Boot-fu; WinXP/2000 - VirtualBox to Physical migration - Microsoft VHD loopback 32bit driver , Dell Optiplex D03S AHCI boot

[ruthan]

I have Dell Optiflex in CSM mode - MBR disk, whith the same error.. Im migrating Virtualbox machine, problem is there i WIn7 bootloader which refuse to start after AHCI to ATA Bios change and in AHCI mode, WIndows 2000 and XP, ending with this error. Windows 7 and Vista are booting fine in AHCI mode.

To make it more complicated when im trying to use P2P dissimilar HW adjust tools from Paragon, its asking for Microsoft VHD Loopback Controller 32bit and im unable to find it for Win XP / Win2000. I searched Windows XP registry but i dont see there request for this driver, maybe its some virtualbox drivers left over.
I have found - vhdmp.inf as part of lots of XP drivers, its requesting, ServiceBinary=%12%\vhdmp.sys and vhdmp.sys,,,0x100 ;COPYFLG_PROTECTED_WINDOWS_DRIVER_FILE , but so far i have found vhdmp.sys only for Windows 64 bit or Vista+ 32 bit. I searched Windows *.iso disks for it but found nothing, also on Win 2000 / XP booted partition already.

I suspect that problem count be too, that Windows 7 is starting from the extended volume.. the is small first active partition with Windows 7 bootloader, but maybe in ATA mode it is not able to boot from extended partition as in case of AHCI mode, its strange.

Edited June 24 by ruthan

[ruthan]

I have also tried boot other boot loaders like Plop 5 or Paragon WIndows OS detection fallback from its live cds, but it seem that they really dislike Dell CSM->ATA mode and with combination of this partition scheme.

1) Boot partition - FA32 with Windows 7 BCD; primary active
 2) Windows 2000 - NTFS; primary
3) Windows XP - NFTS; primary
4) Extended volume:
4a)   Windows Vista 32 
4b) Windows 7 32bit
4c) NTFS - Data partition 
   I was inspired by quad boot project - with Windows 2000 / XP/ Windows Vista / Windows 7 project floating around on archive.org etc, i created my own Virtualbox vhd with same settings, before i was not using separate boot partitions, but used standalone install per partition loaded through - Grub2 on Linux partition (there is not problem with extended partition - as far you have to force grub2 install through some warning and boot repair live cd, does not like sometimes).. or Grub2Dos.. or Plop5.
 

   Everytime when i feel that i understander booting and bootloaders, i met some new situation, when something is not working as supposed too.. Im getting better, but still i can spend days to make something working, or have to use multiple bootloader and use specific boot managers chainload to boot specific OS as i want, for example Grub seems to skip for some use boot.ini where is PAE switch and im unable to force /pae other way that through boot.ini - if someone know solution for it for 2000 let me know..

Edited June 24 by ruthan

[the solutor]

Given you're on Vbox before migrating to physical partition you should add a dummy disk attached to a controller close to the physical one you're going to use on physical machine. 

 

Then boot once to get the controller detected and its drivers installed, then possibly remove the dummy disk, connect the OS virtual disk to such controller and let the OS boot again.

 

The above is usually enough to move Vista/7/8/10/11 to a physical disk, but may be not enough to migrate XP or Win2K, unless you use generic AHCI/IDE drivers.

 

For XP/2K, if the above fails still use Hiren's boot CD and use it's fix_hdc script (it's under the registry section), it's almost bullet proof, and it's the only effective way to move from virtual to physical or viceversa (or from a physical machine to a different one), also is the only effective way to migrate from a Hyper-V VM (given there the Vbox trick isn't applicable (hyper-V has only ide controllers in MBR mode or scsi controllers in GPT mode)

Edited Thursday at 03:59 PM by the solutor

[ruthan]

Thanks for info, interesting thing is not found vhdmp.sys for this dummy / virtual disk in virtualbox machine, before migration.
Its called Microsoft Virtual.., but it seems that such driver get from the Microsoft but i did not found it on Windows ISO or on Virtualbox Additioon CD ISO, i searched within archives too, but it still could be embedded within some *.exe installer, in some update, but not even found on *.vhd. Its mystery

Hyper-V - i found some tutorial for it, but it did not helped for my machine. Please claiming that its working for some physical machines too, its some minimal default set of Registry keys to make machine to boot:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/blogs/michs/p2v-migration-issues-with-hyper-v-stop-0x0000007b#required-registry-critical-boot-entries 

    Other mystery is still why Windows 7 bootloader is not started after switch from ATA to AHCI, im not sure, there are some variants of it, except EFI / MBR version, or there is some additional configuration / drivers settings possible..

  Thanks for tip about Hirens Boot cd, did not know about such tool on it, i will check it.

[the solutor]

2 hours ago, ruthan said:

Thanks for info, interesting thing is not found vhdmp.sys for this dummy / virtual disk in virtualbox machine, before migration.
Its called Microsoft Virtual.., but it seems that such driver get from the Microsoft but i did not found it on Windows ISO or on Virtualbox Additioon CD ISO, i searched within archives too, but it still could be embedded within some *.exe installer, in some update, but not even found on *.vhd. Its mystery

vhdmp has nothing to do with xp, it's a driver used to mount VHD/VHDX images, something that XP doesn't do natively.

 

Probably you used some dumb migration tool that messed things.

 

Don't use anything to "migrate". All you need is to mount the source VHD and the destination physical disk, then "copy" the partition(s) with any SW capable of doing so from Easus/Acronis/Paragon/whatever.

 

Then all you have to do is to make the boot partition active and install the bootloader using bcdboot. (then follow what I wrote in the previous message)

 

If your source disk isn't a VHD/VHDx (say vmdk or vdi)  just convert it. I suggest the free tool from Starwind, but Virtualbox itself can convert many formats

 

 

Edited Thursday at 11:26 PM by the solutor

[ruthan]

Where exactly and in which version of Hirens is this tool, did not found it Dos menus its on the live cd?

[the solutor]

Quote

 in which version of Hirens is this tool

15.2

Quote

Where exactly

Like I said it's under the registry section. 

Edited Friday at 02:10 PM by the solutor

[ruthan]

Thx, Ok i found it, problem is there are 2 menus, first dos, where is registry tools option too and second on the Live CD (right one).

  I have tried 15.2 DVD, but Live Win7 refused to boot for both method, for some reason its trying to read something from the MBR.. and reporting no MBR magic fail error.
  15.2 CD version with Live XP worked fine. I was a bit afraid how targeting would work, but you simply from XP, select target temporary path.

   Luckily i found this tool standalone too on Github too:
https://gitlab.com/wiert.me/public/windows/xp-2003/fix_hdc.cmd/-/tree/main?ref_type=heads 
  Im only unsure from which OSes it could be run, if it needs to be executed from WIndows XP / 7, or its possible to run from older / newer versions too.

  It fixed XP boot for me, even in AHCI mode - i not sure its influenced that i already had AHCI drivers added before through Paragon.

  I did the same thing, include AHCI driver - Its intel c216 controller for Windows 2000, but this is not working, im still getting INCCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error in middle of loading bluescreen- classic - 0x000*7B (0xF5C1B84C,0xF5C1B84C,0xC0000034) error.

I repeated it twice, tried to add before or after AHCI drivers inject. Im not sure maybe it needs to boot in ATA mode, but now when i have 3 of 4 OSes running in AHCI mode, change all to ATA because of 1 of 4 is not prefered option. Im not sure, its not because for some reason its than VHD driver trying to load.. I found some strange thing -  there was of this driver mentioned in autoexec file, in with REM.. why i dont know autoexec should be skipped for these old anyway and i dont have DOS or Win9x installed.

[the solutor]

7 hours ago, ruthan said:

Thx, Ok i found it, problem is there are 2 menus, first dos, where is registry tools option too and second on the Live CD (right one).  I have tried 15.2 DVD, but Live Win7 refused to boot for both method, for some reason its trying to read something from the MBR.. and reporting no MBR magic fail error.
  15.2 CD version with Live XP worked fine. I was a bit afraid how targeting would work, but you simply from XP, select target temporary path.

Not sure I never used the DVD. The CD was always more than enough for my needs

Quote

 Luckily i found this tool standalone too on Github too:
https://gitlab.com/wiert.me/public/windows/xp-2003/fix_hdc.cmd/-/tree/main?ref_type=heads 
  Im only unsure from which OSes it could be run, if it needs to be executed from WIndows XP / 7, or its possible to run from older / newer versions too.

Nice finding, whatever I never tested it, but I got working the original one on installed OS (to fix a different installed OS on a different partition/VHD).

Aside adjusting some paths and providing the 7z package with actual drivers, you need also the file txtsetup.sif from the XP dir, then it will works, at least I'm sure it works from W7 x86)

Quote

I did the same thing, include AHCI driver - Its intel c216 controller for Windows 2000, but this is not working, im still getting...

Check if the actual driver (ahci.sys or whatever is needed) was actually copied in \system32\drivers eventually replace it with a driver that works for sure in Win2K (try older/newer version or even a different driver. Just rename it like the old one)

 

(the same tecnique is applicable for AMD64 (oses). IIRC the script try to use a driver that's already included, if nothing is found it copies a driver from the 7z package, but those driver are 32bit, hence let the script do its work then replace the .sys with the correct AMD64 version

Quote

I repeated it twice, tried to add before or after AHCI drivers inject. Im not sure maybe it needs to boot in ATA mode, but now when i have 3 of 4 OSes running in AHCI mode, change all to ATA because of 1 of 4 is not prefered option. Im not sure, its not because for some reason its than VHD driver trying to load.. I found some strange thing -  there was of this driver mentioned in autoexec file, in with REM.. why i dont know autoexec should be skipped for these old anyway and i dont have DOS or Win9x installed.

I would start fresh with a copying of the original partition, not touched by Paragon.

 

Whatever, the success rate isn't 100%. Is very high but not 100%.

In my experience is hard to get working old installation that included the Intel RST (Raid) drivers, they mess the system to the point that even moving a modern W10/W11 to standard AHCI or IDE becomes really hard

[ruthan]

On 6/28/2025 at 1:23 PM, the solutor said:

Check if the actual driver (ahci.sys or whatever is needed) was actually copied in \system32\drivers eventually replace it with a driver that works for sure in Win2K (try older/newer version or even a different driver. Just rename it like the old one)

Ok, i will check it, but i guess that simply copy some file on system32 folder would not be enough, it probably needs also some registry or system file change.

What is really strange is that Paragon - 3 different versions (so its not just 1 version bug), considering Microsoft VHD controller driver as boot critical for this installation Windows 2000.. even its probably does not exist.. vhdm* i searched whole Windows 2000 registry / partition / archive inside for vhdmp* string, but got nothing..
  If my memory serves its not first time when im using Paragon for Windows 2000, so it would be strange if its using  Microsoft VHD controller to make machine bootable.. or its some Virtualbox, Vmware, Hyper-V migration left over..

On 6/28/2025 at 1:23 PM, the solutor said:

Aside adjusting some paths and providing the 7z package with actual drivers, you need also the file txtsetup.sif from the XP dir, then it will works, at least I'm sure it works from W7 x86)

   txtsetup.sif , i never saw such file, im used to using   txtsetup.oem

  I also tried to reinstall Windows 2000 from cd with keeping data, but even when Disc controller hw was loaded from USB floppy.. it froze on Windows 2000 setup loading.. I have found that is probably because some ACPI incompatibility - and you shrould press F5 / F7 to disable it.. So far, if pressed these keys im got into some menu, when i could select machine type, but there was no any ACPI settings, but just Standard pc / Standard 486 and some OEM machines, this way i got through loading freeze, but it ended with Inaccessible boot device blue screen right after.

    When i tried to load Fernando 2000/PX AHCI drivers : https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/guide-integration-of-intels-ahci-raid-drivers-into-a-winxp-w2k3-w2k-cd/25310?page=1  from floppy, i could select driver on USB floppy it was found, but later i got file is corrupt error / multiple times - USB floppy could be a problem.

   So i have tried newest nlite for Xp and slipstream AHCI drivers - Fernando ones or Universal Ata driver- https://alter.org.ua/en/soft/win/uni_ata/uni_ata.php (if im not wrong there is not some OS install floppy version, so i have created something with *.oem file ), but so far im getting for both drivers if my memory servers, some inf line 53 parsing error.
   I will try some other Win2000 nlite image and double check if i removed Fernando drivers, before i added Universal Sata.. and use only need 1 Fernando intel AHCI device driver, not all Intel controllers.. There is also some certificate as part of Fernando drivers, im not used to drivers certificated for 2000 / XP, so its really needed, or has to be injected before driver is loaded, to make it working..
 

   I hope that i will find some working combination of settings to be available to start Windows 2000 install refresh.

   I have using real CD, in Sata drive, no USB flash disk install - there is not Pata.

   Yeas, i can try old more refresh Windows 2000 image from backup or remove virtualbox / inject AHCI drivers before creating virtual image for migration..

   There is also WinNTsetup utility - https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/winntsetup.html  which claims to support Win 2000 too, so i can try to check, if only for clean installations or it could make refresh  / reinstall.

   So i not out of options and maybe, maybe i will even learn something in the process.. There are i quite a lot of unknown variables.

 

Edited Sunday at 08:38 PM by ruthan

[the solutor]

1 hour ago, ruthan said:

Ok, i will check it, but i guess that simply copy some file on system32 folder would not be enough, it probably needs also some registry or system file change.

What is really strange is that Paragon - 3 different versions (so its not just 1 version bug), considering Microsoft VHD controller driver as boot critical for this installation Windows 2000.. even its probably does not exist.. vhdm* i searched whole Windows 2000 registry / partition / archive inside for vhdmp* string, but got nothing..
  If my memory serves its not first time when im using Paragon for Windows 2000, so it would be strange if its using  Microsoft VHD controller to make machine bootable.. or its some Virtualbox, Vmware, Hyper-V migration left over..

 

Afaik the only thing related to VHDs on XP/W2k, was a driver installed by VirtualPC, but I' don't remember if it was called vhdmp.sys

 

Quote

  txtsetup.sif , i never saw such file, im used to using   txtsetup.oem

Copy it from XP directory of HBCD (or from the install media)

Quote

Ok, i will check it, but i guess that simply copy some file on system32 folder would not be enough, it probably needs also some registry or system file change.

Please read what I actually wrote. Obviously just comping a file leads to nothing useful.

 

You need to use the FIC_HDC script, then (if needed) copy/overwrite the file.

 

The script updates the registry, but may copy the wrong driver (too new for W2K /too old for W7/wrong architecture for XP64 and so on)

[ruthan]

Ok, i have tried another approach meanwhile, there some guide how to install Windows 2000 on Intel Sandy Bridge and later:

I have managed to install Windows 2000 with standard PC mode - without ACPI meanwhile by switching bios to ATA mode and press F5 and integrating UniATA driver.

I have tried to create CD by this tutorial, but its still stuck on Windows 2000 setup loading, unless i press F5/F7 and select Standard pc mode, but tutorials has 12 steps (it would be really nice to make utility to make it more effortless ), to i could do something wrong.. I used BlackWingCat AHCI drivers too . There is also known problem with usbhub20.sys, which has to be manually delete to setup to progress, i did not found solution for it (i mean from install cd fix point of view).

   Im not sure about point 12, its still needed to replace acpi.sys even when patched version it is integrated on install cd, or its mean as upgraded for already installed machine in not acpi mode.. In case of XP, changing from not ACPI to ACPI usually meant to mess with different hal.dll and kernel.dll files.

  Question is if i can install Windows 2000 in ATA mode, install AHCI driver in advance, switch bios to AHCI mode and be able to boot in AHCI mode after.

  I selected different version of Windows 2000 than original one, so i have now 2 versions able to boot on the same partitions and i can play with both installation. I wanted to test, if installation would be repair by reinstallings, its not.. not in case, when original install is using Windows folder and new one WinNT, it seem to be hardcoded in nlite mods.
 

  What is good machine is now booting in ATA mode, to Windows 2000 bootloader, but i can fix it later..

Edited 5 hours ago by ruthan