Solved viBoot VMs and licensing issues

I am playing with viBoot VMs that I created from Macrium Reflect full disk images and I wrote the following in a parallel thread.

For the paid for software, I got in the viBoot VM a trial license that expires in zero days, LOL, as long as I don't use that too often too long, I am OK, I guess.

Click to expand...

Well, I have been playing more and more with the viBoot VMs recently and have become a bit uneasy about the licensing issue, for apps and OS.

Also, is the licensing issue worse if I run the viBoot VMs on a different machine than the source machine? (I have not done that yet)

Any opinions?

Yeah, I think the intention of viBoot is to just more or less verify that a backup worked, or maybe to see quickly how something was setup at a particular moment in time. I don't think the expectation would be that somebody would run that VM for very long at all. And in the event that you were running it for a period of time at home, I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't really be in any type of violation of a license agreement. I mean technically you probably are, but I don't think any software entity is going to go after you for it.

Viboot vms are all created from scratch and as such, they are always unactivated installations.

Viboot vhds are actually based on differencing vhds.

You can create a standalone vhdx file from the differencing vhd files, and legitimately attach the standalone vhd to any activated vm.

I know that there are alternative ways, but can the experts please comment on the block diagram? Thanks!

Viboot is just not the right approach here. It uses differencing disks which cannot be moved to another pc. Also, you should not activate the viboot vm, but final installation.

It would be much simpler to simply restore w10 reflect pc to new pc, and then upgrade to W11 and activate it.

The tricky part is ensuring you have all the drivers for new pc, particularly if changing from sata to nvme drives.

I can't find 'VM > Hardware' in the MR User Guide, so I modified the block diagram to create a future W11 Pro test machine in Hyper-V.

I said 'future' because I would have to deactivate the W10 Pro product key on my current (physical) test machine, I am not ready to do that yet (my current test machine does not satisfy W11 system requirements)

In any case, the block diagram is strictly legal, I would not have to rely on 'fair use' or similar

Haydon said:

I can't find 'VM > Hardware' in the MR User Guide, so I modified the block diagram to create a future W11 Pro test machine in Hyper-V.

I said 'future' because I would have to deactivate the W10 Pro product key on my current (physical) test machine, I am not ready to do that yet (my current test machine does not satisfy W11 system requirements)

In any case, the block diagram is strictly legal, I would not have to rely on 'fair use' or similar

View attachment 29493

Click to expand...

I would definitely not use a viboot vm is it is really a temporary creation .

If you delete it, you lose the vm and its activation.

The problem with viboot is lack of flexibility as it uses differencing drives - you cannot change the vhdx, relocate easily etc.

This is the way I do it.

1) create reflect image as you have done.

2) create blank vhdx on new pc large enough to hold source machine contents

3) copy reflect image to new pc (reflect must be installed on target pc host OS)

4) attach blank vhdx file as a drive

5) restore reflect image to blank vhdx file

6) Create new vm, and attach the vhdx file.

7) set vm to boot from it - activate.

You now have an activated VM which you can change out the vhdx file, multiboot etc. So log as you do not delete the VM (backup the files in hyper-v virtual machine folder), it will always remain activated.


If you do not wish to do it as I do it, then I would modify your method like this (jumping steps 2 to 4):

After creating viboot vm, use "edit disk" option in Hyper-V



Select your viboot vhd and select option to merge differencing file to a new (standalone) vhdx file (which is same as following my procedure up to step 5).

The vhdx file can now be added to new vm and activated.

cereberus said:

This is the way I do it.

1) create reflect image as you have done.

2) create blank vhdx on new pc large enough to hold source machine contents

3) copy reflect image to new pc (reflect must be installed on target pc host OS)

4) attach blank vhdx file as a drive

5) restore reflect image to blank vhdx file

6) Create new vm, and attach the vhdx file.

7) set vm to boot from it - activate.

Click to expand...

The way I have done it in the past is a variation on that theme. I use the Macrium Rescue Media Creator to make an ISO file. Then I boot a new VM from that ISO and use it to restore a Macrium image to the VM's blank .vhdx.

Bree said:

The way I have done it in the past is a variation on that theme. I use the Macrium Rescue Media Creator to make an ISO file. Then I boot a new VM from that ISO and use it to restore a Macrium image to the VM's blank .vhdx.

Click to expand...

Sure, but how do you access host drive containing image as enhanced mode will not work in winpe mode?

I know you can take a drive offline from host OS and do it that way, but I always found that cumbersome.

A way I have done it is to put image in a vm first and also attach that.

cereberus said:

Sure, but how do you access host drive containing image as enhanced mode will not work in winpe mode?

Click to expand...

I usually create a vhd, mount it and copy the image to it. Then attach it as a 2nd drive for the VM.

Bree said:

I usually create a vhd, mount it and copy the image to it. Then attach it as a 2nd drive for the VM.

Click to expand...

Ah same as I said "A way I have done it is to put image in a vhd first and also attach that.". (I did say vm but meant vhd in my earlier post - post edited).

The only real difference between my way and your way, is you attach a blank image in hyper-v and restore image inside vm, whereas I restore image on to blank vhd in host OS and then attach restored vhd to hyper-v.

Either way is fine, but I think it is rather quicker my way but equally, you can do it in background your way - 6 of 1, half dozen of other......


edit: the above techniques can be modified to other vm packages e.g. vmware provided they can use vhdx files. Not sure how easy if not using vhdx files.

I have the info I need, I will mark the thread 'Solved', thanks to all who responded