P2V of an existing XP machine to Hyper-V to have an emergency fallback when retiring old XP physical machines

Steps

1. Put the SATA disk of the XP machine in a different one.
2. Disk2Vhd on the new machine to create a VHDX of the XP hard disk.
3. Install Hyper-V on the target Windows 8.1 machine (you need at least Pro for that).
4. Setup the base VM directory.
5. Setup a virtual network switch (decide if you want it to be internal, external or private, then bind it to a network adapter if needed).
6. Add a new VM.
7. Assign a new directory to it.
8. Assign memory to it.
9. Assign the virtual network switch to it.
10. Save it.
11. Edit the settings, then bind the DVD drive on the IDE controller 1 to C:\Windows\System32\vmguest.iso.
12. Connect to the VM.
13. Start it.
14. If you get a stop 0x0000007B (usually because of SATA/AHCI issues), then read Jon’s Project Blog » disk2vhd using UBCD for Windows to solve the issue as there is no BIOS screen in Hyper-V that allows you to switch from AHCI to SATA and back.
15. Note: you cannot perform UBCD4Win when you access the Hyper-V host through Microsoft Remote Desktop (the mouse will not work at all, and most keyboard shortcuts will not work either; Virtual Machine Connection Key Combinations with Hyper-V – Ben Armstrong – Site Home – MSDN Blogs does not apply).
16. Boot.
17. Register Windows (you might need to do extra work to go from OEM to Retail here).
18. Remove hidden devices that are not used any more and their drivers.
19. Setup a backup schedule.

Some links that helped me get at these steps

• How to convert a Physical Machine to a Hyper-V Virtual Machine P2V | Xyfon Solutions Tech Tips.
• Disk2vhd.
• Remove hidden devices: Hyper-V P2V using Disk2vhd | The Full Circle.
• Jon’s Project Blog » disk2vhd.
• [SLV] Win2K BSOD 0X7B PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4390&SUBSYS_B0021458 Page 1 – DriverPack Mass Storage – DriverPacks.net Forum.
• UBCD for Windows / UBCD4WIN – Boot Disk ISO – You must have a valid license to use windows to access this download | SC-ISAC / Tom’s Ultimate Boot CD – Tom in Tech-Support.
• Virtual Machine Connection Key Combinations with Hyper-V – Ben Armstrong – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.
• Using the Hyper-V Integration Components in WinPE – Mike’s Blog, or how I learned to love the virtual machine… – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.
• How to configure Hyper-V VM boot order – TechRepublic.
• Don’t try Kensho, as it is virtually impossible to get a VHDX for it: Cannot download Kensho OVF Tool – Page 2 – Project Kensho – Discussions.
• How I fixed my 0x0000007B problem – Sysinternals Forums.
• P2V Migration Issues with Hyper-V: STOP: 0x0000007B – Code Break – Site Home – TechNet Blogs.
• Disk To VHD VM failed to boot error 0x000007B.
• P2V – Converting your old machines, or: how to get rid of 0x0000007B | Nuvotex Geekhouse.
• How to get boot menu on Hyper-V VMs.
• Hyper-V: P2V with Disk2VHD – TechNet Articles – United States English – TechNet Wiki.
• After installing Hyper-V Integration Services on the next reboot the VM displays BSOD 0x0000007B – Hyper-V notes from the field – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.
• Hyper-V backup software for Microsoft Hyper-V by Altaro.
• Using Disk2VHD for Hyper-V P2V Physical to Virtual Conversions.
• How to Change Windows XP Version Between Retail, OEM and Volume License Channel « My Digital Life.
• Creating a Windows XP OEM Virtual Machine | Rafik Wahba.
• How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install.
• Converting OEM to Retail (note: you need the CD in the same language as your Windows installation): Repair Windows XP by Performing a Repair Install Part 1 of 2.
• This doesn’t work to upgrade OEM to Retail on Windows XP: Update your Windows product key – Microsoft Windows.