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I will soon be receiving a "new" (refurbished) notebook. It comes with Windows 10 Pro. I plan to run Ubuntu, but instead of throwing Windows away, I wonder if I might be able to install it as a guest system in VirtualBox. The problem, as I see it, is obtaining an .iso for the Windows installation.

How can I copy the Windows installation/recovery file/partition (whatever the heck it is!) that comes with the new computer, so I can install it as a guest?

Larry Bristol
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  • You can Contact Microsoft Support Team and they will help you with this. – EODCraft Staff Nov 06 '19 at 16:19
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    Or you can 'virtualize' the Physical Windows with the free tool VMWare Converter. It will create a virtualdisk that have to be converted by vboxmanage tool to be used with a VirtualBox VM. – cmak.fr Nov 06 '19 at 20:24
  • So your solution is to install the Windows system that comes with the computer, then install Ubuntu as a dual boot configuration, use this VMWare converter tool to convert the physical Windows system into a virtual. I'll do some research on VMWare Converter. Thanks for your response! – Larry Bristol Nov 07 '19 at 13:30

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Since you don't need and can't use vendor drivers/softwares under VM, the easier way round is that:

  1. Grab a Windows ISO from Microsoft, freely. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO
  2. Acquire the Windows Pro OEM license key from you computer BIOS. For example, run sudo strings /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM | tail -1 under Ubuntu command line.
  3. Install Windows, using the Microsft ISO, under VM using this OEM key.
  4. As far as I know, this will not violate any Microsoft License since you're only running one copy on the same computer.

For me it's a lot faster than converting images.

Alvin Liang
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  • I've thought about getting the ISO from MS, but it did not dawn on me I could use the OEM license like that. My only problem with this solution is that it is a big download, and will likely cause me to exceed the data limit from my ISP. OTOH, perhaps I can find a friend with unlimited access that will let me d/l using his ISP. Thanks for you answer! – Larry Bristol Nov 07 '19 at 13:35
  • According to OEM Windows 8.1 Pro EULA: *This license allows you to install only one copy of the software for use on one computer, whether that computer is physical or virtual. If you want to use the software on more than one virtual computer, you must obtain separate copies of the software and a separate license for each copy.* From this reference I gather that whoever downvoted this answer has an issue with something else other than the accuracy of this answer. the only way I can think of to improve this answer would be to provide a link to the Windows 10 OEM EULA & excerpt from it. – karel Nov 08 '19 at 06:35
  • @karel I'm not complaing because I actually didn't solve the OP's problem. But I do feel that people downvote more than last time I was around lol. Many questions are downvoted not because they have problems, more likely that someone just does not like it. – Alvin Liang Nov 08 '19 at 07:41
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    One big problem with questions is unclear. Users who provide 10% of the required information feel that they are entitled to receive a 100% answer. Add to that deliberate attempts by the asker to obfuscate the question and the probability of getting a correct answer to the obfuscated question goes down to negligible. – karel Nov 08 '19 at 07:44