Turn a Physical Linux or Windows Machine Into A Virtual Machine for Free

We could specialize in growing this masterpiece inside the Windows environment, however, do not worry; the equal principles can be used in any running system which could run Virtual Box. Do Enjoy Life

Article Summary show

List of Software and Hardware wished:

Software:

-Virtual Box and Extension Pack
-Windows 7 or better PC or most any Linux Distro
-Redo Backup and Recovery ISO
-YUMI installer
Hardware:
-USB flash drive
-USB tough power

The overall benefits of appearing this procedure are 3 fold. One, value savings on energy, weather manipulate, and area required may be visible right away. Two, manageability and scalability dramatically increase due to digital disks and digital networks that can scale up or down with finer-grained management. Three, redundancy and faster disaster restoration that is furnished via cloud services. Especially when tied into your already current network infrastructure for an unbroken transition when catastrophe strikes. While this manner may be finished in numerous methods with different software, this is the manner that I am familiar with, and all of the gear wanted are unfastened.

Sounds daunting? No sweat, but in which will we start first?

We want to get a photograph of the bodily gadget onto detachable media (USB difficult force). I endorse a USB tough drive vs. Only a USB flash drive due to the photo’s space soak up. We can even want a USB flash force of at least 2 GB in size to apply as bootable media for Redo Backup and Recovery. Plug the USB tough drive into your USB port and open up the folder shape. Create a folder in an area that you could remember, i.e., D: “Your Computer’s Name.” This is the region wherein we will install the files from our initial bodily photograph replica. After that is complete, eject your USB difficult drive via right-clicking at the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon in your taskbar and click on Eject “something your USB difficult force is known as,” unplug the USB HDD.

Next, we want to create a bootable USB to load Redo Backup and Recovery on. Download a small software referred to as “YUMI.” YUMI will create a bootable USB flash power for Redo Backup and Recovery on it. Also, seize a copy of Redo Backup and Recovery, save each document for your computing device or place of preference.

Now, run YUMI and pick your USB flash force from the listing (Remember to select your USB power and not your USB HDD that has to be unplugged besides!). Choose “Redo Backup and Recovery” from the software list that you may create an installer for. Click the “Browse” button to look for the Redo Backup and Recovery.Iso to encompass the install. Finally, click on “Create” to start the bootable Redo Backup and Recovery bootable USB advent process. When that is completed, YUMI will ask you if you want to feature any more distros; say “no.” Eject your USB out of the computer using the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon on your taskbar and click on Eject “whatever your USB flash force is known as” and unplug the USB flash force. Please hold Redo Backup and Recovery.Iso we can want it later.

Make positive that the physical laptop which you would like to virtualize is in a powered down kingdom. If no longer, please strengthen down the laptop. Insert handiest the USB flash pressure into the laptop. Power up the computer and press the correct key to access the good menu or make certain that the USB force is about as well before the computer system’s internal hard pressure. Choose the USB entry as well from, YUMI must now load. Choose the access for “Tools” then “Redo Backup and Recovery.” Press input at the Redo menu to start the mini healing O/S. When Redo Backup and Recovery is loaded, insert your USB HDD and deliver it in about 20 seconds.

Open Redo Backup and Recovery Software:

1. Choose “Backup.”

2. Choose your disk to backup (your bodily laptop’s disk)

3. Choose your walls to backup (normally it’d be all partitions and MBR)

4. On the “Destination Drive” screen, pick out “Connected immediately to my PC” and click on browse.

5. Locate the record folder we made in advance, i.e., D: “Your Computer’s Name” click OK.

6. Choose a name for the disk photo. I will generally select the date, click subsequent. The backup manner will take anywhere from 1 hr to three hrs depending on hard power ability and computer speed.

Congratulations, at this point, you have got made a complete backup of your physical machine. Please click “Close” on the Redo and Recovery Backup application and choose the electricity button within the backside proper corner of your display. Select “Shutdown” and allow the computer to shutdown. Remove each USB flash power and USB HDD and boot up any PC with Windows 7 or higher established on it.

Now, we could turn that bodily gadget into a virtual device!

Open up Virtual Box and select “New.” Give your Virtual Machine a name and select the kind of virtual gadget it’ll be in addition to the version. Choose your memory length; I typically plenty 2 GB=2048 MB if I plan on strolling it on a machine that has four GB of ram physically installed. Create a brand new tough power, select VHD as the difficult power report type, click on subsequent. Choose “Dynamically allotted” for the storage, click subsequent. Give your VHD hard pressure a name; I will normally call it through what’s going for walks on it, hence name it what you named your computer. Make the VHD hard force big enough to store your running gadget; I will normally choose 200GB on the secure side. Again this relies upon how large your bodily gadget’s information becomes. You are now lower back to the Virtual Box Manager screen with your new VM gift. Make certain your Virtual Box Extension has been hooked up. Obtain the extension in your software model and deploy it like so:

In Virtual Box, click on File–>Preferences–>Extensions–>Add Package–>Locate extension file and pick out it. It might be robotically mounted.

Prepare the conversion! Use only Option A or Option B:

Option A: If you could get USB help operating in Virtual Box:

Make sure that you have mounted the extension percent and setup USB access nicely. In case you are having some issues, consult with the Virtual Box file here: In Virtual Box, click on for your VM call and pick out “Settings” at the pinnacle, pick out “Storage.” Click on the empty CD/DVD icon, after which the CD/DVD icon at the proper beneath “Attributes,” and choose your Redo Backup and Recovery ISO and click on “OK.” At this factor, you have got the Redo Backup and Recovery.Iso on the prepared and a blank VHD to put in to. All you want to do now could be to insert your USB tough force and skip over Option B because you no longer want to perform it.

Option B: If you cannot get USB support to paintings in Virtual Box. No hassle, it’s what took place to me, so I found a manner around it. In Virtual Box, click on your VM name and select “Settings” on the pinnacle, select “Storage,” choose “Add a tough disk” after Controller: SATA or Controller: IDE something you have. Choose “Create a new disk,” choose VHD and once more, make it 200GB Dynamically allotted and call it “Installer.” Underneath “Storage Tree,” click on the empty CD/DVD icon, after which the CD/DVD icon on the proper under “Attributes,” and choose your Redo Backup and Recovery ISO and click on “OK.” At this factor, you’ve got the Redo Backup and Recovery.Iso at the ready and a blank VHD, which is known as after your computer, and another black VHD named Installer. Now near Virtual Box and proper click on “Computer” and pick out “Manage.” Left-click on “Disk Management,” then proper click on “Disk Management” once more and pick out “Attach VHD.” Browse for the vicinity of your Installer VHD, which you created in Virtual Box, typically inside the “My Documents” folder, and click on k. Now you may replica the bodily computer backup photograph that we took in advance from D: “Your Computer’s Name” to Installer VHD. After the contents were copied, proper click on PC management again and click on “Detach VHD.” Open up Virtual Box and proceed to the next step.

Let’s Convert This Thing!

Once you have both USB assist or the Installer VHD setup and the Redo Backup and Recovery ISO hooked up. Press “Start” to your VM name in Virtual Box. You might be met the acquainted Redo Backup and Recovery boot menu; press input to proceed. Launch the Backup and Recovery application if it did not begin routinely. Choose “Restore.” In a nutshell, you’ll pick out wherein your Image backup is “The Source Drive” (your USB HDD or Installer VHD if applicable) and where to install the picture (clean VHD named after your computer). After choosing to put it into the clean VHD, verify the activate to overite any facts and allow the restoration process to start. After that is finished, click near and shutdown Backup and Recovery as you did earlier than. The VM should prevent walking. Click on “Settings” from the Virtual Box Manager and unmount the Backup and Recovery ISO and the Installer VHD if applicable. Leave your VHD with the call of your computer or whatever you named it, and click on “OK” to head again to the Virtual Box Manager. Click on “Start,” you ought to now be searching for a fully virtualized model of your physical laptop!

Celebrate the many uses of this strength, little VHD!

You can transport this VHD and encompass it in any Virtual Box VM instance or even VMware if you are so willing. You can run it for your neighborhood premises or deploy it within the cloud. A cloud example of this VM could either require strolling Virtual Box on your cloud computing example or run it natively in your cloud computing space if the hosting company supports it.

Common Gotchas and Troubleshooting:

Q: When looking to run my Linux based totally virtual machine, I get ” now not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0) “? A: This is because, inside the backup and recovery method, all of the entries for hda##, hdb##, and so forth have been converted to sda##, etc. First, replica your valuable VHD so that you might not lose your work if something goes wrong. Then all you may do is mount Backup and Recovery ISO, begin your VM again and produce up to a terminal session. Mount the Root partition and edit the entries in GRUB or Lilo to the right boot device. For instance: in GRUB, the entries are covered in the menu.Ist and fab. In Lilo, they are blanketed in /etc/lilo. Config and then /bin/lilo -v to jot down the modifications.

Q: When looking to run my Windows primarily based virtual device, I get boot blunders?

A: Obtain a duplicate or a Windows disc and mount it internal of Virtual Box, ensuring it’s far set to boot first. Choose the “Repair” alternative. Choose “Start-Up Repair” and let it run. If this doesn’t do the trick, move back into the “Repair” choice and select “Command Prompt.” Try these instructions one at a time, shutting down and unmounting the Windows disc each time to check if the trouble has been corrected:

bootrec.Exe /FixMbr. Then restart to see if resolved. If no result, try:
bootrec.Exe /FixBoot. Then restart to see if resolved. If no result, attempt:
bootrec.Exe /RebuildBcd. Then restart to peer if resolved. If no results, attempt:
You may have to cast off your BCD folder by using going for walks these commands one line at a time without prices:
“bcdedit /export C:BCD_Backup
c: <—- Only if your Windows installation is established on C:
cd boot
attrib BCD -s -h -r
ren c: boot cd BCD.Vintage
booties /RebuildBcd”
Flexible corporation cloud computing solutions on small finances!