Use a startup disk to install an operating system

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To use a startup disk to install an operating system

  1. Open the Administration Website.
  2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure and then click the appropriate virtual machine.
  3. In Configuration in the lower part of the page, click Floppy drive, do one of the following, and then click OK:
    • If you have a system floppy disk, insert it into the floppy disk drive, click Physical floppy drive, and if necessary, from the drop-down menu select the corresponding floppy drive letter.
    • If you have an existing virtual system disk located in the default directory (\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines\), it is available from the Known floppy disks drop-down menu. Otherwise, in Fully qualified path to file type the complete directory path to the .vfd file.
  4. In Status, point to the virtual machine name, and then click Turn On.
  5. Once the virtual machine is turned on, point to the virtual machine name, and then click Remote Control.
  6. Once you are connected to the virtual machine, follow the instructions provided by the operating system to complete the installation.

Note

To perform this procedure, you must have the appropriate permissions. If you do not have the appropriate permissions, you will either receive an error message or you will not be able to view certain menu items and options described in this procedure. To change your permissions, contact your Virtual Server administrator. For more information, see Securing Virtual Server.

For instructions on connecting to the Administration Website, see "Open the Administration Website" in Related Topics.

Guest operating system licenses are not included with a Virtual Server license. You must ensure that you are appropriately licensed for all operating systems and applications that you install in a virtual machine.

It is possible to perform a network installation of an operating system on a virtual machine. Virtual Server does not support Pre-Boot Execution Environment network startup directly; however, you can use a remote startup disk that includes the appropriate instructions for contacting the network installation point. For more information, see Ways to deploy an operating system to a virtual machine and "Designing RIS Installations" at the Microsoft Web site.

See Also

Concepts

Open the Administration Website
Setting Up Operating Systems for Virtual Machines in Virtual Server
Add an Operating System