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ginahoy
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first time user - hot clone XP vm won't start

I used Converter Standalone to convert my live XP machine so I could run it in Workstation Player on my Linux machine. When I open the vm, Windows XP launches but fails. First there's the XP start screen, then a blue screen, and then a black screen (screenshots attached). Restarting XP in Safe Mode doesn't help. I made the following changes to the vm settings after the failure: disabled the 2 serial ports and floppy drive, and increased memory allocation to 20 GB. Same results.

Any tips on resolving this? The following is a log of the command line when I launch Workstation, in case it helps:

 

  david@linux-desktop ~ $ /usr/bin/vmplayer &
  [1] 11689
  david@linux-desktop ~ $ [AppLoader] Use shipped Linux kernel AIO access library.
  An up-to-date "libaio" or "libaio1" package from your system is preferred.
  I/O warning : failed to load external entity "/etc/vmware/hostd/proxy.xml"

 

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RDPetruska
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Did you run the second stage of the Converter - the reconfiguration?  If all you do is do the clone stage, then this will likely happen, as the virtual hardware drivers have not been added to the guest OS configuration.

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wila
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Hi,

Windows XP 7B errors... that's a missing driver on the boot drive.

Some links:
https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Discussions/How-to-fix-bsod-7b-after-WinXP-sp2-migra...

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/VMWare-Converter-Windows-XP-P2V-Blue-Screen...

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/Converter-Standalone-Discussions/BSOD-007B-in-Win-XP/m-p/2008748

There's more if you search for this particular issue.

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Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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RDPetruska
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Did you run the second stage of the Converter - the reconfiguration?  If all you do is do the clone stage, then this will likely happen, as the virtual hardware drivers have not been added to the guest OS configuration.

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ginahoy
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Thanks for the prompt replies!

@RDPetruska, I didn't realize I needed to run "Configure Machine" to reconfigure the vm. I just attempted that now and get this warning at the Options menu: "Unable to locate the required Sysprep files...".  And I noticed the "Customize guest preferences for the virtual machine" option is grayed out. I did some digging and discovered those may be related? (i.e., Sysprep file is apparently required for the customization option). Moreover, I discovered there's no Sysprep file for Windows XP Home Edition, which is what my machine is running. So I'm guessing reconfiguration won't accomplish anything since the available options are set the same as with the original conversion. So is there any point in proceeding with reconfiguration? BTW, in my initial conversion, I did not select "Install VMware Tools."  IIRC, that's related to graphics performance. 

@wila my next step is to do a repair on my Windows XP machine, as you suggested in one of the links you posted. It's been a long time since I've done an XP repair, but if I recall, I need the Windows installation CD, right? I have the disk but we recently moved and I'm not sure which box it's buried in 😯  If necessary, I should be able to find it tonight.

Lastly, I have an unrelated question that could be an issue: When I did the conversion, the Options tab for Devices/Memory defaults to 2,928 MB, which I left alone. I'm guessing that number reflects the amount of memory installed on the source machine (3 GB), right?  However, the Converter GUI shows this warning, which I do NOT understand:

"<!> The memory allocated for the destination machine is less than the source memory setting. This is the maximum supported for the guest operating system by the destination host.

I noticed Workstation Player has that same memory allocation screen (which makes me wonder why it needs to be set by Converter). I installed 32 GB of memory in my host machine specifically to improve vm performance, but if I'm understanding this correctly, it looks like I need to keep the memory allocation at (or below) 2,928 MB. OTOH, in Workstation Player/VM Settings/Memory shows maximum memory is 27,888 MB. Please advise.

In case it helps, I'm attaching my .vmx file.

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wila
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Hi,

You can ignore that warning.
The .vmx has this set for RAM:

"2896"

 and that is indeed less than the 2928MB.

Not sure why converter thinks that XP would only support 2896MB.

It doesn't really matter as XP will work as fine with 2896MB as it would with 2928MB.

--
Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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ginahoy
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As it turns out, the 2896 MB memory allocation was actually my own doing (I thought I had changed it back to the original setting). In any case, I get the same error message when I leave it set to the default (2928 MB). The default setting appears to be based on the guest machine RAM (3 GB installed). When I remove a stick, it defaults to 1908 MB based on 2 GB installed.

My question is why does Converter warn that the default allocation is less than the the source memory setting?  I guess I don't understand what is meant by 'source memory setting.'

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CarltonR
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Following on from your previous post regards creating the Win XP image, as outlined I have successfully cloned Win XP, Win 10 and Win 2003 server, plus one test machine, however, all were successfully clonedwhen using the default settings for vSphere Converter, all but selecting the correct volumes/drives to be cloned.  When I tried modifying the "Configure Machine" I ran into all sort of issue when subsequently trying to import it into VMware Workstation Pro, possibly down to me though.

So with this in mind, a few questions/suggestions

  • The images created, how many and what type of files (and/or sub directories) were created ?
  • How many volumes/drives are being cloned ?
  • If there are multiple volumes/drives try cloning just the boot ['C'] drive, and testing that
  • Did you ever run the "repair on my Win XP machine" (as outlined in your post above) or run 'chkdsk /F'
  • Are there any 'esoteric' device drivers or hardware in the Win XP machine ?
  • In all my cases, the sizing of the memory was left up to vSphere Converter to generate (see the .vmx file)
  • As an experiment, If you have another PC or laptop lying around (Win XP, Vista, 10 or wherever), are you able to clone this for comparison ?
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ginahoy
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@CarltonR, thanks for your quick rely. I am only virtualizing the XP Home partition. I will leave the memory setting at the default based on XP machine installed RAM. And yes, as I mentioned previously, I have 

I did try the XP repair install. It was a hairy mess! First, I had to find the VIA drivers for the SATA hdd and feed that to the XP setup process (I guess that would be the esoteric drivers you asked about?). After the repair completed there were numerous issues and I spent considerable time trying to get the machine back to its 'normal' state. In the end, I abandoned the repair and used True Image to restore the pre-XP repair backup. I suspect the problem may have been that my XP CD is pre-service pak and it apparently reverts some or all of the SP2 and SP3 mods.

As I mentioned, I believe the BSOD on my first VM attempt was because my version of XP (home) doesn't have the Sysprep files. What I didn't realize until someone in another forum pointed it out is that the Sysprep CAB is on my XP disk.  I just extracted them into the folder path specified in the Converter Standalone warning and re-did the conversion, this time with Customization features enabled, and with VMware Tools (so I could specify 1920x1080 display resolution). AND... it worked!  The XP vm now loads normally in Workstation Player and my after-market screen saver enabled me to restore the heavily cluttered desktop back to its original order.

I'm guessing, as you no doubt already suspect, that my VIA SATA drivers were in fact the reason for the initial failures of XP to load in the VM, as noted in my original post, and that somehow, adding the sysprep files and/or the VMware Tools during the conversion process resolved the drivers issue. IIRC, XP didn't originally ship with SATA drivers, as that standard didn't take off until later. 

This has been a two-week saga and I'm glad it's over. I appreciate all the help.

 

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