XCOPY of Disk2VHD converted Windows system drive from MBR to GPT

I needed to convert my Windows system MBR disk into a GPT disk.

First step was to use Disk2VHD utility, to capture the disk in original state.  Saved VHD file on a USB drive.  Used the Windows Server installation disk (Server 2008 R2 - I will be attempting on a Server 2012 R2 later today) to convert the MBR disk to GPT
Then, after converting the disk into a GPT format, I mounted the VHD using diskpart and ran the Xcopy command to copy the Windows system files back to the newly formated GPT disk.  (Used XCOPY h:\ c:\ /h /c /k /o /e /r /y /exclude:c:\excludeme.txt

Obviously, I didn't want to copy the pagefile.sys over to the new disk, so I wanted to use the /EXCLUDE switch to ignore this file.  When I did used /exclude:c:\pagefile.sys, it just hung!!

The main thing I realized in using the /EXCLUDE flag is that you have to put the location of the excluded file list after the flag; not the actual excluded items/terms. Once I realize this, the command ran successfully.

Dell iDRAC6 tweaks

Currently, my iDRAC 6 has a self-signed SSL certificate, so I must use Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome, which will allow me to get to the management page.




1. A series of "undefined" was all over the page.  Solution:  add the iDRAC IP address to the "Compatibility View settings" of IE 11.




2. Keyboard would not work in the Virtual Console.   Solution:  add the iDRAC IP address to the "Trusted Zones" of IE 11.


3. To mount Virtual Media, go to the iDRAC main console. Select "Console/Media".  Once on the "Console/Media" tab, select Configuration (as seen below).





Scroll down to Media section and change the "Status" from 'Detached' to 'Auto Attach'.  Apply saved settings.  





Then when you open the "Virtual Media" dropdown of Virtual Console, you can attach an ISO/img file to mount and check the "Mapped" checkbox.  Upon reboot of the Dell Server and hit F11, the BIOS Boot Manager will show Virtual Floppy and Virtual CD to boot from.