Windows OEM disk loaded on VirtualBox

[Curbie]

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } DuckHook,


Thanks, I just don't think MS's ISO is bootable, it launches fine from a running XP, but won't boot there either. But still, I may be able to boot VM using the XP sp1 (I need at least sp2) I've been using to test VirtualBox, then use that XP to to launch MS's ISO, but I couldn't determine if it was XP pro when I downloaded it.


This has to get done, I can't abandon 25 years of work I did using MS apps, I also refused to be abused by them anymore, I will get this figured out, one way or the other.


I may ask the VM BIOS question on the VM sub-forum.

[coldraven]

Two tips:

After creating a virtual HDD run the bios script.
If you to do it after installing, XP will not activate

AFAIR you can point to an .iso file from within VirtualBox, it saves burning a disc
The little icon to the right of the disc select thingy. (sorry, no VBox on this machine)

[coldraven]

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } DuckHook,


Thanks, I just don't think MS's ISO is bootable, it launches fine from a running XP, but won't boot there either. But still, I may be able to boot VM using the XP sp1 (I need at least sp2) I've been using to test VirtualBox, then use that XP to to launch MS's ISO, but I couldn't determine if it was XP pro when I downloaded it.


This has to get done, I can't abandon 25 years of work I did using MS apps, I also refused to be abused by them anymore, I will get this figured out, one way or the other.


I may ask the VM BIOS question on the VM sub-forum.

The only disc that came with this laptop is a multi language HP Restore disc. It has no serial numbers on it and the sticker on the laptop is for Vista Business edition. I bought it especially because it was a "downgrade"from Vista. (the serial does not work for XP)

AFAIR I used nlite to slipstream SP3 into the disc and just keep the iso on an external drive.

I spent days getting it to work and mostly use Windows for Sketchup.

I impressed the hell out of a windows nerdy friend when I span the compiz cube with XP running fullscreen on one face and movies etc. on the other three.
It was worth the time and effort just to see his face

[Curbie]

DuckHook,

Last night I setup a VM just to test that MS ISO, it's just sp3 no XP and it require sp1 to load, I'll look for sp1 today.

coldraven,

When I setup a new VM and try the to load dell cd I bought with the First Boot Wizard, the dell cd reads for a while then just stops with no errors, I'm guessing that the install program sees that the hardware bios is not dell and stops.

Then I setup a new VM, run the the dell bios script
#! /bin/bash
VM_NAME="XP" # Name of your Virtual Machine
VSETED="VBoxManage setextradata $VM_NAME"
CFG_PATH="VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSVendor "Dell Computer Corporation"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSVersion "A12"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSReleaseDate "08/26/2004"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSReleaseMajor 2
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSReleaseMinor 3
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSFirmwareMajor 2
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiBIOSFirmwareMinor 3
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemVendor "Dell Computer Corporation"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemProduct "Dimension 4600i"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemVersion "<EMPTY>"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemSerial "JTGL999"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemUuid "99999C9C-9999-9999-999C-CAC99F999999"
$VSETED $CFG_PATH/DmiSystemFamily "X86-based PC"

… before running the First Boot Wizard, and then when I run the First Boot Wizard the cd reads for a second and stops immediately with the error:
Failed to open a session for the virtual machine XP.
Invalid configuration for device pcbios device. (VERR_PDM_DEVINS_UNKNOWN_CFG_VALUES).

Result Code:
NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component: Console
Interface: IConsole {1968b7d3-e3bf-4ceb-99e0-cb7c913317bb}

It seems like the script is hammering a value in the VM bios because I'm getting the error from VirtualBox not Windows or dell on boot, I got the script by searching for “VirtualBox dell dmidecode”, and if the script was correct or I was doing things correctly, it seems the dell cd would read for a while like it does when I don't run the script.

To my eye that would mean that that something is wrong with the script or the way I'm executing it, I've only been using xUbuntu for 17 days, and it's been ~25 years since I monkeyed with unix (Brerkley 6 or 7), so who knows what I'm doing wrong.

I too use Sketchup, it's one of the three programs I need XP for.

[DuckHook]

I think I might see your problem: did you download just the service pack and not XP itself? If so, then it would account for why you can't boot with it... there is no XP operating system. Just a guess on my part, but you should check it out.

Also, I didn't know till now that you had XP-sp1! Why not just use that to install? After it installs successfully, it will just go online and update itself--first to sp2, then to sp3, along with what seems like a thousand security updates since sp1 was released. You can use your newly purchased OEM license key to activate when you judge that you've got everything set up to your complete satisfaction.

Or am I missing something here?

<edit>
I just re-checked the MS link, and indeed, it is only the service pack--no operating system. Apologies for sending you on a wild goose chase.

Still curious as to why you can't just use your old XP disk and use the new key though.
</edit>

[Curbie]

DuckHook,

I ask the simple question “Can this be done” in some of my biological experiments, and the yes or no answer can take months to get, and most of time the answer is no, that didn't even come close my definition of a “wild goose chase”, no problem.

This xUbuntu and VirtualBox stuff is all new to me, all I can do is try the suggestions and see what I can learn from them, like I said, this transition HAS to get done, and I will get there somehow.

The bootable XP I've been testing with is old, and I misspoke when I said it was sp1, it's not even sp1 and Sketchup requires at least sp2 to load, it survived to purge of what I would take when I moved because it wasn't filed with the spool of OSs I threw out before the move. At one time I had 13 licensed XP machines running in what was my dining room, with Norton anti virus.

In December last, I got a virus, and after spending two days to get through Symantec support maze, I was informed the protection I had been paying for these years only “helped” you to prevent viruses, but now that had one it's my problem that they would remove it for a fee.

Bye bye Symantec, I spent time removing the virus and bought Avast which found another virus that found it's way to two drives that norton didn't even report, I wasn't happy.

That repaired configuration ran for about two week before the HP machine died (probably the on board video controller), so I bought the machine I'm now running on as a fix for that.

When I boot up with the hard drive that was in my HP, XP refused to boot with a HP factory loaded “Code Purple” bomb, and when I fixed that MS piled on and reported that the OS wasn't valid for the machine, so I threw it into 30 day eval mode.

I bought a band new Win8 for communication while I was recovering by original XP setup and 25 years of work, I hated Win8 so much that the new machine is in the garage now collecting dust where it belongs.

As I said before, everybody had a sob story, I just fix problems, and move on, but in pondering that chain of events, MS is the probem, not for protecting their OS, but for knowing about serious security flaws in the OS for 20 years, and profiting from them at the expense of their customer base, instead of fixing them.

Those security flaws can be fixed, Ubuntu doesn't have them, all those companies seem to conduct their business practices just within the law, despite the serious consequences that those business practices can have on their customers, and I can no longer support it.

[DuckHook]

Here is the VirtualBox manual page with instructions on how to change the DMI. Perhaps you can change each variable manually rather than running a script. That way, you will be able to see which step chokes your procedure.

I also encourage you to post in the VirtualBox forums where they specialize in addressing VMs.

[Curbie]

Ok, just an update, after reading all I can on the dmidecode scripts to set Virtualbox bios to emulate a Dell, I was able to download three, and tested VM with each line manually by line with the terminal verifying that each line was properly set in the VM's bios with “VBoxManage getextradata”, but XP fails to boot with all three scripts.


So figuring that Virtualbox is operating properly because is boots with my test XP, I pulled the xUbuntu drives out of my machine, put the XP drive running in 30 day eval back in, and tried to boot the cd from hardware, and when trying to boot from hardware, the boot sequence displays a “General Protection Fault”, bad cd.


So I went back out to web site which is now down for repairs, then called their customer support line which said their experiencing difficulties and to leave a message, so now I wait for a callback.

[DuckHook]

*sigh*

Lordie, Lordie. You have my sympathies.

You've been wrestling with a bad CD all this time.

Let us know how it goes.

[coldraven]

Just in case any of this info is of use.
As I said above, this laptop had XP pre-installed and for a while I dual booted with Ubuntu.
Before I removed XP I used some Windows program which trawled through the registry and recovered two different serial numbers.
So with the Vista sticker on the base I now had three completely different numbers.
My restore CD would boot and install into VBox but when I ran the XP VM it would get to the windows desktop and start asking to be activated.
None of the serials that I had would make it work.
That is when I realised that I had to create a fake BIOS before installing XP, then it just activated itself, no need for any of the serial numbers.

Tip of the day!
When you get this to work and XP has done it's zillion updates do a VBox>Export VM to an external drive.
The Export function always says at the beginning that it will take two hours but actually takes about 10mins.
Then if or when XP becomes borked you can just delete it and re-import your shiny new XP installation.
You can also take "snapshots" in VBox but I like to have the option of a complete backup.

Good luck, I hope it all works sooner rather than later.