Virtual Server 2005 R2 at Windows 7 - possible?
- I know that I don't should post this question here, but I found no other Virtual Server Forum, so I try it here.
Did someone run Virtual Server 2005 R2 successfully at Windows 7 x64? My problem is, that my computer is not found at the maintenance (main) website, so I can't configurate some options or vhd's.
Has some one a suggestion?
Thx
Answers
It is possible! I use Windows 7 x86 but I think the problem is same on Win7 x64, PCA is always blocking the vssrvc.exe (Virtual Server service).
First you should block PCA. I did that by the following way: In the Group Policy go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Application Compatibility\ and enable all of the Turn off xxx entries. I think if you enable only the "Turn off Application Compatibility Engine" it would be enough but I wanted to be sure and enabled everything, later we are going to restore the original settings. Then go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\ area and disable all of the entries so that we don't come across any DCOM or driver related error.
IIS have to be prepared as well. Requirements are same as in Vista take a look at this link http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2006/10/10/Installing-Virtual-Server-2005-R2-on-Vista-RC1-_2F00_-RC2.aspx you can find the correct settings.
Restart your computer and then you are ready to install the Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Afterwards Virtual Server (VS) should be running and you can check it by Virtual Server Administration Website.Next restore all settings what you changed in Group Policy and restart your computer. Unfortunately Application Compatibility Engine will detect Virtual server services and block that again. So you have to go to the Virtual Server directory (Usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\) and rename the vssrvc.exe to something else (example: vssrvc_newname.exe). Open the registry editor and replace all entry which contains "vssrvc.exe" to vssrvc_newname.exe (path, DCOM object details, etc)
Finally restart your computer and enjoy Virtual server 2005 at Windows 7 RC :)I hope It helps for you.
All Replies
- The virtual server newsgroup is microsoft.public.virtualserver, it's not in this area.
Likely you are missing a part of IIS.
Simplest solution is to get VMRC+ and use that instead of the web management
http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/details.aspx?FamilyID=80adc08c-bfc6-4c3a-b4f1-772f550ae791&displaylang=en
It doesn't require IIS. - Welcome to the forums, Steve!
Bill - ill save you time as i spent it myself and am still on the case...
Windows 7 RC1 Blocks Virtual Server 2005 R2 Sp1 from running and this is the expected behaviour....
i know... sorry to be bringing more bad news
Benjamin Niaulin- Unmarked As Answer byMarcoNB Tuesday, June 23, 2009 12:34 PM
- Marked As Answer byNitin.GargMSFT, ModeratorMonday, May 18, 2009 5:18 PM
- But why? Why not make Virtual Server working on Windows 7? Why VT is required to run Windows Virtual PC? It was working very well without the VT and otherwise I will have to change motherboard and CPU... For the time being both are powerfull enough for me.
- Proposed As Answer byPraveen M-MSFT Thursday, June 25, 2009 1:51 AM
It is possible! I use Windows 7 x86 but I think the problem is same on Win7 x64, PCA is always blocking the vssrvc.exe (Virtual Server service).
First you should block PCA. I did that by the following way: In the Group Policy go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Application Compatibility\ and enable all of the Turn off xxx entries. I think if you enable only the "Turn off Application Compatibility Engine" it would be enough but I wanted to be sure and enabled everything, later we are going to restore the original settings. Then go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\ area and disable all of the entries so that we don't come across any DCOM or driver related error.
IIS have to be prepared as well. Requirements are same as in Vista take a look at this link http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2006/10/10/Installing-Virtual-Server-2005-R2-on-Vista-RC1-_2F00_-RC2.aspx you can find the correct settings.
Restart your computer and then you are ready to install the Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Afterwards Virtual Server (VS) should be running and you can check it by Virtual Server Administration Website.Next restore all settings what you changed in Group Policy and restart your computer. Unfortunately Application Compatibility Engine will detect Virtual server services and block that again. So you have to go to the Virtual Server directory (Usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\) and rename the vssrvc.exe to something else (example: vssrvc_newname.exe). Open the registry editor and replace all entry which contains "vssrvc.exe" to vssrvc_newname.exe (path, DCOM object details, etc)
Finally restart your computer and enjoy Virtual server 2005 at Windows 7 RC :)I hope It helps for you.
- I forgot to indicate that obviously Windows Virtual PC and Virtual Server 2005 cannot be installed at the same time!
- The workaround definitely works, however it's totally unsupported, please keep that in mind.
- thanks robip its good to know that i can disable the PCA.
However as Flowman stated i do not have the luxurary to start unsupported scenarios at a Microsoft Certified Learning Center :S
But defnitly a step forward at least, personnally i can start practising the course labs again :)
Benjamin Niaulin - "The workaround definitely works, however it's totally unsupported, please keep that in mind."
Ok but is Windows 7 not also unsupported until now, isn't it?
"I forgot to indicate that obviously Windows Virtual PC and Virtual Server 2005 cannot be installed at the same time!"
Big thx to you. I have the Virtual PC (new beta) and Virtual Server 2005 successfully running at the same PC. It is possible! I use Windows 7 x86 but I think the problem is same on Win7 x64, PCA is always blocking the vssrvc.exe (Virtual Server service).
First you should block PCA. I did that by the following way: In the Group Policy go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Application Compatibility\ and enable all of the Turn off xxx entries. I think if you enable only the "Turn off Application Compatibility Engine" it would be enough but I wanted to be sure and enabled everything, later we are going to restore the original settings. Then go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\ area and disable all of the entries so that we don't come across any DCOM or driver related error.
IIS have to be prepared as well. Requirements are same as in Vista take a look at this link http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2006/10/10/Installing-Virtual-Server-2005-R2-on-Vista-RC1-_2F00_-RC2.aspx you can find the correct settings.
Restart your computer and then you are ready to install the Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Afterwards Virtual Server (VS) should be running and you can check it by Virtual Server Administration Website.Next restore all settings what you changed in Group Policy and restart your computer. Unfortunately Application Compatibility Engine will detect Virtual server services and block that again. So you have to go to the Virtual Server directory (Usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\) and rename the vssrvc.exe to something else (example: vssrvc_newname.exe). Open the registry editor and replace all entry which contains "vssrvc.exe" to vssrvc_newname.exe (path, DCOM object details, etc)
Finally restart your computer and enjoy Virtual server 2005 at Windows 7 RC :)I hope It helps for you.
Thank you for the wonderful post, It did work for me, but jus wanted to correct one of the entries above where its says
"Then go to the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\ area and disable all of the entries so that we don't come across any DCOM or driver related error."
This should be
"Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics\"
Everything else worked like it said.
Regards
Aftab- So the bigger question is will VS (05 or some updated version) be supported on Win7 at some point?
- Thank you AftabD, I have corrected that.
Cheers - Probably not.
Bill Probably not.
Bill
Assumming then anyone technical enough to want features of VS will use Hyper-V and anyone not technical or needing advance features will use the built in virtualization? I think that is a bad assumption on MS's part if that is the case. There are a number of reasons for wanting VS that you do not get with Hyper-V or this knockoff VS built into Win7.- That may be true, but my gut felling is that there will not be any further development of Virtual Server.
Bill I just upgraded a machine from Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate. I was running Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1, and the upgrade raised an error and would not proceed until I uninstalled Virtual Server.
I found this thread, and planned to reinstall VS after the upgrade, but the install does not work, even though I followed the instructions.
I assume there is something in the Windows 7 RTM that is different from earlier W7 versions that these instructions fail to address.I disabled all the items under Application Compatibility Engine, and I enabled all the items under Application Compatibility Diagnostics.
The install is not blocked, but it fails to complete successfully.
I'm hoping others will encounter this and post a update to the workaround.
Thanks, Bren
- Windows 7 VPC was developed using the Virtual Server 2005 R2 Service Pack 1 as the starting point. Why do you want to use it instead of Windows 7 Virtual PC?
John, thanks for your reply. I am not aware of Windows 7 VPC. I guess I was just going with what I know. For a variety of reasons, I have found Virtual Server to be preferable over VPC 2007 for my purposes. I may be mistaken, but I thought that the supported configuration to run Windows Server 2003 is with Virtual Server not VPC, although I know it will run. I tried once to move my VHD over from VS to VPC and there were some quirks. Is there a newer version of VPC on Win7? Can you direct me to a good source for moving my virtual server vhd over to either VPC 2007 or the newer version on Win7 if it exists?
Thanks, Bren- Actually Virtual Server was designed to run ON a server OS to support server vms. The version which runs on a client OS is a cut down version. It was designed to run on XP with IE6 and you need to jump through hoops to get it to run on later versions of the OS and/or later versions of IE.
The problem with VPC for Win 7 is that it requires hardware virtualization and will not run if your hardware does not support it.
Here is a link for a rundown on Windows VPC.
http://blogs.technet.com/windows_vpc/
Bill - Bill, thanks for your input as well. Since, my last post, I have progressed to confirming that my computer has hardware virtualization. I've downloaded the RC version of Windows VPC. Now, I'm researching to find good information on the ins-and-outs of using the VHD and VMC created using Virtual Server 2005 with Windows VPC. As I mentioned before, I ran into a few quirks when attempting to do this with VPC 2007. I you have a link to some good instructions on how to do this, I'd greatly appreciate it seeing it.
Here's a link to the Intel utility to run to see if your CPU supports Hardware Virtualization:
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/
Here's a link to Microsoft's instructions to configuring the BIOS to enable Hardware Virtualization:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx
I'm now looking for links on porting from VS2005 to VPC
I'm now looking for links on porting from VS2005 to VPC
Hi Bren,
How have you gone with this? I'm looking for the same thing and have had no luck so far.
I'm happy, enough, to run VPC on Win7 and just configure scripts to auto-start minimised and auto-stop the VM with the host, but I haven't managed to read anything about whether my VM currently running win VS2005R2 will be able to migrate into VPC... I have no intention of rebuilding the guest, isn't the whole point of virtualisation to mean you don't need to rebuild the guest all the time?
Cheers,
James- James,
I never found a good link with pointer on what to look out for, so I just muddeled my way through to getting it to work.
I was able to create a new Virtual Machine using VPC on my Win7 host, and use the VHD from my virtual server created in Virtual Server 2005.
There are differences between the environments, but every problem I found, I was able to work around it.
If you run into your own problems and have a specific question you need help with, don't hesitate.
Thanks, Bren - Your Virtual Server 2005 vhds will run just fine on Windows 7 Virtual PC. The Virtual Machine Additions in Windows 7 VPC are newer than those in Virtual Server, so you'll want to update the additions. There's no need to recreate your vhds.
Your Virtual Server 2005 vhds will run just fine on Windows 7 Virtual PC. The Virtual Machine Additions in Windows 7 VPC are newer than those in Virtual Server, so you'll want to update the additions. There's no need to recreate your vhds.
ok so they will run but what do you lose going to Win7 VPC over VS2005? I personally run several OS's which are all set to startup automatically, use specific CPU amd memory resource levels and all the other tricks in VS which is why I ran VS over VPC in the first place. I have refused to upgrade my Win box because I've still not seen a side by side of VS and Win7VPC and don't have multiple machines to test with to see. I could load up a new HD with the RC I guess and then go back to my current build once I found out the answers.- That sounds the best plan. Nobody else can say how your vms will run on your hardware.
Bill Your Virtual Server 2005 vhds will run just fine on Windows 7 Virtual PC. The Virtual Machine Additions in Windows 7 VPC are newer than those in Virtual Server, so you'll want to update the additions. There's no need to recreate your vhds.
ok so they will run but what do you lose going to Win7 VPC over VS2005? I personally run several OS's which are all set to startup automatically, use specific CPU amd memory resource levels and all the other tricks in VS which is why I ran VS over VPC in the first place. I have refused to upgrade my Win box because I've still not seen a side by side of VS and Win7VPC and don't have multiple machines to test with to see. I could load up a new HD with the RC I guess and then go back to my current build once I found out the answers.
Hi MS_Small_Biz,
Having just migrated my vista machine to Win7 I can confirm that there are several things that VPC doesn't do... the most obvious is auto-start/stop VM's but you can work around this with VPC using scripting and setting the VM to auto-save when closed.
What you can't work around unfortunately is my guest runs linux and had a permanent MAC address because if the MAC changes then linux assumes it's a new NIC and you lose your network settings... For VPC I can't see any way to set a permanent MAC so I fear that it's going to cause me problems. I am hoping that the settings still remain in the vmx file and that VPC honours them but doesn't allow me to edit them but I have yet to confirm this... it'll be a deal breaker for me if it can't be set because VS used to change the MAC address every time you rebooted the host, resulting in broken networking on the guest.
For what it's worth, the old VS2005 linux additions seem to work fine within VPC on Win7 (obviously the Win7 ones don't support linux so I didn't bother attempting an upgrade).
Hope that helps,
James- How unlucky I AM. I can not install Virtual PC 2007 as my machine does not support Virtualization and I can not Run Virtual Server 2005 R2 as I have Windows 7 RTM and as posted by someone here even following the propossed solution it doesn't install fully.
What a bummer.
What solutions are left ??
Anyone has installed VIRTUALBOX or VMWARE_VIRTUALMACHINE under Windows 7 with any success ??
Please post your findings here. - VPC2007 does work with Windows 7 and does not require hardware virtualization. Only Windows Virtual PC requires HW-V.
Both VirtualBox and VMWare WKS work with Win7. VPC2007 does work with Windows 7 and does not require hardware virtualization. Only Windows Virtual PC requires HW-V.
I have to contradict you, ... when I try to run 'Virtual windowsXP Mode" (it's a .vxd file) which requieres Virtual PC 2007, it refuses to run saying my machine CPU does not support Virtualization, indeed I went to microsoft virtual pc website and there are two utilities for intel and AMD and once run it confirmed my machine cpu does not support hadrware-assisted virtualization. On the other coin Virtual Server 2005 R2 when try to install on Windows 7 RTM it is BLOCKED and does not install. Even if you follow those procedures on Group Policy Object MMC it is still a hussle and not garanteed any success.
Both VirtualBox and VMWare WKS work with Win7.- You're confusing technologies here.
XP Mode requires Windows Virtual PC (WinVPC), not Virtual PC 2007.
There is a big difference between WinVPC for Windows 7 and Virtual PC 2007.
Windows Virtual PC requires Windows 7, Virtual PC 2007 does not. You're confusing technologies here.
XP Mode requires Windows Virtual PC (WinVPC), not Virtual PC 2007.
There is a big difference between WinVPC for Windows 7 and Virtual PC 2007.
Windows Virtual PC requires Windows 7, Virtual PC 2007 does not.
it may have been an error in my part by writing '2007' at the end of the phrase 'virtual pc'
Anyhow, the root of the problem keeps unchanged, as windows virtual pc for windows 7 requieres hardware-assisted virtualization
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspxAnyhow, the root of the problem keeps unchanged, as windows virtual pc for windows 7 requieres hardware-assisted virtualization
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx
Yes, that's known and I did not dispute it.
What solutions are left ??
you asked for alternatives, which I provided:
Virtual PC 2007, VirtualBox, VMWare Workstation.Anyhow, the root of the problem keeps unchanged, as windows virtual pc for windows 7 requieres hardware-assisted virtualization
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx
Yes, that's known and I did not dispute it.
What solutions are left ??
you asked for alternatives, which I provided:
Virtual PC 2007, VirtualBox, VMWare Workstation.
I decided on VMware Workstation, seems like the best option. here is a snapshot (the outter window)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/563/win7winxpvmware.jpg- I just upgraded from Vista to 7, and the only issue i encountered was with Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1; i needed it in ordre to use the Microsoft Launcher that commes now with MOC courses.
The procedure worked for me. Thanks ! This worked for me. Thanks.
- thanks this worked for me.
Still kinda dumb that they hard blocked this in 7 AND Server 2008 R2, you are alienating a customer base and forcing them to go use a competitor when your product works fine. Heck Windows Virtual PC is even based off of Virtual Server 2005 R2 anyway, they just made it so you had to have VT or AMD-V. - I was never able to get Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 to install on my Windows 7 Ultimate machine. So, I installed Windows Virtual PC, and got the VHD I was running under Virtual Server to run under WVPC, however I'm having a problem with it, and I'm not sure what to do.
I have a couple of development machines. I have Win7 and WVPC installed on one, and I access the WVPC from another over the LAN in a Remote Desktop session. The problem I'm experiencing is graphics performance. For example, when I have Visual Studio open or SQL Management Studio, editing text is impossible. There is a delay of a second or two in everything I do in the editor from clicking on a different line to move the cursor, or double clicking on a word to select it, to clicking on a menu item to open it.
I believe this should work fine, because I have a similar configuration except it's over the Internet with VPN into an office LAN. I work in Florida and connect to an office in San Francisco. I have a Windows Server 2003 machine that has Virtual Server 2005 running a Windows Server 2003 guest virtual server. I access that virtual server using RDP, and it works faster over the Internet than my Win7/WVPC works over my LAN.
I hope there's something simple that I'm overlooking that will make accessing my Win7/WVPC using RDP work properly.
Thanks, Bren
W7VPC DEAL BREAKER FOR ME
To solve my RDP graphics performance problem, I tried reinstalling the integration features on the vhd I moved from VS2005 to WVPC7. I also tried building a new machine with W7VPC.
Neither worked.
I need to be able to access the Virtual Machine over my LAN using Remote Desktop RDP. That's the way I've been working with my virtual servers since 2005.
The graphics performance is just not adequate for me to work with it; as described above, one second delays for the cursor to move when clicking on text.
I encountered another incompatability with a different software/hardware package I wanted to run on my Windows 7 machine, so I decided to roll this machine back to Vista.
I reinstalled Virtual Server 2005 R2 Sp1, and using RDP to access the VS over my LAN works just fine.
WTF?
What a collosal waste of time!- Edited byBrenB Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:58 PMnew information
- I prefer extracting the msi from the Virtual Server exe and then editing the msi with Orca. Remove the launch conditions, custom install skipping the web stuff, install VMRCplus to administer.
- John, I attempted to install VS2005R2 68 bit on my W7 machine following your instructions. When I opened the msi in Orca, it did not have "launch conditions" node. I got the msi by running the setup.exe and looking in the temp directory c:\users\me\appdata\local\temp. Maybe I have a different version of the setup.exe which contains a different version of the msi, Virtual Server 2005 Install.msi. The setup.exe is from an ISO available to MSDN Subscribers:
en_virtual_server_2005_R2_enterprise_x64.iso
When I open the msi, I don't get a blocking install message. Instead I get this non-descript message.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Setup Wizard could not complete installation.
Microsoft Virtyal Server 2005 R2 setup was interrupted. Your system has not been modified. To install this program at a later time, please run the installation again.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'm experiencing something different, and I haven't found any suggestions of how to address this specific problem installing Virtual Server 2005 R2 68 on Windows 7.
Thanks, Bren - Cluster blank?
I use VS2005 R2 on Vista Ultimate x64 to test Win2008/SQL2008 (x32) cluster configurations. For this I must establish multiple virtual networks. Does WVPC support this? If WVPC does not support multiple virtual networks, will VMware support this? - Totally works with Windows 7 Enterprise x64 (RTM). Finally you can use Windows 7 for MOC-courses and keep the dreaded oxford launcher in it, that uses VS2005. Yippie!!!
Thanks for a great post! Totally works with Windows 7 Enterprise x64 (RTM). Finally you can use Windows 7 for MOC-courses and keep the dreaded oxford launcher in it, that uses VS2005. Yippie!!!
Thanks for a great post!
The MCT download center has complete instructions I wrote for getting MOC and the Lab Launcher to work on Windows 7. They've been posted there since June 2009.Totally works with Windows 7 Enterprise x64 (RTM). Finally you can use Windows 7 for MOC-courses and keep the dreaded oxford launcher in it, that uses VS2005. Yippie!!!
Thanks for a great post!
The MCT download center has complete instructions I wrote for getting MOC and the Lab Launcher to work on Windows 7. They've been posted there since June 2009.
Sounds interesting, tried to find it at Microsoft Learning Download Center site, but don't know where to go. What category is it supposed to be found in (I tried "Technical Preparation", but it's not in there). Also not available in the course specific folders. I am logged on as MCT.
