To create a virtual machine

  1. Start VirtualBoot using the.

    2. Executable:

    In Windows, select Start > All Programs > StorageCraft > ShadowProtect > VirtualBoot.exe.

    Command Line:

    From a Windows command prompt, move to the Program Files (x86)\StorageCraft directory. Type VirtualBoot <backup image file>, where <backup image file> is the name, including full path, of the ShadowProtect backup image file that you want to use to create a VM. For example:

    VirtualBoot e:\backups\C_VOL-b005.spi

    Right-Click Menu:

    In Windows Explorer, right-click the ShadowProtect backup image file that you want to use to create a VM, then select VirtualBoot.

  2. Click Next on the VirtualBoot Wizard welcome page.
  3. In the Backup Image List page, provide the required information, then click Next.
  4. If you start VirtualBoot using the command line or right-click menu option, VirtualBoot populates the Backup Image list with all files that are part of the backup chain for the specified backup image file.

    5. Add Image File

    Adds a backup image file to the VM. Use this if you have a separate data volume you want to include in the VM.

    Note: VirtualBoot attempts to automatically include all volumes that are part of the boot volume's image set in this list. When this does not occur, use this option at add in these other volumes.

    If the selected backup image file is encrypted, you must provide a valid password to access it.

    Caution! Use care when selecting image files from multiple backup jobs. If the VM executes incremental backups, those created for volumes that are not in the boot volume's image set likely won't be useful or reliable.

    Remove Image File

    Removes a backup image file from the VM.

    Specify Boot Volume

    Designates the boot volume in the VM. Typically, VirtualBoot detects this automatically, but if you include multiple bootable volumes in the VM, you can specify which volume serves as the boot volume. To do so, select the volume you want from the list and click Specify Boot Volume.

    Note: If you specified a backup image file when starting VirtualBoot, this page lists the related backup image file information.

  5. In the Options page, provide the required information, then click Next.

    6. Specify the operating system for the new virtual machine

    From the dropdown menu, select the Windows OS installed on the boot volume of the backup image file.

    Automatically create the new virtual machine

    Instructs VirtualBoot to automatically create the VM as part of the configuration process. If you do not select this option, you must manually configure the VM in VirtualBox.

    In either case, VirtualBoot creates the XSP files that VirtualBox uses to define the virtual disk drives in the VM.

    Note: VirtualBoot ALWAYS places the boot volume in the Disk_0 XSP file.

    For more information, see Mounting a VM Manually.

    Automatically start the new virtual machine

    Select this option to launch VirtualBox automatically after the VM is complete and load it for use.

    Specify the name of the new virtual machine

    Specify a name for the VM. By default, VirtualBoot creates a name based on the machine name.

    Specify the amount of memory to allocate to the new virtual machine

    Specify the amount of memory, in MB, that VirtualBox should allocate for use by the VM when it loads.

    Specify the VM network adapter type

    Select whether to include a network adapter in the VM. Supported options include:

    NAT PRO/1000 MT Desktop: Adds a generic network adapter to the VM that uses Network Address Translation (NAT).

    No Network Adapter: Excludes a network adapter from the VM.

    Note: Confirm the network configuration provides access after the VirtualBoot. If the VirtualBoot VM is a failover, ensure access to the backup destination(s) for any existing backup jobs.

  6. (Optional) On the Options page, click Advanced to open the Advanced Options dialog box.
  7. The Advanced Options dialog box provides the following options:

    8. Import only one volume per hard

    disk drive within the virtual machine

    Instructs VirtualBoot to include only one volume per VirtualBox XSP file. By default, VirtualBoot assigns four volumes per XSP file.

    Note: VirtualBoot ALWAYS places the boot volume in the Disk_0 XSP file.

    Deactivate Windows within the virtual machine

    Deactivates Windows on the VM's system volume. Because Microsoft licensing limits the number of reactivations, this option lets you use the activation grace period to accomplish your purposes with the VM.

    Note: If the host hardware where you start the VM is sufficiently different, Windows might deactivate automatically.

    Store write buffers in a different directory than the image files

    Lets you specify a location to store the write buffers used when creating the VM. By default, VirtualBoot stores write buffers in the same location as the backup image files used to create the VM.

    Override personality used to configure the virtual machine OS volume

    For use by technical support only.
  8. On the Wizard Summary page, click Finish.
  9. VirtualBoot generates the files necessary to support the new VM and, if specified in the VM configuration, creates the VM and launches it for use.
  10. Note: For information see Mounting a VM Manually.
  11. You may need to do further configuration on the VM if, for example, you want to use the VM as a temporary replacement for a server. If so, continue with Configuring a VM and refer to the VirtualBox documentation for details.