Feasible to Virtual Machine a Win2K3 x86 Image Within Server 2008?

We have this old Dell PowerEdge T110 server that runs a 32 bit version of Windows 2003 Server Standard. The core issue at the moment is that because it runs specialized software to run our point of sale system, we cannot upgrade it to a 64 bit OS. We are currently in queue for an upgrade of the HDD array. That said, would this make any sense in doing:

1. Copy the existing system volume into a virtual machine image (we have not picked a software yet)

2. Install new hard drive array + install Windows 2008 Server (or better)

3. Create a virtual machine

4. Load that VM image into the virtual machine? 

5. If it fails, just put the old HDD array back into the server?

This is with the hopes that maybe the VM will run more stable than running natively? 

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!