Virtualize Win8.1: BIOS + MBR Physical Partition > to > WIM Image > to > UEFI GPT VHD

[xbliss]

Virtualize Win8.1: BIOS + MBR Physical Partition > to > WIM Image > to > UEFI GPT VHD

Virtualizing Win8.1 from BIOS + MBR Physical Partition > to > .WIM Image > to > UEFI GPT .VHD

Sometime last year I found out about Native boot VHDs and tried to go that way for good. There were some issues with hardware and OS (Win7 at the time) not working out and lot of new things that I was learning about VHDs.

Anyways, that confusion, learning and failure led to a better path

So this 2015, I figured out how to get VHDs (with Fresh Win 8.1 Installs via Install.WIM DISM Apply Image) to Native Boot on Surface Pro 3 (Sp3).

I am going to attempt doing the following steps using DISM/ ImageX:

MBR [Customized Win 8.1] (Physical) > Create Image > [Customized Win 8.1 .WIM] (Virtual - File based so - No sectors or MBR/GPT?? ).

[Customized Win 8.1 .WIM] (Virtual) > Apply Image > [Empty New GPT .VHD] (on SP3)

My thought is that by going to .WIM I bypass the whole converstion drama between MBR/BIOS & GPT/UEFI as the .WIM is agnostic of both of them? Is this a valid thought or not?

Thoughts?

NOTE: I can.. try out the above with creating a small FRESH MBR Windows 8.1 partition on X61T/ T61 and then doing the above 2 steps. Convert it to a .WIM and then applying to a GPT .VHD

I am guessing a SYSPREP is recommended somewhere in between.

Someone somewhere also mentioned doing Sysprep in a VM/ Hyper V instead?

Thoughts? Where and how would you recommend applying the SYSPREP?

[WinOutreach2]

The short answer is that yes, you can use a WIM to bypass the need for a GPT or MBR VHD by capturing your MBR VHD and deploying it to the VHD of your choice. The two installs are not so different, see Converting Windows BIOS installation to UEFI on the TechNet Wiki.

 

I have to ask though, why are you using VHD boot on the Surface Pro 3s?

 

Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
Windows for IT Pros on TechNet

[WinOutreach2]

I am guessing a SYSPREP is recommended somewhere in between.

Someone somewhere also mentioned doing Sysprep in a VM/ Hyper V instead?

Thoughts? Where and how would you recommend applying the SYSPREP?

 

 

The recommended way of doing things is to create a VM in a virtual environment (Hyper-V VM) as the reference system. This avoids complex driver installs and ensures maximum cross-platform compatibility of the resulting image. This is in conjunction with a modern deployment tool like MDT or SCCM that separately manages drivers, images, and applications for deployment granularity and automation. If you’ve never seen it, I’d definitely recommend the Surface Pro 3 Deployment and Administration Guide.

 

Brandon

Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro

Windows for IT Pros on TechNet

[xbliss]

The short answer is that yes, you can use a WIM to bypass the need for a GPT or MBR VHD by capturing your MBR VHD and deploying it to the VHD of your choice. The two installs are not so different, see Converting Windows BIOS installation to UEFI on the TechNet Wiki.

 

I have to ask though, why are you using VHD boot on the Surface Pro 3s?

 

Brandon

Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro

Windows for IT Pros on TechNet

Thanks you. Been going through all that for a while.

 

I have completed through these phases of the project. Using this context, please help me with this further at this location:

http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/12735-what-is-significance-of-msr-sys-efi-partitions-for-win-81-native-boot-vhd-how/

 

PS: Why VHD Native Boot? So that moving my OS is a simple file copy/ transfer away from now. Allows me to plop it from SPro 3 to a bigger machine when needed.