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 Mandrake Linux 8.0 and 8.1 Installation Guidelines

Mandrake Linux 8.0 and 8.1 Installation Guidelines

The easiest method of installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 in a virtual machine is to use the standard Mandrake Linux distribution CD. The notes below describe an installation using the standard distribution CD; however, installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 via the boot floppy/network method is supported as well.

Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created a new virtual machine and configured it using the New Virtual Machine Wizard (on Windows hosts) or Configuration Wizard (on Linux hosts).

Note: During the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 installation, you are offered a choice of XFree86 X servers. You may choose either one, but do not run that X server. Instead, to get an accelerated SVGA X server running inside the virtual machine, you should install the VMware Tools package immediately after installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 and create one symbolic link as described in the steps that follow.

Installation Steps

Installation Steps

  1. Use the GSX Server Configuration Editor to verify the virtual machine's devices are set up as you expect before starting the installation. For example, if you would like networking software to be installed during the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 installation process, be sure the virtual machine's Ethernet adapter is enabled and configured. You may also want to increase the virtual machine's memory to 64MB. VMware also recommends that you disable the screen saver on the host system before starting the installation process.

  2. Insert the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive on your GSX Server host and click the Power On button.

  3. Follow the installation steps as you would for a physical machine. Be sure to make the choices outlined in the following steps.

  4. Use the Expert installer.

  5. In the partitioning step, unless you have special requirements, it is all right to let Mandrake Linux auto-allocate the space.

  6. When selecting a boot loader, use LILO with text menu. Do not use the graphical version of LILO. It causes the virtual machine to hang.

  7. On the Select a Graphic Card screen, choose Other > Generic VGA compatible.

  8. Near the end of the installation, after files have been copied, you reach the monitor setup screen. Choose Super VGA, 800x600 @ 56 Hz.

  9. When the installer asks whether to start X when you reboot, answer No.

    This completes basic installation of the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 guest operating system. But there are two additional steps that are vital if you want to run X in your virtual machine.

  10. Install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details, see Installing VMware Tools.

    Note: With a Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 guest, you should install VMware Tools from the Linux console. Do not start X until you have installed VMware Tools and carried out the final step in this guide.

  11. Be sure you are logged on as root (su), then take the following steps to set up a symbolic link to the correct XFree86 configuration file.

    cd /etc

    ln -s /etc/X11/XF86Config.vm XF86Config

    Use the startx command to start your X server.

Enabling Sound After Installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1

Enabling Sound After Installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1

The GSX Server sound device is disabled by default and must be enabled with the Configuration Editor (Settings > Configuration Editor) after the operating system has been installed. To set up the virtual machine to play sound, see Configuring Sound in GSX Server.

Known Issues

Known Issues

  • On a Linux host with an XFree86 3.x X server, it is best not to run a screen saver in the guest operating system. Guest screen savers that demand a lot of processing power can cause the X server on the host to freeze.

  • The shutdown process in the guest operating system may hang when shutting down the network interface because of the way the Mandrake Linux 8.0 shutdown script handles dhcpd. This problem does not occur with Mandrake Linux 8.1 guests.

  • Installation of Mandrake Linux 8.0 sometimes hangs at running /sbin/loader for no apparent reason. The hang is caused by a bug in early versions of the 2.4 Linux kernel. The bug has been fixed in kernel 2.4.5. Distributions based on this kernel should install without problems.

    For earlier 2.4-series kernels, a workaround is available. Although the Linux kernel bug is not related to CD-ROM drives, the workaround involves changing a GSX Server configuration setting for the virtual DVD/CD-ROM drive.

    Power off the virtual machine and close the GSX Server console window. Open the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx file on a Windows host or .cfg file on a Linux host) in a text editor and add the following line:
    cdrom.minvirtualtime=100

    Save the file. Now you should be able to install the guest operating system as described above. After you finish installing the guest operating system, remove this setting from the configuration file, as it may have a performance impact.

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