Windows 10: Macrium viBoot - Create Virtual Machine using Macrium Image

I am not sure if this is true for windows 7.
I have two macrium images. Win 7 ultimate and win 10 professional.
Host comp is win 10 prof.
Successfully created and booted into VM using new tool for windows 10 image
BUT did not work for win 7 image.
the log says
Logging initialized for viBoot
Date Time Level TID File Line Function Description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28/07/2016 22:28:15.0284 3108 Logging started
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logging terminated.

 

The part of log visible in your screenshot shows that the vm is running?

 

Yes but inside the screen no windows booting or action is happening even waiting for 30 minutes. Whereas for Windows 10 it was pretty fast.

 

Any comments / suggestions?

 

I am sorry, I have somehow missed your last posts.

I can only say that after running some tests I am unable to reproduce your issue: Windows 7 images I have tested mount without issues as Hyper-V virtual machines.

What about disk space? If your Windows 7 image is from a 512 GB HDD, it needs 512 GB free space on disk where the image is stored. You cannot mount an image as vm if the disk where image is stored has less space than what the image requires.

 

Geeks check this out (quote from Tell your backup software, win Macrium Reflect Home license! - Windows 10 Forums):

Another quote that might interest you (from post #2 in TenForums Saturday Live Chat 03-SEP-2016 - Windows 10 Forums):

 

I know from the excellent tutorials, you can sysprep (and generalise) windows 10 in a vm and save generalised image using Macrium Reflect - indeed I have done this myself.

Easy enough to do installing vm, and adding win32 apps as required.


What I really wanted to do is clone my existing physical install, restore image in hyper-v, generalise and create new image but I ran into issues with disk sizes as the macrium restore step needs the same amount of disk space as the original physical disk even if the c drive is small.


I was wondering if there was a simpler way using viboot e.g.

Open macrium image using viboot which does work

Enable hidden admin account

Sysprep and generalise

Save macrium image from viboot.

Any ideas if this would work, and would I need to do anything special?

 

Yes, I've done that, been there, it was so plain and simple I didn't even get the T-shirt *Smile

This is how I do it:

• Create a system image of on a physical machine running system
• Mount the image in viBoot
  
• Boot the viBoot vm
• When on desktop, press Win + R to open Run dialog, type
  %windir%\system32\sysprep\syspre.exe /audit /reboot and hit Enter
• Windows reboots to Audit Mode with built-in admin account which does not need to be activated
• Customise, personalise, change what you want to, add / remove users and software
• Run Sysprep
  
• Save changes by creating a new image in viBoot
  

 

Thanks - it is even simpler than I thought!

Will try it tonight.

Combination of MR and Viboot to me makes all otjer image tools second class citizens!

I reckon this is worth a tutorial in its own!

 

Well I got there in the end - I ran to a few problems as it would not generalise during the sysprep phase as it came up with an error that one of the uwp apps was installed for a user but not provisioned (whatever that means?) but I could sysprep without generalising, and then go back to the original user admin account and delete the package (had to learn the powershell commands).

Had to do this three times switching between original and adminstrator account but got there in the end!

I now have a generalised Macrium image with all my win32 apps etc installed (would take a couple of days to reinstall).

 

Generalizing is only important if the image will be deployed (restored) to different hardware, and to make personalising and customisation settings (desktop, theme etc.) to be copied to default user profile.

If image is only ever intended to use on the original hardware and no desktop customisations are required, you don't have to use /generalize switch.

More: Windows 10 Image - Customize in Audit Mode with Sysprep - Windows 10 Forums

 

Yes - sure but I actually do want to be able to install on another pc.

I thought it was worth mentioning the issues re. uwp apps as it took a bit of digging to work out solution.

I

 

Yes, of course.

I generalize all my deployment images just because of that: As long as a PC has disk(s) big enough to allow restoring my image, I don't have to think its hardware. A generalized image can be used on any machine capable of running Windows.

 

When I load a macrium image of a physical pc in a hyper-v vm using viboot, the network access is shown as disabled. I tried to change network settings in Windows and hyper-v but cannot get it working. I am sure I am missing something simple?

 

You need of course set a viBoot vm to use an existing virtual switch when setting it up. Extract from Ten Forums Macrium viBoot tutorial, see #4 in step 2.6 and in screenshot:

By default no switch is selected, hence no network connection.