1. How to activate Windows XP that is OEM version after Physical to Virtual migration? Used the VMWare p2v tool to migrate. But now Windows insists on activation.
2. I have done couple of P2V migration and all of them prompts for windows activations for virtual machines after migration. Looks like something to do with.

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Our upcoming ERP upgrade project needed two new servers. We'd and already had an IBM host machine, so the clear choice was to build them as virtual machines (VMs). These would be created from scratch rather than being physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversions. I hit two pitfalls I wasn't previously aware of and made a mistake any self-respecting IT pro would be ashamed of. This article isn't so much a step-by-step how-to as a cautionary tale. Activation failure One of the VMs would be a database server, so I was reassured to read of other IT pros.

How to activate Windows XP that is OEM version after Physical to Virtual migration? Used the VMWare p2v tool to migrate. But now Windows insists on activation.

What's more, my IBM host server runs Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, which includes Windows licenses for up to four guest VMs, so I knew I wouldn't have to buy any operating system (OS) licenses. With the IBM server, we were given two Windows license keys: one for the host server and a 'virtual key' for use with VMs. In Hyper-V Manager, creating a VM from scratch is as simple as running the.

After allocating the required memory, choosing to create the VM not connected to the network, and specifying a location for the virtual hard disk (.VHD) file, I chose to install an OS from a DVD ( Figure A). Figure A OS installation options Since my database application needed Windows Server 2008 R2, I retrieved the OS DVD for another server running that OS and installed from that.

When it came to the request to Activate Windows, I entered the virtual license key, which was rejected. Research indicated this was because the virtual key only works if the guest VM runs Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise. Now that wasn't obvious. With a sigh I swapped to the IBM Windows DVD and restarted the setup process, this time choosing the Enterprise option. Since there was already a copy of Windows installed (the one that wouldn't accept my license key), I accepted the option of moving the existing files to a folder called Windows.Old, planning to delete them later.

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Unfortunately, this 'in-place' install failed with an error, and I had to start from scratch, choosing to format the disk partition. Finally, the install completed, and the virtual key was accepted by the activation process.

Password failure Continuing the setup process, I logged in with my chosen administrator password and followed the steps to upgrade the. This required a reboot, after which I attempted to log in as administrator again — and couldn't get the password right. I looked in disbelief at the password I'd written down, tried it several more times, and then tried a few variations. I couldn't believe I'd made a mistake like this.

I'd managed to get the password right a couple of times up to now, but clearly that wasn't the password I'd written down. Download de gta vice city para pc gratis completo. There is a non-drastic way out of this embarrassing hole — a. However, I hadn't created one. I'll never need one of those, or so I thought. That only left me with the drastic solution — reinstall the OS again.

When I did, I chose an admin password no less secure but far less prone to mis-typing. I've still not created a password reset disk, because, of course, I'll never need one. Another disk, please My new VMs were created with a single.VHD acting as the C: drive. I needed extra drives on both of them. To do this, the VM must first be shut down. In the Settings dialog for the VM, selecting an IDE Controller provides the option of adding a new Hard Drive.

Creating the drive is wizard-driven, including the choice of disk type, size, and location. I specifically wanted a fixed size disk, rather than dynamically expanding, to guarantee the. On clicking Finish, the wizard creates the new.VHD file. And then you wait a long time — at least 20 minutes for a 250Gb drive.

Not only that, I started receiving complaints that applications on a different virtual server weren't responding. The explanation, it seems, is that when creating a fixed size.VHD,. This is done for security purposes. ( Note: Today when trying I was presented with a signup/login page I hadn't seen before. To get to the link I first had to cancel that dialog and then try again.) My guess was that this zeroing process required so much disk I/O that it was affecting the other VM (which was on the same host).

Sure enough, when the disk creation finished, the applications sprang back into life. I apologised to my users and wondered if I could avoid this slow, resource-hungry process for the other disks I wanted to add.

The MSDN article linked to a describing a Microsoft tool designed to circumvent the slow creation by overwriting the relevant area of the disk without wiping it first. Since my host machine's disk had very little data on, it would have been safe for me to use that tool. In the end, though, I decided to stick to the normal way, but this time give my colleagues some pre-warning of the knock-on effects. I (and they) waited patiently while the disks were created, and finally my new VMs were ready.

Summary In creating two new Hyper-V VMs I discovered that the 'virtual license key' supplied with Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise only works if the guest VMs also run Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise. I also found that adding a fixed size hard disk to a VM can be a slow, resource-intensive process that potentially affects other VMs on the same host. During setup, I also managed to forget the administrator password and had to repeat the OS installation. Somebody please tell me I'm not the only one who should know better who's fallen into that trap. Related Topics. Mark Pimperton BSc PhD has worked for a small UK electronics manufacturer for over 20 years in areas as diverse as engineering, technical sales, publications, and marketing.

He's been involved in IT since 1999, when he project-managed implementation of a new ERP system, and has been IT Manager since 2008. The first major project he undertook in that role was a second ERP deployment. While still involved in operations, system management, and even a bit of development, Mark is now also responsible for IT risk management.

He finds that risk assessment leads to many improvement initiatives, such as a current project to switch from tape backup to disk-based and online backup. Mark is fanatical about documentation, taking special care to record unfamiliar processes. His TechRepublic articles on SSL certificates and PCI DSS compliance are prime examples. Mark is married with two grown-up children.

I need to virtualize an IBM Laptop that one of the engineers at my company uses. The hardware is on it's last legs and setting up a new computer from scratch is not an option as it'd be too time consuming to reinstall and reconfigure all the software on it. So, I converted it using vconverter and upon reboot it prompts me to re-activate windows.

Based on research, I understand I need to pay for a new license key. How do you do this? From research, there are apparently not only OEM locked but BIOS locked copies of windows.

I tried a valid XP key I got from our technet subscription just to see what would happen and it wouldn't work. So, I'm assuming I have a little more work todo then just buy a new retail version of XP. Can anyone tell me what the process is?

EDIT: I performed a repair install as the accepted answer suggested. This process was very time consuming but it did work.NET needed to be reinstalled and most of the software had to be reactivated which was a pain. @sysadmin1138: I can't wrap my head around how this question is Too Localized.

Anyone going from a IBM, Dell, etc to virtual is going to encounter this. I don't think the solution is obvious that the fix is you have to reinstall windows. I assumed that this was something that was so common there was an easier way. Consequently, spent a lot of time searching for an answer.

I respect that you are trying to improve the signal to noise ratio on ServerFault. But, this isn't noise. If you think it varies too much between mfgs, an explanation of that would make a good answer to this question. – Aug 17 '11 at 5:08.