Converted a VHD but get BSOD when ran in VMware Server

[VanguardLH]

VMware Server 1.04-56528

VMware Converter 3.0.2u1-62456

I obtained a 30-day trial of Windows Vista with Office 2007 from Microsoft's VHD Catalog at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb738372.aspx

The download for the trial is at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f9956176-cf66-478b-b20d-b9b92dd0dbfa&DisplayLang=en

This VHD runs okay when using Virtual PC 2007 but I wanted to use it inside of VMWare Server. I got the VMWare Converter and use it to convert the .vhd to a .vmdk. I then created a new VM (using Windows Vista Experimental as the OS type) in VMware Server and tried to start it. It got to the black screen with the animated Microsoft logo showing that Windows Vista was starting to run but then it bluescreened. The BSOD display was gone in a split second so I cannot tell what it says. Since I cannot get into Windows to configure it to NOT reboot the system after a BSOD, VMware Server faithfully does the reboot but so fast that there is no chance to read anything in the BSOD screen.

On the reboot, and because Windows saw the error before during the prior boot, it present the recovery menu. I select Safe Mode with Command Prompt. The boot gets as far as trying to load crcdisk.sys and then bluescreens again (but, again, the BSOD screen is cleared in a split second so I can't tell what is wrong). So although I converted a working VHD using VMware Converter (I know it works because it loads okay using Virtual PC 2007), the VM will crash when ran in VMware Server.

Since this is a .vhd provided by Microsoft to provide a trial of their Vista and Office 2007 products, there is no way for me to boot using an install CD to perform a repair because there is obviously no install CD in the first place. You just get a .vhd file for the VM from Microsoft. Apparently the Windows Vista Experimental support mode in VMWare Server is just too experimental, or the VMWare Convert utility didn't provide a usable VM for VMware Server to work with it correctly.

I've done a search on "crcdisk.sys" in these forums but none of those articles seem to apply in my case.

[gautam]

Try changing the target VM's disk from buslogic to lsi logic.

[VanguardLH]

I can't see how to change the controller. Fact is, the controller is not a listed device in the VM Settings.

I looked at all the settings available for the existing hard drive (.vmdk file) but none let me change what SCSI controller is used.

I deleted the existing hard drive (figuring that I might be able to import the contents of the .vmdk into the newly created one of a new hard drive). I then created a new hard drive but during its creation there was no prompt as to what controller type to use.

So how do I change the SCSI controller type for a VM already defined? The only time I can get the prompt to select between Buslogic and LSI Logic is when I create a new VM. Is that what I have to do - delete my old VM and create a new VM so I can get the SCSI controller type prompt?

Since I couldn't change the controller type for the .vmdk that got created for the conversion from .vhd, I tried creating a new VM because that is the only time that I remember getting the prompt to select which SCSI controller type to use. I walked through the wizard to define a new VM, selected LSI Logic, selected the existing .vmdk file, and then started the new VM. I got a prompt saying that the SCSI controller type for the hard drive was for Buslogic but that I had configured the VM to use LSI Logic and asked if I wanted to allow switching the controller type (to LSI Logic). I said Yes and the VM now comes up.

Well, now I'm past the bluescreen on bootup problem. After install the VMware Tools, the mouse won't work in the guest OS. Using only the keyboard which still worked okay, I managed to get VMware Tools uninstalled and now the mouse works again.

Thanks for your help.

[rhayward20]

This resolved the issue for me, many thanks gautam!

[deadbeat]

i was doing the same thing and i got over the bsod too.

however after the machine boots up, it doesn't detect the keyboard and mouse. lol

not even sending the ctr-alt-del via the VM menu gets a result from the converted vm.

how'd you get over that?

[srankin]

gautam, you're a genius! I've been trying everything from trying a disk repair to considering formatting the mbr...since the original drive was Sata, I never even considered that it would be recognized as SCSI. You've got me up and running, thank you!