Re: [Xen-users] NTFS no VDK/XVA

[jim burns <jim_burn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thursday 07 February 2008 05:43:29 pm BotNeb wrote:
> Is it possible to install a Windows 2003 vm onto a native NTFS formatted
> drive? Time and performance is really important to me. I want to skip the
> whole virtual disk in a file thing. Is there a way to do this? 
> The computer has the Intel vt extensions.

Certainly, if you can dedicate a disk partition to your guest (or the whole 
disk). Actually, Windows will want to overwrite your master boot record, so 
if there are any other os's on this disk that want to create a boot menu, 
like linux, you will have to recreate that boot menu after the Windows 
install (update-grub, Yast, etc.)

If you are using virt-manager, tell it the physical location of the 
partition/whole disk, such as /dev/sda. It will create an hvm guest with the 
physical disk, /dev/sda, mapped to a virtual disk /dev/hda in the config 
file. When the Windows installer starts, tell it what partition on the disk 
you want to use.

The disk= parameter in the guest's config file should look similar to this:

disk= [ '/dev/sda,hda,w', 'path-to-windows-iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ]

Depending on your distro, the hda device may look like ioemu:hda, and 
virt-install will automatically put in a "boot='d'" line to get the installer 
dvd (cds are a pain) or .iso file to 'boot'.

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