How to create image from Windows PC and run on Mac OS X

"VirtualBox

After finding this question: How to import an image for Virtualbox..., I did some further research and found this link describing how to turn a Windows installation into a Virtualbox virtual disk (it's for Linux, actually, but I guess one can adapt it to MacOS X). The advantage would be that VirtualBox is free, of course. That said, I have no experience with it.

Edit:
harrymc suggested this article which describes how to use the VMWare Converter to convert the existing Windows installation to a vmdk-disk (VMWares Virtual Disk format). VirtualBox is able to use this disk just like its own format. (Thanks, harrymc.)

VMWare

VMWare has a Converter Tool (named VMWare Converter Tool... ;-) that does exactly that:
http://www.vmware.com/download/fusion/windows_to_mac.html
The Tool is free... VMWare Fusion not so much, it's just my tool of choice.

Parallels

There seems to be a special ""Switcher"" Edition of Parallels that has an easy way to transfer a complete Windows installation via an USB cable. Then again that solution costs money."

"The issue here is that yes, you can convert your existing system to a disk image, and then use on in VirtualBox, VMWare Fusion, or Parallels... (But not bootcamp)

But what happens then? That disk image can be reverse ported back to your laptop... Are you going to save all your work on a flash drive, and use that flash drive on your work system? Are you going to use Dropbox for your working space?

Unless you want to keep porting your work hard drive to virtual machines... Or rsync between the two boxes, or equivalent...

This is just a stop gap measure, or one that will then leave the data & files scattered, some over here, some at work, etc... Think about the large term aspect as well."