So here’s the trick to boot your VPC’s in a minute, for VPCs you can set them up so that you can close them and when you restart you are resumed to with a save state.  I did have one initial problem with using a variable in the original batch file(%0), but I hard coded the paths I got it working:

 

  1. Setup your VPC as normal with undo disks disabled.
  2. Shutdown the VPC.
  3. Enable undo disks.
  4. Start the VPC, and get everything to the state you want to begin your demo – apps running etc.
  5. Close the VPC, select to save state and save changes and commit changes to the virtual disk.
  6. Edit the VPC settings, and change the close setting to automatically close without a message and turn off and delete changes.
  7. Create a sub folder under the VPC folder called “Resume”.
  8. Copy the .VMC and the .VSV file from the VPC folder into the “Resume” folder.
  9. Create a batch file in the VPC folder:  

Original batch file (I could not get the %0 to work) http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;318689

 

@echo off

robocopy "%0\..\Resume" "%0\.." /r:0

start "VPC" /min "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual PC\Virtual PC.exe"

start "Sandbox DC" "%0\..\whatever.vmc"

 

            The one I got to work (just hard coded the paths to the files)

 

            @echo off

robocopy "C:\Documents and Settings\mhester\My Documents\My Virtual Machines\test\Resume" "C:\Documents and Settings\mhester\My Documents\My Virtual Machines\test" /r:0

start "VPC" /min "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual PC\Virtual PC.exe"

start "London DCex" "C:\Documents and Settings\mhester\My Documents\My Virtual Machines\test\test.vmc"

 

(Obviously, change whatever.vmc to whatever your VPC is called – and you’ll need robocopy.exe somewhere on your path)

 

            You can download robocopy with the windows resource kit utilities: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&DisplayLang=en

 

  1. Now you can start your VPC by running the batch file, and it will start in seconds to the point that you created the save state.    

So give it a try and let me know what you think!!!!