How to convert a physical computer into a Virtual Machine - and a fun Story about it

[@coconutplanet2186]

I've watched this 4 times. I need to convert my Windows XP computer to a VM and run it on a Win 7 computer. I am going to try to do this by using your video's instructions. Might be a few weeks before I get to it ... but if it works, I'll post a comment. Thanks so much for such a thorough set of instructions on your video.

[@coconutplanet2186]

This is exactly what I have been looking for! Frank, I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful video! Happy New Year!🎉 ❤❤❤❤❤

[@LearningandTechnology]

Happy New Year to you too! I’m glad it was useful!

[@udok9874]

Great Video & excellent explanation of how it all works.

[@alsjourney]

worked like a charm! Thank you so much!

[@Sanatan_humanity]

very nice way of explaining stuffs and also i loved the way video is made, no annoying background music, etc, i used the converter before but could not run it on player , i notice there is a folder created .vmdk.lck , which is not there in your video..i will wait till it fully converts and then share result( all went well, but when i started the vm, it gave me this message.."VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (mks) ISBRendererComm: Lost connection to mksSandbox (2878)" , disabled the graphic accel in setting and then now it working fine, so thanks a lot( just one thing want to ask , which is the best screen recorder )

[@LearningandTechnology]

The .lck file is a “lock” file - this happens if the VM is shut down improperly. There a simple solution- just delete that .lck file and the machine will start up fine! Normally, that file is there when the VM is running - it’s temporary. Sonic it’s there afterwards it just needs to be manually removed.

[@Muscleduck]

At 11:25 you say "yes I will" but you actually clicked no 😉 Great tutorial though thank you!

[@Dj-Bris]

Good Video Thanks so much for the lesson.

[@LearningandTechnology]

Thank for watching! I’m glad it was helpful.

[@didierdel2319]

Bonjour, est-ce que Disk2vhd v2.02 de microsoft, fait partie aussi, d'P2V ?. Merci.

[@LearningandTechnology]

It’s from System Internals - which is Microsoft

[@HighValu3]

In certain corporations I believe you might have some crappy computer at your desk but you login to windows and all of that computing is actually done through a server. What is that called and how can I utilize my PC to act as the server and have my laptop simply as the vessel to login like in a business? Or am I wrong?

[@LearningandTechnology]

That is called “Terminal Services” - quite popular. The Data Center (Server) runs a Virtual Machine and you remote access it)

[@pmillermiller9469]

very good video just one question maybe you know? so I have my work laptop and then my personal laptop i wanted to be able to access my personal laptop from work when i am at the plant. I have a Drobo that i store all my files on at home connect to my Personal laptop so i wanted to be able to access that from work. Do you think i will be able to do this with this video? or is there a better way with out spending a bunch of money?

[@LearningandTechnology]

Remote access back to your laptop is possible - there are tools that do that, but it’s also possible that your employer blocks them. This video is more about converting a system to a Virtual Machine - so the method here would not work. The easiest remote access tools (that can be used in any environment that allows Web browsing) would be companies like GoToMyPC and Logmein They do have a cost however.

[@pmillermiller9469]

@@LearningandTechnology dang it ok thanks

[@Kounafa]

Thank you, Frank! It was a useful Video and I like it. Also, I did it successfully. But the machine takes time to start, and it is really slow. I have the same configuration as your Laptop. 16 GB Ram and for VM only 8 is in use. Do you have any idea, what could the reason be?

[@lorderectus1849]

It will be due to the limitations of your present system!

[@MarkAzali]

These steps worked for an XP machine I have. When I tried the same on a Windows 7 machine, I kept getting an error around 98%. An idea what the issue might be? I tried using the latest version of the converter tool.

[@acedeccani400]

Is there any way to make a VM from old computer hard drives. Over years as I upgraded computers, I have saved the Hard drives before throwing out the Computer. I have discs with Windows 95, XP etc with files old arcade games etc. Is there any way to turn those into Virtual Machines?

[@LearningandTechnology]

Yes! I think I’ll need to make a video on that - because it’s not easy to explain, but can be done and isn’t that hard.

[@acedeccani400]

@@LearningandTechnology Oh Thank you - Please do - it would be like opening a Time capsule - nostalgia..

[@weirdnewworld1736]

@@LearningandTechnology That would be great!

[@bertvantol9669]

Question: I wanna do the same as you did here, but ... want to install the Windows 11 Virtual Machine installed on Fedora 39 Linux. How to do this ??

[@LearningandTechnology]

It’s been awhile, but I used to install VMware onto Linux and then it would just be a matter of taking the converted Windows 11 system and opening it on the Linux machine. Of course, a fresh install would be even easier.

[@chriswipatothai918]

Thank you Frank. Just one question. How would you put this Image onto a server such as ESXI?

[@LearningandTechnology]

Once you convert the machine you can place it on the shared storage that your ESX Server is connected to, go into the VMShere Manager and bring it in! It’s actually a very cool way of Virtualizating systems. That said, VMWare also has enterprise tools that just allow you to connect to a running computer and create the VM from it - assuming you have permissions of course 😀

[@chriswipatothai918]

@@LearningandTechnology Thank you Frank, for the quick response great appreciate it. 👍😀

[@Ismael-uj6fv]

It's possible to do it without installing software on the target machine? I'd there like an USB to clone the computer and virtualise it on a new one?

[@betterlife-spirituality]

Hi! Very good! One little question: i intent to do this process to use pro tools and an external audio intercface. Does the virtual machinae can recognize this hardware normally? Thank you and congratulations for the content!

[@LearningandTechnology]

The VM can recognize external devices (such as USB Audio). It’s always a good idea to test any high throughput devices to ensure you don’t get lag, but I’ve had good success myself.

[@betterlife-spirituality]

@@LearningandTechnology good news! Thank you very much for you attention! In case of lag is there anything that can be done to minimise?

[@LearningandTechnology]

@@betterlife-spirituality it will depend on the system acting as the host - it may not even be an issue - so testing will confirm it works. I’m not a professional musician, so my audio is not too complex. It will really depend on how big and complex the audio is.

[@pochuanpeng1729]

Hey, thanks, can the source pc be a physical real Linux machine? And then I could remotely clone that linux into VMware?

[@LearningandTechnology]

I haven’t tried this - now Im going to check!

[@pochuanpeng1729]

@@LearningandTechnology sounds good. Appreciated.

i dont mean to be mean, but intel has kept the same i3, i5, i7 scheme for a loong time. the newer onces added i9 for the rediculusly fast stuff but thats about it.. i know its not really important but you could add generation to the sctipt like id say "2 gen i3" and "6 gen i7"

[@eagle990]

brilliant

[@dlsisson1970]

Looks like they discontinued the product and it's no longer available for downloading. Bummer.

[@LearningandTechnology]

Hopefully it returns as they get the Broadcom elements sorted out.

[@sandimark]

Cool

[@jujjuj7676]

That's software is no longer offered. Can you make updated video with new solution

[@LearningandTechnology]

customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/search?query=converter

[@lorderectus1849]

It’s not offered there best to search other avenues for VMware’s converter software! They will not offer it at present due to security issues with older software attached to the net! I believe they are working on a new version as well! Best to wait an see what happens on their end!

[@tennishistoryandresultsdat4540]

Unfortunately the reality is not that rosy with regards to licenses. They are often linked to hardware IDs and therefore are not preserved when migrating to virtual environment.

[@LearningandTechnology]

It will be a case-by-case basis for sure.

[@grothaal]

Can it be done with VirtualBox?

[@LearningandTechnology]

I haven’t tried a VirtualBox converter, but I would think they would have a similar utility.

[@kerron_]

what about ubuntu??

[@cmonasterial]

does this one works to convert Windows XP

[@LearningandTechnology]

I have done XP conversations a long time ago - it’s been a few years though. So I can’t say 100% Unfortunately, I don’t have an older XP system to test this one.

[@cmonasterial]

@@LearningandTechnology Thanks for replying. I will try and will let you know They have a cement mixer software that still in Windows XP.

[@coconutplanet2186]

I need to convert my win XP machine to a vm and run it on a win7 host . I am going to assume this video will allow me to do this. Yes? I hope?

[@cloudagnostic]

Is there a Linux equivalent to this method?

[@LearningandTechnology]

Are you looking to virtualize a Linux system and host it? Or, are you looking to use Linux as the host system for the VMs that you create?

[@cloudagnostic]

@@LearningandTechnology I have a Linux system that I’d like to convert to a vm. The end state would be to transfer the vm to my esxi server. The two systems are not connected to the same network, but i technically could connect them if necessary. Could I use this tutorial and just provide the credentials to the Linux system and select a destination on my external hard drive? Similar to the love story, i have a failing Linux system and would like to run it on newer hardware. Thank you!

[@LearningandTechnology]

@@cloudagnostic converting a Linux system to a VM is slightly trickier. You install the converter on a Windows system connected to the same network as the Linux machine. Then, when you run the converter, you target the Linux system and specify a location for the VM to be created. I haven’t done this is some time - so I haven’t tested it lately (as in a few years). However, that’s the process as I remember it.

[@kindyletutorials7197]

10000000000000000000000000 thanks