[opensuse] cloning vista install to VM

Ken Schneider

25 Aug 2008 25 Aug '08

21:39

Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR. -- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

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Randall R Schulz

25 Aug 25 Aug

22:00

On Monday 25 August 2008 14:39, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

Is this Vista installed from a generic Microsoft OEM distribution, or one that was bundled with new PC hardware? I've installed the generic OEM releases of Windows XP (SP2) and that version requires product activation (binding a serial number to a specific hardware configuration). If you've activated such an installation, you'll have to switch that activation to the VM-based installation, since the likelihood of Windows thinking it's the same hardware seem pretty remote. Of course, I don't know how this works for Windows pre-installed by hardware vendors or whether Vista has retained this scheme, so it may all be moot, but it's something to keep in mind.

...

-- Ken Schneider

Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Ken Schneider

22:07

Randall R Schulz pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

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On Monday 25 August 2008 14:39, Ken Schneider wrote:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

Is this Vista installed from a generic Microsoft OEM distribution, or one that was bundled with new PC hardware?

I've installed the generic OEM releases of Windows XP (SP2) and that version requires product activation (binding a serial number to a specific hardware configuration). If you've activated such an installation, you'll have to switch that activation to the VM-based installation, since the likelihood of Windows thinking it's the same hardware seem pretty remote.

Of course, I don't know how this works for Windows pre-installed by hardware vendors or whether Vista has retained this scheme, so it may all be moot, but it's something to keep in mind.

...
-- Ken Schneider

Randall Schulz

This is the Vista that came pre-installed on the laptop. -- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Randall R Schulz

22:11

On Monday 25 August 2008 15:07, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

...

This is the Vista that came pre-installed on the laptop.

Do you have distribution media that can re-install from scratch on "blank" hardware? If not, I'm not sure it's even an option. You might want to try using whatever installation or recovery disc you got with the laptop to perform an installation or "recovery" operation on a VM, but offhand I think there's some possibility that the release is sufficiently specific to the actual laptop hardware that it won't run on something so different from that hardware as a VM. That's all just speculation, though.

...

-- Ken Schneider

Randall Schulz -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

John Andersen

22:02

On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 --

It sort of matters which VM you are talking about. Vmware has utilities for this. http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html I have not used these. I have used CloneZilla. But not with vista. The biggest thing with CloneZilla is to get the disk sizes exact between the original and the clone because its prettymuch an image copy. Still, I think you will run afoul of Microsoft registration stuff, and you might be better off going thru channels at microsoft to legally move the license after copying all your data. -- ----------JSA--------- Someone stole my tag line, so now I have this rental. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Ken Schneider

22:10

John Andersen pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

...

On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 --

It sort of matters which VM you are talking about. Vmware has utilities for this. http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html I have not used these.

I have used CloneZilla. But not with vista. The biggest thing with CloneZilla is to get the disk sizes exact between the original and the clone because its prettymuch an image copy.

Still, I think you will run afoul of Microsoft registration stuff, and you might be better off going thru channels at microsoft to legally move the license after copying all your data.

The VM I'm using is VirtualBox. There should be no legal need to move the license since it's the same physical hardware. -- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Rodney Baker

22:17

On Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:40:49 Ken Schneider wrote:

...

John Andersen pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

...
On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 --

It sort of matters which VM you are talking about. Vmware has utilities for this. http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html I have not used these.

I have used CloneZilla. But not with vista. The biggest thing with CloneZilla is to get the disk sizes exact between the original and the clone because its prettymuch an image copy.

Still, I think you will run afoul of Microsoft registration stuff, and you might be better off going thru channels at microsoft to legally move the license after copying all your data.

The VM I'm using is VirtualBox. There should be no legal need to move the license since it's the same physical hardware.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998

Ken, VMWare can run Windows from a physical disk inside a VM (i.e. boot an existing Windows installation in a VM) but there are some hurdles to cross; the main one is getting Win to select the correct hal.dll from the Windows boot manager, since it is almost guaranteed to be different between the physical hardware and the vm "hardware". VMWare have a document describing how to do set it up to look at a physical rather than a virtual disk. You should also google "windows multiple hal.dll" Rodney. -- =================================================== Rodney Baker VK5ZTV rodney.baker@iinet.net.au =================================================== APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of the future for the problems of the past: it creates a new generation of coding bums.

John Andersen

22:28

On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 3:10 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

John Andersen pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

...
On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 --

It sort of matters which VM you are talking about. Vmware has utilities for this. http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html I have not used these.

I have used CloneZilla. But not with vista. The biggest thing with CloneZilla is to get the disk sizes exact between the original and the clone because its prettymuch an image copy.

Still, I think you will run afoul of Microsoft registration stuff, and you might be better off going thru channels at microsoft to legally move the license after copying all your data.

The VM I'm using is VirtualBox. There should be no legal need to move the license since it's the same physical hardware.

For some values of "physical", perhaps. But since we are talking a switch to a virtual platform, I can assure you it will look different to Vista, and their definition becomes the governing one. They will require re-activation when several key items change. They don't say which items, but mac addresses, physical processors, memory, and pci bus items are surely some of the things they check. MS has rescinded virtually all their prior bans on using Vista with a visualization environment, and they will even swap your license key for a generic one if you are saddled with a OEM key. Then all you have to do is find media to install from, or work out the actual physical to virtual transition. In my experience, they are not hard to deal with as long as you are making an effort to remain legit. -- ----------JSA--------- Someone stole my tag line, so now I have this rental. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Mike McMullin

26 Aug 26 Aug

04:14

On Mon, 2008-08-25 at 18:10 -0400, Ken Schneider wrote:

...

John Andersen pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

...
On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Ken Schneider wrote:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

-- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 --

It sort of matters which VM you are talking about. Vmware has utilities for this. http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/overview.html I have not used these.

I have used CloneZilla. But not with vista. The biggest thing with CloneZilla is to get the disk sizes exact between the original and the clone because its prettymuch an image copy.

Still, I think you will run afoul of Microsoft registration stuff, and you might be better off going thru channels at microsoft to legally move the license after copying all your data.

The VM I'm using is VirtualBox. There should be no legal need to move the license since it's the same physical hardware.

If your system came pre-installed then it is quite likely your key hasn't been used anyhow. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Andreas

02:13

Am Montag, 25. August 2008 14:39:03 schrieb Ken Schneider:

...

Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

I believe that Michael Krufky has already submitted a driver for the Hauppauge HVR-950Q, available in the git reposotory at http://linuxtv.org/repo/ -- Gruß Andreas -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

Ken Schneider

03:16

Andreas pecked at the keyboard and wrote:

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Am Montag, 25. August 2008 14:39:03 schrieb Ken Schneider:

...
Does anyone have any experience cloning Vista installed on a new machine to a VM? I recently purchased a new laptop and would like have Vista in a VM then having to dual boot this machine. Well, at least until a driver is finished for the Hauppauge 950Q HVR.

I believe that Michael Krufky has already submitted a driver for the Hauppauge HVR-950Q, available in the git reposotory at http://linuxtv.org/repo/

That would be good. According to the Hauppauge site it is supposed to be in the 2.6.26 kernel but who knows for sure. Having used linux for many years I have a little patience waiting for drivers. It will get here soon enough. (I hope) -- Ken Schneider SuSe since Version 5.2, June 1998 -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org

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Andreas
John Andersen
Ken Schneider
Mike McMullin
Randall R Schulz
Rodney Baker