[TriLUG] Questions about using Linux virtualization

[Paul Boyle]

Hi,

I've gotten interested in exploring how linux virtualization (using
KVM) might be useful for me. I've done a little reading and seems that
the examples I've come across so far involve setting up the VM then
doing an install on the virgin VM from a dvd or cd-rom.  My questions
revolve around how can one move an existing system (on its own
hardware to a VM on the same or different machine.  Here are two
things I'd like to be able to do:

1) I recently bought a new laptop, I was under pressure to get
something finished so I took the Windows installed hard drive out and
put the (Linux) hard drive from my old laptop in the new computer and
finished the project.  Now I would like to use that new hard drive
which has Windows preinstalled, and dedicating 750GB to a Microsoft OS
seems like a tragic and terrible waste.  I would like to migrate the
installed Windows system to a VM then reformat the hard drive so I can
use it for what I want.  How can one do this?  Could the venerable dd
utility be of some use here?

2) I have a legacy Linux box which I don't want to change, but I can
tell the underlying hardware is getting a little flaky.  I would like
to migrate this legacy system to a VM which resides on  a different
and new computer which has a more recent (probably opensuse 12.1)
Linux distribution installed on it.  How to do this?

Thanks,

Paul

-- 
Paul D. Boyle
Director, X-ray Structural Facility
Department of Chemistry - Box 8204
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8204