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Booting from USB in a Virtual Environment

Tags:
  • Virtual PC
  • Bootable Usb
  • Business Computing
  • External USB
Last response: in Business Computing
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March 5, 2014 7:19:08 PM

I'm working on writing a procedure on how to boot from a USB drive into an application environment then completing some tasks in that environment, and I'd like to be able to capture screen shots to make the procedure more clear.

Requirements:
-Be able to capture screen shots of the boot device selection
-The application will need to communicate with an external hard drive, so being able to connect to the drive is essential


My OS: Win 7 Pro, 64bit
My PC: Dell laptop with plenty of storage and processor power to run any VMWare or Virtual PC instance without a hiccup. I also have multiple monitors, so working with both environments at the same time won't be an issue.

I'd like a free solution if possible.

Any suggestions?

More about : booting usb virtual environment

March 6, 2014 1:00:47 PM

Why not go low-tech and just use a camera to snapshot the external device boot menu?
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March 6, 2014 2:47:49 PM

2Be_or_Not2Be said:
Why not go low-tech and just use a camera to snapshot the external device boot menu?


As an emergency option I could do that, but I'd rather have actual screen shots since they will be much better quality and look MUCH better on the page.
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March 6, 2014 3:02:45 PM

It's not super-easy to get a computer-generated image of the boot menu. Try googling "usb boot device screenshot" and just use an image that you like.
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March 13, 2014 6:51:29 AM

With Client Hyper-V provided by Windows 8.1 Professional or Enterprise, a USB storage device can be made offline in the host operating system and attached as a storage device to the virtual machine, allowing boot from the device. The CANITPRO group documented the process they encountered on their TechNet Blog as they attached a Windows To Go device to a virtual machine for a presentation.

While you can attach USB devices to a Virtual PC instance, booting to a USB device is not supported.

If you are interested in more information about Client Hyper-V, there is a great video you should check out: Windows 8: Client Hyper-V and Why It Matters and the Client Hyper-V Survival Guide which has some great information.
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March 13, 2014 7:42:16 AM

Duplicate Post
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March 13, 2014 7:48:37 AM

Well, I found a reasonably simple solution that worked perfectly and gave me the results I wanted.

I first downloaded Windows XP Mode and created a XP Virtual box. Since Virtual PC doesn't give me the ability to boot to USB, I then downloaded VMWare Workstation (free trial) and imported the virtual XP OS into VMWare. Since the OS loaded too quickly for me to get to the boot manager screen, I downloaded and installed the Plop Boot Manager software from inside the XP image. After fiddling with Plop, I was able to get to a Plop screen to select the boot device at every restart.

With the virtual window on one monitor and the procedure on the other, I was able to use the Snipping Tool (built in to Windows 7) to grab the screen shots I wanted, save them, then paste them right into the Word document.

The hardest part was getting Plop installed and configured. After that, everything was simple.
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March 13, 2014 9:01:54 AM

CaseyJM said:
Well, I found a reasonably simple solution that worked perfectly and gave me the results I wanted.

I first downloaded Windows XP Mode and created a XP Virtual box. Since Virtual PC doesn't give me the ability to boot to USB, I then downloaded VMWare Workstation (free trial) and imported the virtual XP OS into VMWare. Since the OS loaded too quickly for me to get to the boot manager screen, I downloaded and installed the Plop Boot Manager software from inside the XP image. After fiddling with Plop, I was able to get to a Plop screen to select the boot device at every restart.

With the virtual window on one monitor and the procedure on the other, I was able to use the Snipping Tool (built in to Windows 7) to grab the screen shots I wanted, save them, then paste them right into the Word document.

The hardest part was getting Plop installed and configured. After that, everything was simple.


Wow - my hat off to you! That's a lot of work, but it sounds like it is now up to your expectations.
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March 13, 2014 11:05:43 AM

2Be_or_Not2Be said:
CaseyJM said:
Well, I found a reasonably simple solution that worked perfectly and gave me the results I wanted.

I first downloaded Windows XP Mode and created a XP Virtual box. Since Virtual PC doesn't give me the ability to boot to USB, I then downloaded VMWare Workstation (free trial) and imported the virtual XP OS into VMWare. Since the OS loaded too quickly for me to get to the boot manager screen, I downloaded and installed the Plop Boot Manager software from inside the XP image. After fiddling with Plop, I was able to get to a Plop screen to select the boot device at every restart.

With the virtual window on one monitor and the procedure on the other, I was able to use the Snipping Tool (built in to Windows 7) to grab the screen shots I wanted, save them, then paste them right into the Word document.

The hardest part was getting Plop installed and configured. After that, everything was simple.


Wow - my hat off to you! That's a lot of work, but it sounds like it is now up to your expectations.


It wasn't as bad as it sounds. But yes, the screen captures are perfect and the procedure, even at 21 steps, is basically idiot proof.
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