Using Windows NT Server 4.0 as a guest operating system

Using Windows NT Server 4.0 as a guest operating system

The Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 operating system has some characteristics that require special consideration when setting it up and using it as a guest operating system on a virtual machine. This topic describes these characteristics.

Setting up the guest operating system

The installation CD for Windows NT Server 4.0 cannot be used to start a computer. You can use the Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe file located in the \I386 installation directory on the installation CD to create a set of boot floppy disks.

You can use either physical floppy disks or virtual floppy disks as boot floppy disks. Format three physical disks or use the Administration Website to create three virtual floppy disks. Then, from the \I386 folder on the CD, type WINNT /OX to build a set of three boot floppy disks.

For general instructions on installing an operating system on a virtual machine, see Add an Operating System. For more information about the Administration Website, see Using the Administration Website.

Shutting down the virtual machine

Windows NT Server 4.0 does not support Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) power management. As a result, it is not possible to turn off the power supply to a virtual machine running Windows NT Server 4.0 from an operating system shutdown sequence. To shut down the guest operating system and turn off the virtual machine, do the following:

1. From the Start menu of the virtual machine, click Shut Down.

2. After the message It is now safe to turn off your computer appears, move the mouse pointer to the Administration Website. From the Control menu, click Turn Off Virtual Machine.

   Note

   The mouse pointer will appear to be stuck in the virtual machine window if you have not installed Virtual Machine Additions. Press and hold the Host key, which by default is the right ALT key, while moving the mouse pointer out of the window.

3. Click OK when you are prompted to confirm that you want to turn off the virtual machine. It is safe to ignore the warning if you have shut down the guest operating system as directed in Step 1.

For general instructions on shutting down virtual machines, see Shut down a virtual machine.

Installing Virtual Machine Additions before configuring a SCSI adapter on the virtual machine

If you install Virtual Machine Additions on a virtual machine running Windows NT Server 4.0 that has no virtual SCSI adapters and then configure a SCSI adapter later, you must manually install the driver for the virtual SCSI adapter. For instructions, see Install the SCSI driver after installing Virtual Machine Additions.

For general instructions on installing Virtual Machine Additions, see Install Virtual Machine Additions.

Configuring memory

We recommend assigning 64 MB of RAM for any virtual machine running Windows NT Server 4.0. The minimum amount of memory that should be assigned is 48 MB; otherwise you may not be able to log on to the virtual machine. For more information, see Allocating system resources to a virtual machine.

Security considerations

To maintain a secure system, the most important thing to do is to stay current with security updates. To view the latest security bulletins, see the Microsoft Security Bulletin Search page at the Microsoft Web site. When using virtual machines, remember that the guest operating system of each virtual machine must be updated. For more information, see Applying operating system updates.

Installing the updated driver to support multiple network adapters

Virtual Server emulates the DEC 21140A network adapter, which is a multifunction Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) card. A PCI card that supports more than a single network interface is known as a multifunction card. For a single network interface, only Function 0 is exposed. For two network interfaces, Function 0 and Function 1 are both exposed on the same virtual PCI card. Exposing Functions 2 and 3 enables the third and fourth network interfaces.

Although Windows NT Server 4.0 is compatible with multifunction cards, including the DEC 21140A network adapter, the .inf file included with Windows NT Server 4.0 that configures registry entries enables the adapter to use only the first function (Function 0). Because of this limitation, the driver for the DEC 21140A network adapter included with Windows NT Server 4.0 can only use the first network adapter configured in a virtual machine created by Virtual Server.

Virtual Server product media includes a virtual floppy disk, NT4 Network Driver.vfd, that contains an updated driver for the DEC 21140A Network Adapter. You need to install the updated driver to enable multifunction support and allow a Windows NT Server 4.0 guest operating system to use more than one network adapter. This process requires the following three procedures:

To add the NT4 Network Driver.vfd to your virtual machine

1. Open the Administration Website.

2. On the Master Status page, point to Configure Virtual Machines, and then click the name of the virtual machine on which you want to install the updated network driver.

3. Under configuration for your virtual machine, click Floppy drive.

4. From the list, select NT4 Network Driver.vfd.

5. Click Apply.

6. On the Status page for your virtual machine, click the video image to connect to the virtual machine.

7. Log on to the virtual machine using an account with administrative credentials on the guest operating system. (If the virtual machine you are connecting to requires special keyboard shortcuts, such as CTRL+ALT+DEL, you can send these keyboard shortcuts to the guest operating system. To do this, click Remote Control, point to Special Keys, and then select the keyboard shortcut you need.)

8. From the Start menu, click Settings and then click Control Panel.

9. Double-click Network, and then click the Adapters tab.

10. If there is an existing DEC PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter, click Remove to remove it, and then click Close.

    Note

    After clicking Close, you will be prompted to shut down and restart. Removing an adapter in Windows NT Server 4.0 requires restarting the operating system before adding the updated driver.

To add the updated adapter driver

1. After Windows NT Server 4.0 restarts, from the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Network, and then click the Adapters tab.
3. Click Add, and then click Have Disk.
4. Click OK to use the default path of the A drive.
5. Click OK to use the DEC PCI Fast Ethernet DECchip 21140, which is the only option available.
6. You will be prompted by a message stating that "A network card of this type is already installed in the system. Do you want to continue?" Click OK.
7. When you are prompted to choose a connection type, click OK to use AutoSense, which is the default.
8. Repeat the steps until you have added as many instances of the DEC PCI Fast Ethernet DECchip 21140 as the number of network adapters you want to use. Virtual Server supports up to four network adapters per virtual machine.

To change the internal network number

1. After adding additional network adapters, click Close.
2. You may be prompted by a message stating that "Your network configuration has multiple adapters. The default internal network number is 0 and needs to be a unique number. Do you want to change this now?" If you are prompted by this message, click Yes.
3. Change the Internal Network Number value from "00000000" to a unique number such as "00000001" and then click OK.
4. At this point you will be prompted for TCP/IP information for each new network adapter. You can type a specific IP address or obtain an IP address from a DHCP server.
5. After configuring each new network adapter, you will be prompted to restart the operating system. Adding an adapter in Windows NT Server 4.0 requires restarting the operating system to use the additional adapters.