asked on

Turn my physical machine into a virtual machine using VMWare Fusion 6

Hi,

I recently purchased a Mac, and I want to migrate my office physical PC into a virtual machine that should theoretically run with the same configuration I had on the physical PC.

My PC's configuration is as follows:
HDW: IBM Lenovo Ultra-book Carbon X1 - 8GB RAM - 128 GB HDD - iCore 7 Processor
Software side: Windows 7 pro (OEM) - Office 2010 - IBM DAMO for Outlook - Business Objects XI (WebI and DeskI)

Now with either methods of conversion i) Fusion 6 (migrate your pc), ii) standalone converter (convert powered on machine), my conversion fails.

I read that VMware does not support OEM but that should not prevent it from converting.

Furthermore, I have an upgrade key for Windows 8 pro, I intend to upgrade the virtual machine.

Can anyone help me migrating that machine so that I can start working?

Thanks a lot.

Richard S.
migration-err-message-standalone.jpg

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

It's not that VMware does not support OEM, it's transferring an OEM license to a virtual machine causes a re-activation of the license.

Did you install the Converter software on the VM to be converted?

What error do you get?

At what percentage does it fail?

see my FAQ, and you will see P2V can be troublesome

HOW TO: FAQ VMware P2V Troubleshooting
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) versions

Note: Physical-to-virtual hard drive migration of a Windows installation is a valid function for customers with Software Assurance and full retail copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Software Assurance provides users valuable benefits—please contact Microsoft Corporation for further information. Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 installed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) using OEM versions of these products may not be transferred to a virtual hard drive in accordance with Microsoft licensing terms.

Source
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415

https://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/A_3721-Can-I-transfer-my-OEM-version-of-Windows-to-another-PC.html

jrsylvain

ASKER

It stops at 1%.

The attached file shows the sample of the message. The error states an issue with the VSS...

Thanks.

If I change the windows key, will it work?

Thanks.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

VSS is broken on the physical machine. (and not easy to fix, and sometimes hopeless).

Sometimes inputting the same OEM key can work, sometimes, it does not work, and requires a Retail or Volume License Key to be used, which may or may not be accepted.

jrsylvain

ASKER

Hi Andrew,

Then what are my options to convert that physical machine to virtual for use on VMWare fusion 6?

Thanks.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

If VSS is broken, most P2V utilities will use VSS (Shadow Copy) to clone the disk.

If you run Disk2VHD, does it also fail?

jrsylvain

ASKER

I did not.

Is there any way of fixing the VSS.

If I do a windows repair, wouldn't it solve the VSS crashing issue?

Thanks.

I need to make a copy of my machine to use with VMWare fusion on my mac...any option will do.

So, as you propose Diskk2VHD, will look into it. Thanks. Will keep you posted.

Kind Regards,

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

membership

This solution is only available to members.

To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.

Start Free Trial

jrsylvain

ASKER

Settled for another alternative.

jrsylvain

ASKER

I wanted to choose B not C as grade. If I it is a C, then please walk me through the steps to amend that.

Sincere apologies.

Thanks and Kind Regards,