Horace papa's life

Create a image of VMDK file for existing harddisk in ubuntu linux host:

$sudo VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/sda

if create a image is created from a given partition of physical harddisk, 

$sudo VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/sda -partitions 1,5

Create a image of VMDK file from a exsting harddisk in window host:

1. Run cmd as adminstrator mode 
2. C:\> cd "Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox"
3. C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox> VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename "C:\xxx.vmdk" -rawdisk "\\.\PhysicalDrive1"

the "\\.\physicalDrive1" is the harddisk which the image create from.

if create a image is from a given partition of physical harddisk, 

C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox> VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename "C:\xxx.vmdk" -rawdisk "\\.\PhysicalDrive0" -partitions 6

if need to involve more partitions at once, could add "," between two partitions number, for example, -partitions 6,5

reference from:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#idm8266

Installing  VirtualBox Guest Addition in host and target platform still can't chanage window XP resolution, the highest resolution is 1024X768.

Two methods to adjust display resolution.

1.Set vesa resolutions in host platform:

cd c:\programfiles\oracle\virtualbox  
VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "CustomVideoMode1" "1400x1050x16

2.Configuring the maximum resolution of guests when using the graphical frontend:

VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution any

will remove all limits on guest resolutions.

VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution >width,height<

manually specifies a maximum resolution.

VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution auto

restores the default settings. Note that these settings apply globally to all guest systems, not just to a single machine.

reference from

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#idm8266