Virtualize Windows 7 on Linux

I am trying to run Linux (Mint, specifically) and use either VMware Player or VirtualBox to run a virtual instance of Windows 7. I'm trying to avoid dual-booting so that I don't have to deal with the mess of resizing the partitions on my HDD. My problem is this. Anyone who has purchased an HP laptop lately knows that they don't come with a Windows OS installation disk. What it -does- come with is a Recovery Partition on the HDD that can be used to reinstall Windows if needed. There is also the Recovery Manager that allows you to make a set of Recovery Disks that do the same thing in case the Recovery Partition gets erased, corrupted or inaccessible (like mine was).

I'm assuming that since the Recovery Partition and the alternative Recovery Disks (5 DVDs total) are over 18 GB in size, that they contain more than just the bare-bones Windows 7 OS, maybe a bunch of HP-specific add-ons.

When virtualizing an OS you need either an image file or the installation disk(s) that you would use in a standard installation of that OS so that you can reserve the virtual HDD space and "install" the OS as if it were being done on a physical machine.

How do I make an image file suitable for use with either VMware Player or VirtualBox. I assume it's an ISO file. If this is the case, can i make one big ISO of the Recovery Disks that i created by making ISOs of those 5 DVDs, converting those ISOs into regular files, then converting all 5 DVDs worth of files into a single ISO?

Is there a way to make one version that has the HP extras and one that doesn't?

Is there a simpler way to do this, and am I on the right track?

 

No. I'm not saying there is no way at all to get Win 7 onto a VM from the material you have but even if you should succeed I believe you will immediately or shortly after run into an activation/validation issue as that copy of Win 7 is restricted to use on the HP machine with which it was supplied.

 

Yeap HP laptops come with that stuff and they dont give any genuine operating system Disk. But it doesn't really matter, because the important thing is the operating system's license key.

You should download a clean Windows 7 dvd.iso from internet could be torrent. But has to be the same version of the win 7 that came with the laptop, however you can use that license key for either 32bit or 64bit version of it. Use that iso image to create a virtual win7 OS in virtualbox.

 

If you can't get an install disk, you could clean up thteinstall you have & do a P2V (physical 2 virtual) image.
http://www.sysprobs.com/physical-virtual-virtualbox-virtualbox-p2v

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/go-virtual/

 

Would it not have been easier to run a virtual instance of Mint on Windows 7?

 

Thanks but I already have a persistent Linux Mint on my flash drive.

Probably, but Linux uses hardware more efficiently and I would rather use that as the host.
And since when is easiest always best?

Thanks you for the links foogoo, I'll check those out right now.