I've got a VirtualBox Windows 7 virtual disk image (.vdi) disk. This .vdi boots Linux 64 bit on my 32 bit ubuntu on a 64-bit machine with virtualization enabled.
I have installed a lot of programs in this guest Windows 7 system. If the system crashes and cannot be restored, I don't want to have to waste all these hours all over again to reinstall everything. So, my question is:
I shut down my Windows 7 and copy the entire .vdi image to an external hard drive, or external usb mass storage device, and install Linux on another machine, and install the same version of VirtualBox on that machine, and copy the .vdi image to that machine, then can I boot it on that machine? Do I need to back up anything else other than the .vdi image to do a proper backup so I can boot the machine in the same state again?
Suppose I create 3+ install DVDs for the .vdi. These would require less space, but require more time to write the CDs and then boot the windows 7 image inside VirtualBox. Would this also work?
If I do the CDs from part 2, and then use them to install a version of Windows on a completely blank physical hard drive then would I have any problems? (presumably when the installation is complete I would have to install all the machine specific drivers).
If I go ahead with 3, then can I also install Windows on half a parition/disk, or does Windows always delete everything when you install it, including the Linux OS installed on the other half of the partition?
If the answer to 4 is no, than is there a way, ANY way, to get Windows to play nice?