Apyxis - Still Sorting

Virtual Machines - Moving to a new system

More reason to be grateful to Virtual PC.

I recently had to replace my laptop in the middle of a contract. I find replacing equipment stressful at the best of times, but deadlines made this so much worse. And Virtual PC made it so much better.

Even with a few glitches, getting up and working on client material was relatively quick.

• All of the files required for the client project were in the Virtual PC file:
• Draft documents
  
• Reference documents from the client
• Specialized tools for document development
• Client installed software
• The file is backed up every week to a portable drive.
  
• Setting up Virtual PC to run on the new system is simple.
• Copying the client vmc and vhd files to the new system is simple.
• Loading an existing Virtual PC (vmc file) in the Virtual PC console is simple.
• It ran the first I accessed it, though I adjusted the display settings for my bigger and better resolution.
  

What glitches slowed me down?

1. The only Virtual PC issue that slowed me down was internet access. The virtual PC wouldn't access the internet and it didn't give me any information why (--at least not that I recognized). Once I figured out what was wrong, it was simple to fix.
1. In the Virtual PC Console, highlight the machine to change.
2. Click the Settings button.
3. In the Settings dialog, click Networking. The panel to the right displays the network adapters defined for the virtual machine.
4. Select the correct adapter from the dropdown list.
5. For information about available options, see this MS article about networking settings in VPC.
   
6. Click OK to save your changes.
   
2. I chose to change my firewall software for the new laptop. Note to self: stick to stuff you know when under deadline pressure. According to the laptop manufacturer, XP SP3 and Comodo firewall don't always play well together. Neither is now installed on my system. Maybe later, when I have time to play.

What saved my life?
I finally remembered to ghost the hard drive of my new system. It was post initial startup, so it isn't quite "out-of-the-box" clean. It is prior to any software install, so it's close enough. I've used that image twice.

The first time because uninstalling Comodo didn't. As admin, I didn't have access to uninstalling the firewall. Tech support guy thought there must have been a glitch in the install. As a bonus, restoring the drive from the image removed SP3, which may have contributed to the problem.

The second time because I'm stubborn and I don't always believe it when I'm told I can't. Had to try the firewall install in case it really was a glitch. I know. Deadline.

All set
I'm all set now, and working the deadline project again. Thank you extended warranty and laptop manufacturer, thank you VPC, thank you Ghost, and thank you tech support guy.

posted by JJ @ 8:50 AM