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To install a guest operating system and other software, work on a separate workstation and use the VMware Remote Console.

For details on installing the remote console, see Installing the Remote Console Software. Follow the directions in that section for starting a remote console on your Windows or Linux workstation and connecting to a virtual machine.

Insert the installation CD-ROM for your guest operating system in the server's CD-ROM drive. Click Power On on the remote console toolbar to begin setting up your guest operating system. See www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html and the ESX Server 2.0 release notes for details on installing specific guest operating systems.

If you prefer to install over a network, you need ISO image files of installation CD-ROMs and floppy image files of any floppy disks needed for the installation. The installation instructions in this section assume you are installing from physical media. If you are using image files, you should connect the virtual machine's CD-ROM or floppy drives to the appropriate image files before you begin installing the guest operating system.

Note: When you are installing a guest operating system on a new virtual disk, you may see a message warning you that the disk is corrupted and asking if you want to place a partition table on the disk. This does not mean there is any problem with your physical hard disk. It simply means some data needs to be written to the file that holds your virtual hard disk. All you need to do is respond Yes. You also need to partition and format the virtual disk as you would with a new, blank hard drive.