Author: Chris Liddell Date: To: Hampshire LUG Discussion List Subject: Re: [Hampshire] Creating a minimal sized disk image (VirtualBox)
Stephen Rowles wrote: >> On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:25:35 +0100 (BST), stephen@??? said:
>> <SNIP> >
> So any other suggestions on how I create a small bootable image without
> the risks outlined above?
I did something similar a few years ago, but was with VMWare.
What I did was create a virtual machine with a disk image large enough
for the files from my Windows partition and a connection to the physical
network. Then I did a fresh install of Windows (would have been 2k at
the time) and got it patched up to the same level as my physical install.
With the physical Windows partition mounted on the host, I then rebooted
the virtual machine into a Linux live CD (probably RIPLinux), accessed
the mounted physical Windows partition over the network, and copied all
the files from the physical to the virtual Windows partitions.
I had to go through various Windows "installation repairs" after that,
but I did end up with a virtual Windows machine that was, essentially, a
clone of my real Windows installed - and I never booted that workstation
into Windows again.
I haven't tried that with VirtualBox, but I have run Xubuntu on my
Windows XP VirtualBox virtual machine, so it might work!
Plus, you can mount the physical Windows partition as read only, so it
should be safe (usual caveats apply!).
