TL;DR; Step-by-step guide to create a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) from a Windows Server 2008 R2 image using Windows AIK and WIM2VHD, including common pitfalls and tips.
Previously I created this the manual way , but if you have a fast internet connection and can take the 1.6gb download of the AIK, then this is a much easier way of getting started.
This is not really the same as the SSW image that I created before, the SSW image was a lovely slipstreamed beauty with all the application I would ever need already preinstalled.. It was 32GB and took a very long time to setup. This will be sum what faster as it only require a base Windows Server 2008 Setup…
You now have a lovely Out Of Box Windows 2008 R2 VHD. I would keep a copy of this in a nice safe place so you don’t need that coffee break every time.
Whoa there… not so fast..
Did you spot my mistake?
Could it be to do with the little “SERVERSTANDARDCORE” tag?
Could it be the “CORE” bit?
I think so.. I was just wondering why my resultant VHD was only 2.5gb in size!
Doh!
Lets try that properly:
NaN.
Run the script to create your VHD using a command line running as an administrator
CSCRIPT WIM2VHD.WSF /WIM:I:sourcesinstall.wim /SKU:SERVERSTANDARD /VHD:D:WimBuildWinSvr2008R2OOB.vhd
Make a copy of this file, and attach it to your boot list, and boot…
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