Use a startup CD or image file to install an operating system

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To use a startup CD or image file 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 CD/DVD, do one of the following, and then click OK:
    • Insert the startup CD for the operating system into the CD drive on the physical computer running the Virtual Server service. Next, click Physical CD/DVD drive, and if necessary, from the drop-down menu select the corresponding CD or DVD drive letter.
    • Click Known image files. If the ISO image (.iso) file containing a startup CD image is located in the default folder (\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines\), it is available from the drop-down menu. Otherwise, in Fully qualified path to file type the complete directory path to the image 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.

Important

Accessing an ISO image file on a remote computer requires a software update to the host operating system of the local computer. For more information, see the Virtual Server 2005 Release Notes.

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 opening 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 on 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 (PXE) 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