Microsoft is discontinuing Publisher, and I wanted to preserve a working installation of the final version and may have an idea on how to do it rather than depend on reinstalling and activating an older unpatched version.
My approach is to create a fully configured Windows virtual machine and then make its virtual hard drive immutable in VirtualBox.
An immutable VirtualBox disk is not modified directly. Changes made while the VM is running are written to a temporary differencing image. When the VM is completely powered off and started again, those changes are discarded and the machine returns to its preserved state.
This is similar to using a Live DVD, except the preserved environment remains a normal Windows virtual machine.
What you need
Oracle VirtualBox
A legitimate Windows installation and license
A legitimate Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Office installation
The installers, license information, and activation information you are legally entitled to preserve
Enough storage for multiple backup copies
Step 1: Create the virtual machine
Create a normal VirtualBox VM and install Windows.
I would use a dynamically allocated VDI disk with enough space for:
Windows
Microsoft Office or Publisher
Windows updates
Printer drivers
Fonts
PDF software
Any templates or supporting tools you need
I think for my purposes, a 64–100 GB virtual disk will be plenty.
Step 2: Completely configure Windows
Before making the VM immutable:
Install all necessary Windows updates.
Install VirtualBox Guest Additions.
Install Microsoft Publisher.
Activate Windows and Office normally.
Open Publisher and confirm that it works.
Install any fonts, templates, printer drivers, or PDF tools you may need.
Disable unnecessary startup software.
Set the correct screen resolution.
Test opening and saving several Publisher files.
Restart the VM several times and confirm everything still works.
Do not make the disk immutable until the machine is exactly how you want it preserved.
Step 3: Create a clean preservation copy
Shut the VM down completely. Do not save the machine state.
Locate the VM folder and make a complete backup of it before changing anything.
The backup should include:
The .vbox configuration file
The main .vdi virtual hard drive
Any EFI or NVRAM files
The installation media
The Office or Publisher installer
License documentation
A text file describing the VM configuration
Do not rely solely on VirtualBox snapshots as your backup.
Step 4: Make the virtual disk immutable
Open Command Prompt or PowerShell on the host computer and locate the VirtualBox installation directory.
On a typical Windows installation:
C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox
List the registered virtual hard disks:
VBoxManage list hdds
Find the UUID or full filename of the Publisher VM’s main virtual disk.
Then change the disk type to immutable:
VBoxManage modifymedium disk "D:\Virtual Machines\Publisher Preservation\Publisher.vdi" --type immutable
Alternatively, use the disk UUID:
VBoxManage modifymedium disk YOUR-DISK-UUID --type immutable
VirtualBox may also expose the disk type through its Virtual Media Manager, depending on the version being used.
Step 5: Test the reset behavior
Start the VM and create an obvious test file on the Windows desktop.
For example:
DELETE-ME-TEST.txt
Now shut Windows down completely.
Do not select “Save the machine state.”
Start the VM again.
The test file should be gone, and the machine should have returned to its preserved state.
VirtualBox sends all changes to a differencing image rather than modifying the immutable base disk. The differencing image is normally reset when the VM is powered on again.
Important: Restart is not the same as power off
Restarting Windows from inside the VM does not necessarily discard the session’s changes.
The normal reset occurs when the VM is fully powered off and then started again through VirtualBox.
For consistent behavior:
Shut Windows down.
Confirm that VirtualBox shows the VM as Powered Off.
Start the VM again.
Important warning about snapshots
Snapshots and immutable disks both use differencing images, and their interaction can become confusing.
In particular, an immutable disk may not automatically reset as expected when the VM has a saved state or an online snapshot taken while the VM was running. Oracle’s documentation notes that deleting the current online snapshot may be necessary to restore automatic resetting.
For a preservation VM, I would avoid snapshots after establishing the immutable master.
How to save Publisher documents
Because the Windows disk resets, documents should not be saved permanently inside the VM.
Possible solutions include:
A VirtualBox shared folder located on the host
A second normal virtual disk used only for documents
A network share
A USB drive passed through to the VM
Saving files to the host and keeping the VM itself offline
I would probably use a shared host folder called something like:
Publisher Documents
The Publisher operating environment remains immutable, but the actual documents remain editable and backed up separately.
Network recommendation
Once Publisher is installed, activated, and tested, I would consider disabling the VM’s virtual network adapter.
That would:
Reduce exposure to malware
Prevent unwanted software updates
Prevent accidental changes caused by online services
Help keep the preserved environment stable
However, activation requirements should be tested before permanently isolating the machine. An immutable VM cannot guarantee that Microsoft’s activation systems will remain available forever.
Create multiple archival copies
After everything works, preserve more than one copy.
My planned archive would contain:
Publisher Preservation/ ├── VM/ │ ├── Publisher.vbox │ └── Publisher.vdi ├── Installers/ │ ├── Windows installation media │ ├── Office or Publisher installer │ └── VirtualBox installer ├── Documentation/ │ ├── README.txt │ ├── VM configuration.txt │ ├── license documentation │ └── recovery instructions └── Checksums/ └── SHA256SUMS.txt
I would keep copies on at least two different drives, plus one offline copy.
An exported OVA can also be useful, but I would preserve the original VM folder and VDI as the primary copy. Exporting and importing appliances can occasionally change VM settings.
Generate checksums
On current versions of Windows, SHA-256 checksums can be created with:
certutil -hashfile "Publisher.vdi" SHA256
Record the result in a text file.
Periodically recalculate the checksum to confirm that the archived disk image has not become corrupted.
What this does and does not protect against
This approach protects the preserved Windows installation from normal software changes made while using the VM.
It does not protect against:
Failure of the host storage device
Corruption of the VDI file
Loss of license information
Future activation problems
Future VirtualBox compatibility problems
Accidental deletion of the VM
Damage to files saved outside the immutable disk
That is why the immutable disk should be treated as one part of a larger preservation plan, not as the only backup.
The result should be a working Publisher environment that starts from the same known-good condition every time, while documents are stored separately on writable media.
SO, with all that said, wish me luck. I will post an update soon on how it goes.
