I have used Disk2Vhd to create a vhd file from a Win11 physical machine and imported into Xen Orchestra. No success in getting it to boot. It is uefi with secure boot. Anyone had success in doing this?
I would recommend using clonezilla.
You might need to turn on the vTPM 2 function which is only working in XCP-NG 8.3 Beta2.
Not that I’m using my system to the fullest feature set, but I have not had any problems running my lab on 8.3 Beta, it seems plenty stable.
More testing now complete. Still have issues.
I am running XCP-NG 8.3 Beta2
Trying to use CloneZilla now. When I create a Win11 Template in Xen Orchestra and boot to the CloneZilla iso, the console will not display video correctly past the first CloneZilla screen. Seems to be something with the Win11 template, if I use a Debian template the video displays correctly.
Using the CloneZilla i686 iso solves the boot and video problems. Now I am back to the same problem as using Disk2Vhd, the Win11 system boots and starts repairing disk but fails.
I have a feeling that with the latest Win11 this is going to be a constant headache unless you are using Config Manager and Intune to move these around. Just a bad feeling as I start working toward rolling out win11 myself.
I think you are right, Greg. I am pleased with Xen so far. I have moved several Win2022 servers from VMware to XCP - no problem - works great. Now I am just experimenting with moving this Win11 PC. I have tried a new bcd file - no luck with that. CloneZilla and Disk2VHD seem to do the same clone but neither one will boot up and work. I will keep looking…
Been following this from the beginning, hoping someone posts some good news, as I, myself, will be planning a Win11 rollout at some point.
I found something that works - On the physical Win11 PC - in UEFI Bios - Disable secure boot - export using Disk2VHD or CloneZilla - Add VM in Xen Orchestra with Win11 Preview template with secure boot toggled off - Add disk from clone process - VM works in XEN !!
OK, it was a stored key issue for secure boot. You might be able to toggle that back on and the OS will grab the key from XCP and continue working. Maybe.
My Win11 rollout is looking a lot more like turning secure boot off and using FOG server to push out thick images. This is what the budget supports. I think PDQ SmartDeploy might be a better option. Microsoft Config Manager and Intune and Autopilot is definitely a better option if you have these tools in your current contract.
That said, there is a way to use FOG with secure boot, but the documentation is thin. Short summary is that you create a certificate, load that certificate into your UEFI keys, and then you can boot. The proper way is for them to pay a large amount of money to Microsoft and buy a proper key, then it would just work. Hard to do when you don’t really sell your product, and so many people want thin images that just post image install all the apps.
Why do I care about imaging? Because it’s very common in education to lock down a software load and push this out every semester or at least once a year. It cleans the drives to remove the old update bulk and user profiles, and gives a uniform software load to the students. As updates get applied and people mess around, things might get changed, so a new image resets everything. A lot of this is because no one in management has given the money and time to learn things like Intune and Autopilot so that it’s easier to manage.