Virtualization :: Create A Portable System That Runs Windows Virtual Machines?
Mar 30, 2014
For XP users who want to keep using their XP system why not run VMWARE VMPLAYER -- FREE in UNITY MODE.
You don't need even to run Windows as your Host --how to create a Portable system that runs Windows Virtual machines and totally boots from an external HDD / USB stick (even if there's no HDD in the main computer !!).
Using Unity mode simply gives you access to all your Windows XP programs (and runs them) directly from the Host without you needing to enter the VM at all -- Power up your VM and simply click the Unity mode on the vm menu.
If you use Linux as a host it saves you having to purchase a new version of windows (Linux is FREE). Simply convert your XP system to a VM and then you can keep running XP for as long as you like without worrying about having to upgrade Windows.
I had Hyper-V and Ubuntu running on Windows 8 no problem. I've since done a fresh install to 8.1, and I can no longer create an External Virtual Switch. The button for "Create Virtual Switch" is grayed out when I select "External". I can create Internal and Private switches, but not External. There's no error or message so I'm having difficulty troubleshooting. All of the tutorials I've seen don't talk about any configuration I would need to do before creating an external switch. I have the default Windows 8.1 firewall and antivirus stuff.
Update: I tried creating the Virtual Switch in PowerShell with the following commands
Code: PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Get-NetAdapterName InterfaceDescription ifIndex Status MacAddress LinkSpeed Ethernet Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller 3 Up B8-97-5A-13-7C-E6 1 Gbps
[Code] ....
I'm not really sure why it couldn't find my physical network adapter, since it shows up with the Get-NetAdapter command.
I was just wondering if I could "Burn" a Virtual XP machine into a ROM -- I only need to run it to access some legacy hardware that I'll be keeping around for a good few years yet -- the ROM would ensure the XP system itself doesn't get altered in any way - I don't need Internet etc on it. I could have the ROM as a keyring FOB which would then be able to be connected to any PC I want. It would boot and operate a lot faster than by running it from a HDD or even an SSD. Only the OS and the hardware drivers / applications need to be installed. I'd use VMware on the HOST systems.
I need to test and run some old Windows XP Programs So I have decided to Use Windows Virtual PC With Windows XP Mode. But I can't get any link to download these two things.
Any link for The Windows Virtual PC and The Windows XP Mode? How to install it?
I have to run a few programs only available on linux.
As seen on almost all the sources I visited, I installed VirtualBox and downloaded the last Ubuntu "iso" file. after having installed the new OS on virtualbox, I tried launching it and got the very often found "VT-x is disabled in the BIOS" error.
The solution also given in all the sources I visited is "enable Hyper-V" in the "windows features turn on or off" menu. Problem is : I can't find this option (I even looked in the least probable sub directories, just in case)
I found out this feature was only available for "Pro" versions of windows 8/8.1.
My question is : Is it feasible for me to run a virtual machine, or even run a machine on dual boot on my default-installed-windows 8 machine? I don't have the money to buy the pro package (which, for some reason, is MUCH more expensive than the "previous windows to 8.1 pro" update).
My hardware is more than sufficient: 64bits i7-4700HQ processor, 8Gb RAM DDR3l
I'm using an AlienWare M14 machine. I tried to create a virtual machine locally using Client Hyper-V on Windows 8 Pro, but it still doesn't work (took me a lot of time). I added the Hyper-V features in "Turn windows feature on or off", and all of the requirements to run Hyper-V are fulfilled (SLAT, BIOS, 64 bits, ...) (I attach the msinfo32 output in this post). At the last step in creating a virtual machine, it says "... General access denied error... (0x80070005)" (for details, check my attached image).
How do I save a Virtual Machine to do a restore? I just finished a XP Pro VMware machine and I want to save it. There is a folder named Virtual Machines under My Documents. Is this what I backup?
I would like to run ubuntu as virtual machine on my win 8 desktop pc. I installed vmware player and then separately downloaded an ubuntu iso- couple of problems:-
There seems no option on vmware player to create a VMVMware player doesn't seem to recognise iso files - its looking for a vmx file - which I don't appear to have.... This is my first venture into vm's -
In Windows 8 Pro I have created a virtual machine using Win XPSP3. I've tried everything I can to get an internet connection for my VM. I'm not on a network so I've created an external virtual switch. I've tried using both the legacy adapter and a network adapter. I've tried changing the IP address -even tried a DNS address but the best I've achieved so far is "limited or no Connectivity". I also tried Win 7 Home Premium VM with the same result - no internet connection. The virtual manager should set this up automatically
After i updated to Windows 8.1 Enterprise from Windows 8 Enterprise, Hyper-V does not function correctly. When I add an iso image to a new virtual server or start one of my existing, I can see the iso file is loaded in the bottom thumbnail.
But when I connect to the virtual server it just says: Connecting to virtual server... and it times out after 5minutes.
All my virtual servers are running locally, they are able to start and are running fine, I just cannot connect to them. Also the ability to turn virtual servers off tends to hang and I have to kill the processes and restart the services for it to stop.
This enhancement applies to VMware Player standalone. If you have VMware Workstation installed, you don't need to apply this as Workstation includes all the features (and also includes VMware Player).
As the most VMware Workstation users know, there is a virtual network editor available that lets you configure the virtual networks, add new networks and delete networks for the virtual machines and also bridged networks with the host computer.
Edit:
One of the usage of the network editor is fixing the bridged network connection: How to fix bridged networking in VMware player - YouTube
The editor is useful (mostly for advanced users...but you'll never now when it might be needed) to add, delete and configure the default virtual networks that come pre-installed with Player.
VMware Player is Workstation's little brother, it's free and comes with less features. There is no Network editor with VMware Player (...or is it?)
The network editor is available in the VMware Player installer but it's default set NOT to install with the rest of the features (don't know why).
It seems different fixes need to be applied to each of Player's version 4, 5 or 6.
If using version 4 of the Player, this also applies to version 3.
I'm gonna show you how to add the network editor to VMware Player.
It's easy, or it should have been... but each version has its surprise.
Keep in mind that techniques used for one version apply for newer versions too but the files need to be extracted form other installers and other archives or additional files may be required.
Player version 3 and 4 To begin we first need to extract the VMware Player installer with some extra parameters (name-of-installer.exe /e .extract). You put the installer in a folder of your choice and create a shortcut of it as shown below (1) with the extra parameters in the target:
Then you run the shortcut that creates a folder (extract) containing all the components.
Go to folder "extract". We are interested in "network.cab": open or extract it and there you see "vmnetcfg.exe". It's the network editor.
Copy or move it in the VMware Player installation folder ("Program Files (x86)VMwareVMware Player" should be the default path).
This is shown below:
Now we are ready. The network editor is part of VMware Player just like in Workstation.
The virtual networks that appear in the notification area in Windows Vista and later can be configured or deleted:
Don't delete them if you use networking in your virtual machines. The network editor works as seen in last screenshot.
Player version 5 The fix above doesn't work in VMware Player 5: the file we need is included with Workstation. (using "/e extract" parameter for the installer still applies). Read here: VMware Communities: Whither VMware Player 5.0 VMNetCfg.exe?
Extra update: Vertigo here later on the thread: How to add the "Virtual Network Editor" to VMware Player some extra info is provided how to simplify things out: VMware Player 5 already has a vmnetui.dll included and the whole procedure posted above is not needed anymore!
Player version 6
Then, See post here. Until a command is discovered to see if Player includes the network editor again, the extraction technique of vmnetcfg.exe still is considered as 'the' fix.
I am running Windows 8.1 Pro with Hyper-V enabled. When I had Windows 8 I could install a Virtual switch with out any problems, since upgrading I can not install a Virtual Switch with External or Internal settings.
Not sure if this is relevant or not but when I look at the Ethernet properties never "Hyper-V Extensible Virtual Switch" or "Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Protocol" are ticked. I have tried ticking them but get the error message "Could not add the requested feature. The error is: The data is invalid". I have checked that I am using the latest and correct driver for the card.
Upgraded my win 7 pro that had virtual XP mode to win 8.1 pro. Everything from Win 7 came with it including my install programs. Noticed the virtual xp file .vmcx is there but can't access it. So I installed Hyper-V and got to the point of connecting to Virtual Hard Disk. Noticed it creats a .vhdx file. I assume this would be a new file with nothing I had on my old .vmcx file. How do I get my old virtual files over to the new one?
If I can't would I be able to install the virtual file that I got from Microsoft's website, WinXpVirtual6.1KB958559x64RefreshPkg.msu (it included a license key), or I need to have another installation disk that has Windows XP with a license key?
I have just upgraded to 8 using my 7 settings on a couple of my machines. Is it possible to put back the original 7 SSD drive - clone it to a spare drive and then create the VM set up on that cloned drive using the upgraded drive? I would of course remove the original 7 drive and just use the clone.
I'll just get an OEM 8 to install if what I have cannot be done.
Here's my issue; I am a math and science teacher in a public middle school and am outfitting my class with thirty brand-new Lenovo touch computers. I consider myself above-average savvy with computers, having worked with every version of Windows extensively since the late 80s and DOS. The only OS that I haven't spent much time on is Windows 8.
These computers are all brand-new and of course have legal copies of Windows 8 -- irritatingly, though not yet updated to 8.1. Soo...It took me a larger part of one day just to get ONE of these computers ready for class use. It involved several stages of the Windows update/reboot dance, followed by removing myriad unneeded bloatware applications, setting up multiple child accounts on the machine, and finally installing some freeware educational materials needed for instruction. It was all unbelievably tedious!
I turned around and look at all the remaining twenty-nine computers with dread. Obviously I'm trying to work out some kind of shortcut to avoid having to spend my whole summer updating each of the new machines individually. In an ideal world, I would make some sort of image of the machine that I just spent several hours updating/configuring, and then replicate that across the other twenty-nine. In terms of hardware, this shouldn't be a problem since all of the machines are exactly the same make and model. But I anticipate other problems such as, for example, the serial number of the Windows version and the computer name will then be the same on all the machines and have to be adjusted. There very well could be other issues with replicated serial numbers, etc.
I'm thinking maybe I just have to bite the bullet and work at each individual computer one of the time. And then image them individually so that when the kids mess around with them, I can do an easy restore. How I could make this work?
Goal: run both windows 7 and windows 8.1 native from VHDX (currently only success with Windows 8.1 on vhdx and win7 vhd)
I have a windows 8.1 installed in the system and rebooted into a command prompt, created a vhdx image, converted to GPT, and then install windows 7 on this vhdx (both with and without KB982018 integrated). The install went through (copying files etc) and it then rebooted itself and finish off the reset of the installation. After it rebooted it the boot menu is the old style black and white (which is fine), and choose win7 vhdx to finish off the installation. However an error comes up - An unexpected error has occurred.
Having no luck therefore instead of installing to a VHDX I now boot up with the win7SP1 USB and install onto a VHD instead. Everything went well and booted into windows 7 (expected). I then install KB980218 and then it rebooted itself, again everything is ok. I then booted back into windows 8, converted the windows 7 from VHD to VHDX and set the sector size to 4096 as per How to Convert a VHD File into VHDX. Boot entry has also been updated to vhdx instead of vhd.
I now try to boot to this new win7 vhdx, and instead of getting an unexpected error, it booted into a graphical screen and ask for repairing the window. (which means it's unsuccessful).
I am trying to create a system image backup and I keep getting this error message
[COLOR=#FF0000]'Threre is not enough disk space to create the volum shadow copy on storage location. Make sure that for all volume to be backup up, the minimum disk space required for shadow copy creation is available. this applies to both the backup storage destination and volume included in the backup. Minimum requirement for Volumes less than 500 megabytes, the minimum is 50 megabyte of free space. for voulimes more than 500 megabytes, the minimum is 320 megabytes of free space. Recommended at least 1 gigabytes free of disk space on each volumes if volumes size is more than 1 gigabytes (0x80780119)"
I am backing it up to a external HDD with over a tb of free space but I understand its not letting me perform the backup because the hidden 100mb hidden system partition is full...if i create a larger partition how can I copy that system partition to it? if that is possible....
I decided that I should, create a System Recovery DVD for my new computer. However when I try and do it I only get the option to create a recovery USB Drive.
I did that but I'd still like to make a DVD disk.
Ps. I see that my system recovery USB drive has an empty folder called Sources. If I was to place a backup of my C: drive in that folder would it be automatically accessible and usable from the DVD drive?
Hmmm, I can't seem to find a way to use Windows to create a backup of my C: drive either.
Ok so i am trying to install windows 8 X64 onto a different hard drive as windows 7 so i can switch between the two at startup.Ok so my problems started yesterday when trying to install windows 8 onto the Hard Drive i was getting"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk has an MBR partition table. On EFI systems, Windows can only be installed to GPT disks."To fix this i converted the disk to a GPT disk in Disk ManagerNow im getting the Error "Setup was unable to create a new system partition or locate an existing system partition. See the setup log files for more Information." Here is a screenshot of disk manager at the moment.I am trying to install Windows 8 to Disk 2.
I thought 8.1 was supposed to make things easier? Not so for creating a System Image. Now, you have to use the Windows PowerShell (Admin) to get the job done. The image below will show the command string to use (boxed in red) and my target drive is/was Z:
Attachment 23893
Zoom image to enlarge.
You can use your installation media to access the Repair function and restore your System Image from there.
I recently upgraded to Windows 8.1 from the Microsoft Store. Everything went well (so far) and I want to create a system image backup.
I have a 1 TB external hard drive with plenty of space, but there are some mp3 files on it. I'd like to know if storing the disk image on this drive will affect the mp3's (i.e., are they safe?)
After doing some digging around I found the system image backup under windows 7 file recovery. Then I go to create system image and everything goes fine and then I get an error message after about half way through the back up . Error message will say something like not enough space on drive to create image and I am doing this on a 2TB external hard drive . I did notice one time I accidentally created 500 MB of unallocated space on this drive but I was getting this this error message before I did that and I am not even sure how I created it. I have another PC with windows 7 and don't have a problem with the scheduled image and data backups being performed weekly. Had this problem with windows 8? Also how do eliminate the 500 MB of unallocated space on my 2 TB External HD which is not really a problem but should not be there . I have my files backed up on this HD although I don't use windows data back up utility which I prefer Sync Back to perform instead .
I swapped a newly-bought ssd into my hdd1 slot, and put the hdd it replaced into my hdd2 slot today. Installed win 8 x64 and did all updates, personal config, etc. Everything seems to be fine and stable.
Problem is, I keep getting the message: "A Java Environment [blah blah] must be available in order to run Eclipse. No Java virtual Machine was found after searching the following locations: C:EclipsePortableAppEclipsejreinjavaw.exe javaw.exe in your current PATH" when trying to run Eclipse Portable.
Now the same installation package works fine in win 7, which I re-checked by booting into my hdd. In win7, Task Manager does not show any java related processes when running portable Eclipse, to which I assume is part of the portability. Thus interestingly enough, there was never a jre folder in the installation, and certainly no javaw.exe.
Anyways, using my win7 system, I can actually launch the portable eclipse I installed on my Windows 8 ssd just fine. Same goes for if I install onto a flashdrive: works in win7 on hdd, gives the above error in Windows 8 on ssd.
Regular eclipse, using java jdk installed in program files does work on Windows 8, I just prefer the portable version.
I installed Windows 8/8.1 on a system with a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H MB. When I look at the SSD where Windows is installed I have one partition. I also installed Windows 8/8.1 on an ASRock Z77 OC Formula MB. When I look at the SSD where Windows is installed I have three partitions - 300MB (Recovery Partition), 100MB (EFI System Partition) and 111.27GB (Boot,....Partition). Why did the Windows 8 installer create three partitions on the ASRock system? I think I understand the EFI partition since the ASRock BIOS has a "Load UEFI Defaults" option. The Gigabyte MB does not have this option in the BIOS? Is that because the ASRock MB has truly implemented EFI and uses the EFI System Partition to store boot information?
Why was the Recovery Partition created? I built this system from scratch so there is not any third party involvement. If I reinstall Windows 8 using a new - never used SSD will I get the three partitions? If I format the SSD with one partition prior to Installing Windows 8 what will I get?
I not concerned about the loss of 300MB,why I got different partition configurations on fresh installs of Windows 8 on two different MB's/Systems?
I have a UEFI PC with an SSD and an HDD. I installed Windows 8 and upgraded to Windows 8.1 on the SSD.
For reasons I don't understand, Windows created the system reserved partition on the HDD, not the SSD. Not knowing this, I erased and reformatted the HDD, and now the system will not boot. The Windows 8.1 install is still present on the SDD, but the system reserved partition is absent.
Is there a way to re-create the system reserved partition? I have the Windows 8 install DVD, but the upgrades to 8.1 were made using Microsoft Update and the Microsoft Store.
Just like the title, how do I create a system image on windows 8.1? I have installed Windows 8.1 and have all my settings and programs just how I like it but I cant see how to create a system image.
I am trying to create a system repair disc, and I am getting the message: "do not have the files to create system repair disc". Why? How do I get those files. Never had a problem like this trying to create a system back up in the past. Running Windows 8.
I have an external hard drive for all my gigabytes of music, and I have Media Monkey installed as a portable app. This setup is great for taking my music library wherever I go, but the shortcut disappears from the taskbar any time the hard drive is powered off, or if the shortcut does stick around after booting up, the icon is blank. Is there a way to get the shortcut to persist properly? Would there be a way to edit the autoplay.ini to pin the shortcut when the drive is detected?
