[kwlug-disc] Unique VM Installation

[John Van Ostrand]

----- Original Message -----
> Not sure what you mean by "installing from the system partition into a
> VM". But, if it's copying a partition to another partition (be it real
> or inside VM), then you might try copying over net, assuming of course
> the host and VM can talk over the net. I've never done that.

Lenovo desktops arrive with a small partition that holds a Windows PE install, diagnostic tools, recovery tools and the actual image of Windows including drivers that is installed on the system. This is a bootable O/S entirely separate from the proper install.

There is a boot option to boot from the system partition where the user can access these tools and if needed perform a fresh install of the O/S.

My computer never ran Windows, although it came pre-installed. Now I have to run windows for some banking software and I want to install a virtual Windows system using KVM on my Linux box. I'd like to use the license that came with my PC rather than send any more money to Redmond. I may be able to get another copy of Windows and use the same activation code, but there has always been so many different "versions" of the same release of windows and codes seem to only work with the version they were intended to. For example: an OEM key won't work with a corporate disc.

-- 
John Van Ostrand 
CTO, co-CEO 
Net Direct Inc. 
564 Weber St. N. Unit 12, Waterloo, ON N2L 5C6 
Ph: 866-883-1172 x5102 
Fx: 519-883-8533 

Linux Solutions / IBM Hardware