USING A .VHD VIRTUAL DISK FILE TO CREATE A VIRTUAL MACHINE IN "ORACLE VM VIRTUALBOX" IN A "WINDOWS.." HOST

COMPUTER Objective: If you use Microsoft's free "Disk2vhd" program to make a .VHD virtual hard disk file, you can then use this .VHD file to create a virtual machine in "Oracle VM VirtualBox" in a "Windows.." host computer. The total process of using "Disk2vhd" and then creating a virtual machine in "Oracle VM VirtualBox" is an example of doing a "Physical to Virtual" which is also known as "P2V".

BASIC INFORMATION Basic information about Microsoft's free "Disk2vhd" can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415 Basic information about "Oracle VM VirtualBox" ("VirtualBox") can be found at http://www.virtualbox.org/

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING A .VHD FILE TO CREATE A VIRTUAL MACHINE IN "ORACLE VM VIRTUALBOX": Step 1: Start the "Oracle VM VirtualBox" software program:

Step 2: An "Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager" window will be displayed. Click on the "New" button:

Step 3: A "Welcome to the New Virtual Machine Wizard!" dialog box will be displayed:

Step 4: Click on the "Next" button:

Step 5: A "VM Name and OS Type" dialog box will be displayed:

Step 6: Type in a name for the new virtual machine. In this example, we typed in SATM-eMachine001

Step 7: Use the drop down button of the list box to select the "Operating System" for the virtual machine. Select the operating system that is running in the real, physical computer that was used to create your .VHD file via the "Disk2vhd" software program.

In this example, we selected "Microsoft Windows":

Step 8: Use the drop down button of the list box to select the "Version" of the operating system for the virtual machine. Select the version of the operating system that is running in the real, physical computer that was used to create your .VHD file via the "Disk2vhd" software program. In this example, we selected "Windows XP":

Step 9: Click on the "Next" button:

Step 10: A "Memory" dialog box will be displayed:

Step 11: Do not use the recommended amount of base memory. Adjust the memory for the virtual machine to an amount that is 45 percent of the amount of memory in the physical host computer:

Step 12: Click on the "Next" button:

Step 13: A "Virtual Hard Disk" dialog box will be displayed:

Step 14: Open a "Windows Explorer" or "My Computer" window. Copy your .VHD virtual hard drive file (that you created using "Disk2vhd") from your external hard drive to the C: drive of your host computer as follows: ************************************************************************** If you are running "Windows Vista.." or "Windows 7" in the host computer: Copy the .VHD file to C:\Users\<folder with the same name as your Windows Username>\<folder with the same name as the virtual hard drive that you are creating>\<folder with the same name as the name of the virtual hard drive that you are creating>\ ************************************************************************** If you are running "Windows 2000.." or "Windows XP.." in the host computer: Copy the .VHD file to C:\Documents and Settings\<folder with the same name as your Windows Username>\VirtualBox VMs\<folder with the same name as the name of the virtual hard drive that you are creating>\ ************************************************************************** In this example, we copied the file called 2011-07-23disk2vhd-SCHWARTZ.vhd to C:\Documents and Settings\testuser\VirtualBox VMs\SATM-eMachine001\

Step 15: Go back to the "Virtual Hard Disk" dialog box and select the "Use existing hard disk" option:

Step 16: Click on the folder icon to the right of the "Empty" field.

Step 17: A "Chose a virtual hard disk file" dialog box will be displayed:

Step 18: Navigate to the .VHD file that you placed on the C: drive in "Step 14".

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Step 19: Select/highlight the .VHD file that you placed on the C: drive in "Step 14".

Step 20: Click on the "Open" button of the "Choose a virtual hard disk file" box:

Step 21: The .VHD file that you placed on the C: drive in "Step 14" will now be shown in the box below the "Use existing hard disk" option:

Step 22: Click on the "Next" button:

Step 23: Read the information in the "Summary" box; if you want to change any item, click the "Back" button:

Step 24: Click on the "Create" button of the "Summary" box:

Step 25: After a while, the "Summary" box will disappear and you will be back at the "Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager" window. Click on the "Start" button:

Step 26: Read the information in the "VirtualBox - Information" box and then click on its "OK" button:

Step 27: The "VirtualBox" splash screen will be displayed:

Step 28: The splash screen of the operating system of your new virtual machine will be displayed:

Step 29: If a "Windows" login screen is displayed, type in the password:

Step 30: Then click on the green arrow button to the right of the password field:

Step 31: A "Windows Product Activation" box will be displayed.

Step 32: Click on the "Yes" button:

Step 33: A "Let's activate Windows" box will be displayed:

Step 34: Select the "Yes, let's activate Windows over the Internet now" option:

Step 35: A "Product key box" will be displayed. If the word "Unauthorized.." is displayed, ignore it.

Step 36: Locate the "Product Key" for the computer that you ran "Disk2vhd" on:

Step 37: Type in this product key into the "New key" fields:

Step 38: Click on the "Retry" or "Activate" button in the lower right-hand corner of the "..product key" box:

Step 39: When activation succeeds, you will get the following screen:

Step 40: Use your RIGHT mouse button to click on the Windows "Desktop". Then select "Properties" from the pop-up context menu:

Step 41:

Click on the "Settings" tab of the "Display Properties" dialog box:

Step 42: Select a screen resolution of as close to 1024 x 768 as possible:

Step 43: Click on the "OK" button of the "Display Properties" box:

Step 44: Click on the "Yes" button of the "Monitor Settings" box:

Step 45: If "Microsoft Security Essentials" or any other Microsoft software product displays a "Windows did not pass genuine validation.." box, click on "Go online and resolve now":

Step 46: A "Windows Internet Explorer" window will be displayed.

Step 47: An "Internet Explorer - Security Warning" box will be displayed:

Step 48: Click on the "Install" button:

Step 49: If the "Windows Genuine Advantage" page then shows "Welcome to Windows", it means that you have a positive "Validation Result":

Step 50: If any "Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard" dialog boxes pop up, select the "Yes, this time only" option:

Step 51: Then click on the "Next" button:

Step 52: For the initial attempt at resolving a hardware issue, leave the default option of "Install the software automatically":

Step 53: Click on the "Next" button:

Step 54: The "Found New Hardware Wizard" will attempt to locate a suitable drive for the hardware item that it has discovered:

Step 55: If you get a "Cannot Install this Hardware" notification, put a check mark in "Don't prompt me again to install this hardware":

Step 56: Then, click on the "Finish" button:

Step 57: If a "System Setting Change" box is displayed, click on the "Yes" button to restart the virtual machine:

Step 58: The virtual machine will reboot: