virtualization - Backup/Convert existing Windows Server 2003 install to VHD for use in Hyper-V

24
2013-08
  • Richie086

    So I have a dev server running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise 32 Bit SP2 R2.

    Here are the system specs

    Motherboard Intel S5520HC
    CPU x2 Intel Xeon L5520 (Quad Core @ 2.27 GHz per core, 16 cores total)
    RAM 16 GB DDR3 ECC RAM
    Storage 120GB SSD

    I am well aware that this is a bit overpowered for a dev box.

    Anyway, I would like to consolidate my current server 2k3 install a few other systems into one by installing Hyper-V Server on this machine. The other VMs that would be running will be dev/test environments (Windows 7) that currently reside on physical machines. I plan on ordering another 16GB of RAM so I can give each VM plenty of resources.

    I have experience using Sysinternals disk2vhd.exe tool with Windows 7 installs and have yet to run into any issues making bootable VMs. The issue I am running into is when I created a VHD of my server 2k3 install (with disk2vhd) and attempted to boot the image with VirtualBox, the VHD seems to boot but I do not see anything on the screen (a black window opens and just sits there).

    I have attempted to ping the machine using the IP, NetBios name and FQDN (Network Adapter in VirtualBox is set to Bridged Mode)to see if the VHD is actually booting, but the machine does not seem to be pingable.

    I would like to be 100% sure that I will not have any issues booting the 2k3 VHD after I install Hyper-V on this system. Many hours have gone into configuring MSQL and various web components (this machine was configured by a web developer I work with, I am just the system administrator), and I would prefer to not have to start from scratch.

    Is it possible to create a bootable VHD of an existing Windows Server 2k3 install for use in Hyper-V? Any clues as to why Virtual Box does not throw any errors when I try to boot the VHD? Are there any other tools (commerical or freeware/open source) that someone could reccomend that I could try to create the VHD?

    Let me know if you need more info..

  • Answers
  • techie007

    All Disk2VHD does is duplicate the disk into a VHD, so you'll end up with a disk image containing Windows with an improper hardware configuration for use with the VM (hence the black screen at boot).

    Just like if you yanked the HDD out of a physical Windows 2003 machine and stuck it into a different physical computer (different chipset, disk controllers, etc.) it won't boot.

    Use Microsoft's Virtual Machine Manager. It does a MUCH better job of converting Physical machines to Virtual.

    P2V: Converting Physical Computers to Virtual Machines in VMM

    Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) allows you to convert existing physical computers into virtual machines through a process known as physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversion. VMM simplifies P2V by providing a task-based wizard to automate much of the conversion process

    VMM is part of MS System Center, 2012 is the current version. Although it costs money, they currently offer a trial. The trial was 365 days long when I downloaded it a couple weeks ago.

  • Dave M

    VMM is great but may be more than needed. You will have to determine. There is also this from technet Disk2vhd


  • Related Question

    virtualization - Does Windows 7 Support Hyper-V?
  • Russ

    Now that Windows 7 Enterprise is available for VLK Users to download, I would like to check it out. The only thing holding me back is that I am an application developer (currently developing on a Windows Server 2008 installation) and the most useful thing I use is Hyper-V to create VMs of the systems I would like to test on.

    Is it possible to run Hyper-V under Windows 7 Enterprise? Or am I stuck with Windows Server 2008?


  • Related Answers
  • John T

    Unfortunately that seems to be the case:

    System requirements / Specifications

    • An x64-based processor running an x64 version of Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise or Windows Server 2008 Datacenter.

    Hyper-V System Requirements and Specifications


    Credits to Diago:

    The alternative to Hyper-V for Windows 7 is Virtual PC for Windows 7 available here. It is currently in RC but will be available soon. It also requires hardware assisted virtualization to work.

    If you want 64-Bit VM's however you will have to load Windows Server 2008 and load Hyper-V since Virtual PC does not support this.

    For 64-Bit VirtualBox or VMware are good options.

  • William Hilsum

    Windows 7 runs fine on Hyper-V, Hyper-V does not run on Windows 7.

    As other people have said, you can use Microsoft Virtual PC or Vmware Workstation along with a whole load of other VM software.

  • Nick Whaley

    You are stuck with Windows Server 2008 if you have to use Hyper-V. You can always switch to another virtualization software like VMware or VirtualPC or you can wait until Server 2008 R2 is released, which is the server version of Windows 7.