Re: [Qemu-discuss] Migrating Windows XP vm from VirtualBox to Qemu/KVM

[Sebastian Arcus]

On 27/11/13 06:50, dE wrote:
> On 11/24/13 16:58, Sebastian Arcus wrote:
> > On 24/11/13 08:57, Sebastian Arcus wrote:
> > > On 24/11/13 01:41, Chloride Cull wrote:
> > > > Since it's a 32-bit VM, have you tried launching it with
> > > > 'qemu-system-i386' instead?
> > > I did. I get pretty much the same thing (just a little bit more 
> > > characters on the "SeaBios ..." line). If I remember correctly 
> > > thought, it shouldn't matter, as 64bit cpu's are supposed to be 
> > > backwards compatible with x86.
> > >
> > > > On 2013-11-24 00:48, Sebastian Arcus wrote:
> > > > > I am trying to migrate a Windows XP (32bit) vm from VirtualBox to 
> > > > > Qemu.
> > > > > There are a number of guides on the internet for migrating vms from
> > > > > VirtualBox to Qemu/KVM, so I've done the following:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1. I've treated this as a motherboard change, as I assume the 
> > > > > components
> > > > > available in Qemu don't match exactly the ones in VirtualBox. I 
> > > > > followed
> > > > > the steps described here:
> > > > > http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/09/how-to-install-a-new-motherboard-without-reinstalling-windows/ 
> > > > >
> > > > > to make my vm hardware agnostic and remove manufacturer specific 
> > > > > drivers.
> > > > >
> > > > > 2. I have used VirtualBox to convert the hard-drive image from vdi to
> > > > > raw (although, if I understand correctly, I could have run the vdi 
> > > > > image
> > > > > directly in qemu nowadays).
> > > > >
> > > > > 3. I've tried to start the image with a simple command, such as:
> > > > >
> > > > >      qemu-system-x86_64 -drive file=xp_home_sp3.img,if=ide,index=0
> > > > >
> > > > > All I get is sometimes nothing in the vm window, and sometimes the
> > > > > following text (exactly as it appears - which looks like it has 
> > > > > frozen
> > > > > before displaying the entire line):
> > > > >
> > > > > SeaBIOS (version rel-1.7.3-0-gc02c219-20130724_153_
> > > > >
> > > > > I've also tried to start the vdi image, with the same results.
> > > > >
> > > > > I should mention the following, in case it is relevant:
> > > > >
> > > > > a. The image used to run on a different computer in VirtualBox, on a
> > > > > 32bit Linux host, with a 32bit CPU (Intel U2500).
> > > > > b. The qemu/kvm install is on a Linux 64bit host, with an Intel Core
> > > > > i3-3227U cpu.
> > > > > c. The Windows XP vm used to use an ide controller in VirtualBox.
> > > > >
> > > > > Any hints as to what am I doing wrong? I've googled around, but all I
> > > > > stumble over is straight forward guides, nothing more specific to my
> > > > > situation. I'm inclined to think that it isn't the XP installation
> > > > > itself that is the problem, as I don't even get to see a Windows 
> > > > > XP logo
> > > > > or any blue screen of death etc. Maybe I need to set different cpu
> > > > > parameters, or some other hardware parameters in the vm?
> > > > >
> > > > > Any suggestions appreciated.
> > I seem to have moved on one step further. I've tried to start 
> > qemu/kvm as a root, and I get the following error now:
> >
> > "Booting from hard-disk ...
> >
> > A disk read error occurred
> > Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart"
> >
> > Is there some way to make qemu-system-x86_64 a bit more verbose? I 
> > looked through the help options, and there doesn't seem to be one 
> > which will make it a bit more talkative on the command line. I wish I 
> > could see what it is trying to do and where it fails.
>
> I'd successfully made generic Windows XP and 7 installs (which 
> installs on any partition, not just the 1st). Remembering the efforts, 
> I'ld suggest you 'reinstall'.

Hi dE. In the end - that's what I did. I installed from scratch a 
Windows XP vm under qemu - which worked perfectly fine. Still - it would 
have been nice if I would have been able to figure out the conversion 
from VirtualBox to kvm/qemu. It's not a bad skill to have - in case I 
would have needed it again in the future. Oh well.