Something you can do if you convert (P2V) a physical Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 machine to a VMware virtual machine (VM) and it will not boot!

SO..... You just performed a Physical to Virtual (P2V)conversion of a computer and when you when to boot it (Crickets chirping)..... It did not come up!

Perhaps what you saw instead in the Vsphere Client Console was a black screen with only a dash (-) ?

Sometimes the road to virtualization and consolidaton of your infrasturcture as like real roads has "pot holes"..... This can be one of them :(

We have hit this problem before and 7 out of 10 times the following has been the problem and the resolution:

Master Boot Record (MBR)

The MBR basically is the partition or sector(the first) on a hard drive which contains the code the BIOS uses to boot an OS from the drive.

Problems with the MBR of a system may prevent the system from booting. Sometimes during the conversion process (using the vmware converter standalone) this happens.

What I usually do when this happens is I mount an .iso in the vSphere client for the OS that is affected (i.e. XP Pro, Windows Server 2003, etc) and start a recovery console session.

Heres How:

Boot with the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation CD.

Shortly after the "Press any key to boot from CD" prompt you will be propted for a "Recovery Console Session" (believe it is F2), or you can wait till you are later prompted to press R to repair a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation.

If you have multiple operating systems on your machine be sure to select the appropriate one from the menu. You will need to know the local administrator password when prompted!

Once you have got past that point you will be presented with a command prompt.

At the command prompt enter the command "fixmbr" (no quotes). After the warning messages of possible doom and gloom that will be displayed next, type "Y" and press "Enter" to start the repair process.

After it completes just type "Exit" to leave the recovery console rebooting your machine/vm.

Hope this helps!

Convert Physical Machines to Virtual Machines

I had mentioned in my last post about the benifits of virtualization in the SMB world.

Today I will discuss the process of actually converting your physical server and/or workstations into VMware virtual machines!


VMware has a product called "VMware Converter" , formaly known as the "VMware P2V assistant". VMware converter enables you to convert local and remote physical servers (P2V) with NO DOWNTIME!

Moreover, performing multiple P2V conversions is possible all through one centralized console.

Are you currently using a different virtualization platform (i.e. MS Virtual PC, MS Virtual Server, etc) and are looking to switch up to VMware? You will be able to perform this seamlessly with this product.

Even if you do not have complete faith in running parts or all of your infrastructure on a virtual platform, VMware Converter can still be a powerful disaster recovery tool.

Through the use of VMWare Convertrer you will have the ability to clone\backup physical machines to virtual machines as part of your DR plan.

As with most VMware products VMware converter is FREE!

However, not all feature are supported on the free edition. For those in need of the fully robust version of the application, look into obtaining VMware Converter Enterprise

There are some differences between the two versions of the product which may or may not make a difference depending on what you are looking to get out of it.

You can click on the following link to see a side by side comparision of the two versions and find links for the product download.

http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/get.html

In my next post we will discuss the step by step process of the P2V conversion from aquireing the software to powering off your "physical" machine.