[ubuntu-in] Ubuntu under XP

[Ritesh Sinha]

>> If you MUST migrate a physical machine to a VM, the way to do it (an
>> annoying way) is to first use the VMWare P2V tool to convert it to a
>> VM. Then use a tool to convert VMDK to virtualbox native disk format
>> (google around for the tool name).
>>
>
> Does it work properly.  AFAIK when you install, the configurations are
> made for the present hardware configuration. How are they managed in the VM?
This method employs a tool called VMware P2V. The resulting VMDK file
works well on VMWare Server. However converting from VMDK to VDI takes
a bit of work and involves using qemu to first convert the VMDK to RAW
then using VDI tool to convert to VDI.
cf : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuMagazine/HowTo/Switching_From_VMWare_To_VirtualBox:_.vmdk_To_.vdi_Using_Qemu_+_VdiTool

Linux is surprisingly robust when it comes to moving across various hw
configurations. A windows XP box will BSOD quickly whereas for a linux
machine the worst case is a single user boot.

>> Not recommended unless you _really_ need to. As of now VirtualBox
>> doesn't provide a direct Physical to Virtual Converter (P2V). Also,
>> performance isn't as great as VMware server/VMware ESX (unscientific
>> personal tests, YMMV).
>>
>
> A fresh installation is highly recommended, but it is not apt in some
> times,when you have done lots of config tweaks in the current system.
> Probably a tool which backups the configuration can be more helpful in
> this case.

Like I said, not recommended unless you absolutely need to. A fresh
install is always advisable
> N.B: Can you please bottom post. A kind and sincere request. I don't
> mean to offend (following the mailing lists rules) BTW You reply was
> highly informative.

Sorry about that. I use GMail extensively and it has no bottom posting
functionality. I would appreciate some tips on this (except some
GreaseMonkey script, which is my last option). Mutt acts weird on my
system and insists on re-downloading the IMAP headers every time I
start.