Granted Patent B2

US 7,536,541 · App. 11/370,515 · Granted May 19, 2009

Abstract

Claims (71)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a computer;

a hard disk on the computer;

a display on the computer;

a boot manager on the computer, the boot manager configured to display a boot menu on the display upon startup of the computer;

a first boot image managed by the boot manager, the first boot image including a first operating system (OS) to run on the computer from a first partition on the hard disk;

a new hosting OS configured to launch and manage a plurality of virtual machine (VM) instances;

a converter to convert the first boot image to a first VM instance to run under the new hosting OS;

a second boot image managed by the boot manager, the second boot image including a second OS to run on the computer from a second partition on the hard disk, wherein the converter converts the second boot image to a second VM instance to run under the new hosting OS;

a conflict detector to detect a conflict between the first VM instance and the second VM instance; and a conflict resolver to resolve the detected conflict;

wherein the conflict resolver includes:

a conflict notifier to notify a user of the detected conflict; and

a resolution selector to enable the user to select a preferred resolution.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conflict detector includes a public key interface (PKI) conflict detector to detect a PKI conflict.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conflict detector includes an internet protocol (IP) address conflict detect to detect an IP address conflict.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the conflict resolver includes running the first VM instance and not the second VM instance.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the converter includes:

a configuration detector to detect a first configuration for the first boot image; and

a configuration creator to create a second configuration for the first VM corresponding to the first configuration.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a configuration customizer to enable a user to customize the second configuration for the first VM.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the new hosting OS runs the first VM instance and the second VM instance in parallel.

8. A method for converting a multi-boot system on a computer into a virtual machine (VM) capable of running more than one operating system (OS) at the same time, the method comprising:

identifying a first boot image on a first partition of a hard disk on the computer;

converting the first boot image to a first VM instance;

identifying a second boot image on a second partition on the computer;

converting the second boot image to a second VM instance;

installing a new hosting OS capable of running the first VM instance and the second VM instance;

checking for a conflict between the first VM instance and the second VM instance; and

resolving the conflict;

wherein resolving the conflict includes:

notifying a user of the conflict; and

receiving from the user a preferred resolution.

9. A method according to claim 8 , wherein checking for a conflict includes checking for a public key infrastructure (PKI) conflict.

10. A method according to claim 8 , wherein checking for a conflict includes checking for an internet protocol (IP) address conflict.

11. A method according to claim 8 , wherein resolving the conflict includes automatically resolving the conflict.

12. A method according to claim 8 , wherein resolving the conflict includes running only one of the first VM instance and the second VM instance.

13. A method according to claim 8 , further comprising:

detecting a configuration of the first boot image; and

configuring the first VM instance.

14. A method according to claim 8 , further comprising repartitioning the hard disk.

15. An article, comprising:

a storage medium, said storage medium having stored thereon instructions, that, when executed by a machine, result in:

identifying a boot manager capable of loading more than one operating system (OS);

identifying a first boot image on a first partition of a hard disk;

converting the first boot image into a first virtual machine (VM) instance;

identifying a second boot image on a second partition;

converting the second boot image to a second VM instance; and

installing a new hosting OS, the new hosting OS to run the first VM instance and the second VM instance;

checking for a conflict between the first VM instance and the second VM instance; and

resolving the conflict;

wherein resolving the conflict includes:

notifying a user of the conflict; and

receiving from the user a preferred resolution.

16. An article according to claim 15 , wherein checking for a conflict includes identifying a conflict that will prevent the first VM instance and the second VM instance from running at the same time.

17. An article according to claim 15 , wherein resolving the conflict includes automatically resolving the conflict.

18. An article according to claim 15 , wherein the new hosting OS runs the first VM instance and the second VM instance in parallel.

19. An article according to claim 15 , further comprising:

detecting a configuration of the first boot image; and

configuring the first VM instance.

20. An article according to claim 15 , further comprising repartitioning the hard disk.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

a computer;

a boot manager on the computer;

a first boot image managed by the boot manager, the first boot image including a first operating system (OS) to run on the computer;

a new hosting OS;

a converter to convert the first boot image to a first virtual machine (VM) instance to run under the new hosting OS;

a second boot image managed by the boot manager, the second boot image including a second OS to run on the computer, wherein the converter converts the second boot image to a second VM instance to run under the new hosting OS;

a conflict detector to detect a conflict between the first VM instance and the second VM instance; and

a conflict resolver to resolve the detected conflict, the conflict resolver including:

a conflict notifier to notify a user of the detected conflict; and

a resolution selector to enable the user to select a preferred resolution.

Assignments (6)