3.2.3. Preparing to convert a virtual machine running Windows

Important

virt-v2v does not support conversion of the Windows Recovery Console. If a virtual machine has a recovery console installed and VirtIO was enabled during conversion, attempting to boot the recovery console will result in a stop error.
Windows XP x86 does not support the Windows Recovery Console on VirtIO systems, so there is no resolution to this. However, on Windows XP AMD64 and Windows 2003 (x86 and AMD64), the recovery console can be reinstalled after conversion. The re-installation procedure is the same as the initial installation procedure. It is not necessary to remove the recovery console first. Following re-installation, the recovery console will work as intended.
Before a virtual machine running Windows can be converted, ensure that the following steps are completed.
  1. Install the libguestfs-winsupport package on the host running virt-v2v. This package provides support for NTFS, which is used by many Windows systems. The libguestfs-winsupport package is provided by the RHEL V2VWIN (v. 6 for 64-bit x86_64) channel. Ensure your system is subscribed to this channel, then run the following command as root: 
    yum install libguestfs-winsupport
    If you attempt to convert a virtual machine using NTFS without the libguestfs-winsupport package installed, the conversion will fail. An error message similar to Example 3.2, “Error message when converting a Windows virtual machine without libguestfs-winsupport installed” will be shown.

    Example 3.2. Error message when converting a Windows virtual machine without libguestfs-winsupport installed

    No operating system could be detected inside this disk image.

This may be because the file is not a disk image, or is not a virtual machine
image, or because the OS type is not understood by virt-inspector.

If you feel this is an error, please file a bug report including as much
information about the disk image as possible.
  2. Install the virtio-win package on the host running virt-v2v. This package provides paravirtualized block and network drivers for Windows guests. The virtio-win package is provided by the RHEL Server Supplementary (v. 6 64-bit x86_64) channel. Ensure your system is subscribed to this channel, then run the following command as root: 
    yum install virtio-win
    If you attempt to convert a virtual machine running Windows without the virtio-win package installed, the conversion will fail. An error message similar to Example 3.3, “Error message when converting a Windows virtual machine without virtio-win installed” will be shown.

    Example 3.3. Error message when converting a Windows virtual machine without virtio-win installed

    virt-v2v: Installation failed because the following files referenced in the configuration file are required, but missing: /usr/share/virtio-win/drivers/i386/Win2008

Note

When virtual machines running Windows are converted for output to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, post-processing of the virtual machine image will be performed by the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager to install updated drivers. See Section 7.2.2, “Configuration changes for Windows virtual machines” for details of the process. This step will be omitted when virtual machines running Windows are converted for output to libvirt.