[dba-Tech] VM inside out

[Gustav Brock]

Hi Arthur

You can use the Disk2vhd util here:

https://technet.microsoft.com/da-dk/sysinternals/ee656415

to - from inside Win10 - to create a vhd/vhdx image of your Win10 install.

Then you can use the StarWind V2V converter here:

https://www.starwindsoftware.com/converter

to convert to an image format understood by VirtualBox (which I know nothing about).

/gustav

-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: dba-Tech [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] På vegne af Arthur Fuller
Sendt: 18. marts 2016 14:47
Til: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues <dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
Emne: [dba-Tech] VM inside out

I couldn't think of a better description of what I want to try. I only have two boxes, unfortunately. The one of interest is currently running Windows 10, with a few essentials installed (Office, etc.), and Oracle VirualBox with a Linux VM. I'm thinking that I'd like to reverse this setup, so that the native boot-up is Linux and then run Windows 10 as a VirtualBox VM inside that. I suppose I could do it all from scratch, but I wondered whether there might be a way to turn the current Windows 10 setup (plus its installed apps) into a VM; if so, then I could boot from a Linux disc, set up VirtualBox inside that, and finally install the Windows 10 VM from there, the result being a clone of my current Windows 10 setup, with no need to re-install all its apps and data.

Can this be done, or should I just bite the bullet and do it from scratch?

(In the past, I have tried to set up a dual boot on said machine, without success. For some reason, I just end up in grab, not a dual boot. It's been a while since I've tried that approach, so things may have improved, but once bitten twice shy.)

--
Arthur