expected).

But when I try to map using the GUI method you suggest nothing shows up under Workgroup. So I tried the traditional map again and it gives the same error ... that it can't find the path.

I wanted to just re-boot but there is no Restart option under Start, just Log Off. So I tried "shutdown /r" but that crashes while "Starting the virtual machine" is displayed (just like Log Off).

 

[Kari]

You need to shut down the XP Mode then reboot it. To shut down XP mode change its settings as shown in screenshot below, then close XP Mode which now prompts for action you want to take. By default XP Mode hibernates when closed, now you can shut it down:

Kari

 

[strollin]

If you don't want to change that setting permanently, you can click on the Ctrl+Alt+Del button at the top of the VM window which will bring up a dialog that will allow you to select "Shutdown...".

But when I try to map using the GUI method you suggest nothing shows up under Workgroup. So I tried the traditional map again and it gives the same error ... that it can't find the path.

Did you create the share for the drive/folder you wish to map to?

 

[Kari]

If you don't want to change that setting permanently, you can click on the Ctrl+Alt+Del button at the top of the VM window which will bring up a dialog that will allow you to select "Shutdown...".

... and to completely cover all options:

When you have closed XP Mode, by default it is only hibernated. When launched next time it will not restart but instead wake up from hibernation. If you want to change this, force XP Mode to make a full boot instead of waking it up you need to manually delete the XP Mode hibernation file when XP Mode is closed. The file name is Windows XP Mode.vsv and it is located on your host in C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines.

 

[eddyq]

[/QUOTE]Did you create the share for the drive/folder you wish to map to?[/QUOTE]

Yes. I set all permissions to full. In fact I can use my other W7 computer and a real XP computer and map just fine to the very same place and with the same user name/password.

Here is a clue ... I can't ping eddys-e6440. Hmm, I did ipconfig and found that it is not on the local network.

 

[eddyq]

Problem solved. Along with what you guys said and making one more change I fixed it.

The final problem was that Toos->settings->Networking needs to be set to one of the ethernet connections, not the default which is NAT.

Thanks everyone for your help.

PS, but I'm still wondering why a crash during Log Out. If that persists I'll start another thread.