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brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

Sorry I couldnt think of a better (or shorter) title. But I was wondering if it would be possible to boot to an OS you already have on your HDD via VMware or Virtualbox. For example, I currently have 5 OSes on my computer (2 of which I use regularly, Windows 7 and Arch), would it be possible for me to boot into arch and then run the version of XP or W7 that I have installed on my HDD in VMware if I gave it direct access to my HDD?

sand_man

Member

From: Australia

Registered: 2008-06-10

Posts: 2,164

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

I remember reading a wiki article somewhere on doing this with Windows XP and VirtualBox. You just need to create a seperate hardware profile in Windows.
I assume this can be done easier with Linux distros but I haven't tried.

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brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

that would be pretty sweet if its possible. I pretty much only use windows for windows apps that dont work in wine or devices that arent easily configurable in linux. The only reason I'm stuck in windows right now is im working on building an unattended XP install disk for my job, i have no idea if nlite or WPI will work in wine or not.

Berticus

Member

Registered: 2008-06-11

Posts: 731

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

There's many ways to do this. You can use virtualbox, vmware server, or KVM (with qemu).

fukawi2

Ex-Administratorino

From: .vic.au

Registered: 2007-09-28

Posts: 6,223

Website

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-virtua … ux-machine

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brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

awesome, but thats just the opposite of what I wanted. this is what i wanted thanks guys ill try it out.

xaiviax

Member

From: Michigan

Registered: 2008-11-04

Posts: 282

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

Your title was perfect, and nice of you to come back and post the solution you found   

brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

i actually asked this over on the virtual box forums a few minutes ago to get a step by step answer since i like virtualbox better than vmware. I always try to post my answers in my threads so other people can benefit from it and half the time I lose the link to something but if i post it in my thread I know it'll always be there lol

fukawi2

Ex-Administratorino

From: .vic.au

Registered: 2007-09-28

Posts: 6,223

Website

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

Sorry -- I figured it would be a pretty similar process to move a physical machine to a VM regardless of the OS... Glad yuo found your solution though

Last edited by fukawi2 (2009-03-25 11:10:32)

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R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

If you have windows installed on your pc you can also use that physical partition in virtualbox (check page 124 of the manual, 9.10.2 Access to individual physical hard disk partitions ) or vmware. Although I guess windows may start to complain about activation.

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thisperishedmin

Member

Registered: 2008-11-04

Posts: 164

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

bartpe + norton ghost will accomplish the same thing in a round about way.  you just need a chunk of disk space to dump your .gho to.  of course, this wouldnt let you alternatively dual boot back to the windows partition to see all the same changes.

may prove useful:
http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Migrate_Windows

brando56894

Member

From: NYC

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 681

Re: Is It Possible To Access A Native OS Via Virtualization?

this was a sticky under the "windows guests" section of their board that one of their memebers directed me to, I havent tried it yet though. [url=http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9697]Link]/url]