Converting to Workstation while running Hyper-V VMs

[JGWingfield]

I have a box with a Windows 2008 R2 server OS acting as the Hyper-V host to three Windows 7 VMs on a corporate network environment. The VMs are being used for production work by a mix of onshore and offshore workers logging in through a VPN making it difficult to schedule a simultaneous shutdown of all three VMs. The only enabled server role on the host server OS is Hyper-V. I would like to convert the host server OS to a workstation so that it can be an additional production machine if needed.

Q: Can I safely run the Windows 2008 Server R2 workstation conversion without disrupting the three currently running Windows 7 VMs, or do I need to shut down the VMs prior to running the conversion?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Intel Q9550 CPU, 8GB RAM, unknown video card, Windows 2008 Server R2, Hyper-V role enabled, 3 VMs running Windows 7 Enterprise.

[halladayrules]

@JGWingfield wrote:

I have a box with a Windows 2008 R2 server OS acting as the Hyper-V host to three Windows 7 VMs on a corporate network environment. The VMs are being used for production work by a mix of onshore and offshore workers logging in through a VPN making it difficult to schedule a simultaneous shutdown of all three VMs. The only enabled server role on the host server OS is Hyper-V. I would like to convert the host server OS to a workstation so that it can be an additional production machine if needed.

Q: Can I safely run the Windows 2008 Server R2 workstation conversion without disrupting the three currently running Windows 7 VMs, or do I need to shut down the VMs prior to running the conversion?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Intel Q9550 CPU, 8GB RAM, unknown video card, Windows 2008 Server R2, Hyper-V role enabled, 3 VMs running Windows 7 Enterprise.

I complied a list for you, whether or not each feature from the workstation conversion requires a restart or not.

Requires a restart?

(From http://www.win2008r2workstation.com website)

Change owner information – No
Enable Wireless networking – No
Disable password restrictions – No
Disable CTRL+ALT+DELETE – No
Shutdown Event Tracker – No
Disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security – No
Enable Sound – No
Sidebar – No
Aero Cursors – No
Windows 7 Boot Screen – No
Windows 7 Logon Screen – No
Games Explorer and gameux – No
xinput – no
MS DirectMusic – No
Game Controllers – No
Enable Remote Desktop with Aero – No
Bluetooth – No
System Restore – No (provided you have Windows Server Backup role installed already)
Sticky Notes – No

Enable Themes (Desktop Experience) – Yes
Enable performance for Applications – Yes
Update device drivers – Yes
Change Computer Name – Yes
eHome IR Transceiver – Yes

(From W7 Packs for R2 v0.4.1)

Aero Mouse Pointers – No
Windows 7 Boot Screen – No (but obviously won’t see it until you reboot)
Display Color Calibration – No
MS DirectMusic Core Services – No
Game Controllers Control Panel Applet – No
Games Explorer – No
Windows 7 Games – No
XNA Common Controller – No
Sticky Notes – No
Windows 7 Sidebar – No
System Restore – No
Bluetooth Stack – No

The Desktop Experience feature includes the following:

Windows Calendar
Windows Mail
Windows Media Player
Windows Aero and other desktop themes
Video for Windows (AVI support)
Windows Photo Gallery
Windows SideShow
Windows Defender
Disk Cleanup
Sync Center
Sound Recorder
Character Map

If you require any of the above programs from Desktop Experience itwill require a restart. However if you enable performance graphics (other then default VGA driver) expect a performance loss as a result of the hypervisor. It’s a design flaw in Hyper-V and theres no cure available yet. The only thing you can do is disable Windows Aero or revert back to your default VGA driver. If you don’t plan to use any applications which stress your graphics, leave the default VGA driver installed. The performance loss you take as a result of Hyper-V comes at a cost, but on the other hand it is much more secure than traditional hypervisors. Common virtualization software like VMWare have their hypervisor runs on the OS with OS-specific drivers. Since they run on same layer it allows you directly access the hardware (which can be exploited). Hyper-V uses a virtual bus which sits on the top of the hypervisor which makes requests on behalf of the actual device drivers. By doing this it prevents infections in your child partitions VMs from poking a hole in your root (host) machine.

[JGWingfield]

Thank you very much! From the list you provided it appears I can do what is needed to create a ‘fallback’ work machine if the VM’s are all in use.

I’m new to box administration. Your site & the conversion product came recommended in a book about SharePoint 2010 development. I used the conversion tool on a VM to create a programming environment and it made the process very easy.

[Author]

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