[an error occurred while processing this directive] Installing an Operating System onto a Raw Partition from a Virtual Machine using VMware Workstation for Windows NT and Windows 2000 [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]
 
Installing an Operating System onto a Raw Partition
from a Virtual Machine using
VMware Workstation for Windows NT and Windows 2000

In some situations, raw disks may provide better I/O performance than virtual disks and so be desirable, even if there is no need for the capability to boot the disks on the host, outside of the virtual machine. It is possible to use either an unused partition or a completely unused disk on the host as a disk in the virtual machine. However, it is important to be aware that an operating system installed in this setting will most likely NOT boot outside of the virtual machine, even though the data will be available to the host. If you have a dual-boot system and want to configure a virtual machine to boot from an existing partition, please read this tech note.

Just as with virtual disks, VMware Workstation enables a raw disk to be used in persistent, undoable, and nonpersistent modes; see this explanation of these modes.

Caution: Raw disk support is an advanced feature of VMware Workstation and should be enabled by users who are already familiar with the product. To familiarize yourself, you should at minimum create and configure a virtual machine with a virtual disk and install an operating system. In addition, this document is NOT intended for a disk with a previously installed operating system.

VMware Workstation uses description files to protect and control access to each raw IDE disk on the host system. These description files contain access privilege information that controls a virtual machine's access to certain partitions on the disks. This mechanism is used to prevent users from accidentally trying to run the host operating system again as a guest, or another guest operating system that the virtual machine was not configured for. The description file also prevents accidental writes to raw disk partitions from badly behaved operating systems or applications.

The VMware Workstation Configuration Wizard is used to configure VMware Workstation to use existing raw disk partitions. The Wizard steps the user though creating a configuration for a new virtual machine including configuring the raw disk description files. The Wizard is typically rerun to create a separate configuration for each guest operating system installed on a raw partition.

To configure a virtual machine to run from a raw disk partition, select Existing Partition (instead of Virtual Disk) in the VMware Workstation Configuration Wizard. In this case, there is no boot manager, so you should probably enable disk partition hiding. Check the box labeled "Enable disk partition hiding."

The next panel then allows you to specify the access that is needed for each partition on the disk(s). Most partitions should be set to Read Only, and the partition that the virtual machine is to be installed in should be set to Read Write.

The partition you are installing to should be unmapped in the host.

On a Windows NT host, the Disk Administrator (from Start > Programs > Administrative Tools) lets you do this. First highlight the partition that contains the guest operating system, then select Assign Drive Letter from the Tools menu. In this form, choose “Do not assign a drive letter” for the partition and click OK. The unmapping happens immediately.

On a Windows 2000 host, use Disk Management (Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management). Select the partition you want to unmap, then from the Action menu select All Tasks > Change Drive Letter and Path. Click the Remove button.

SCSI raw disks must be configured using the Configuration Editor. Booting from a SCSI raw disk is experimental in this release.

Use the following steps to prepare a virtual machine to install a new operating system onto an unused raw disk.

  1. Identify the raw partition where the guest operating system will be installed:

    Check the guest operating system documentation regarding the type of partition to which the operating system can be installed. For example, operating systems like DOS, Windows 95, and Windows 98 must be installed to the first primary partition while others like Linux can be installed to a primary or extended partition on any part of the drive.

    Depending on the guest operating system you will run, identify an appropriate raw partition or disk for it to use. Check that the raw partition is NOT mounted by the NT host and not in use by others. Also, be sure the raw partition or disk does not have data you will need in the future; otherwise, back it up.

  2. Run VMware Workstation, and select Configuration Wizard from the File menu.

  3. In the Configuration Wizard:

    1. Read the introductory text.

    2. Check the box for the operating system you plan to install on the disk. This is used to pick some simple defaults for VMware Workstation configuration settings and give default names to configuration files. The default settings can be changed later with the configuration editor.

    3. Click Next.

    4. Specify the virtual machine directory. This is where the configuration files are placed. Leaving the default is often a good choice.

    5. Click Next.

    6. Chose Existing Partition from Virtual Disk Type settings. In this case, there is no boot manager, so you should probably enable disk partition hiding. Check the box labeled "Enable disk partition hiding." For more information on partition hiding, see this tech note.

    7. Click Next.

    8. Select the Read Write option for the disk partition(s) that contain the guest operating system being configured. The other partitions should be set to Read Only.

      Caution: Corruption is possible if you allow the virtual machine to modify a partition that is simultaneously mounted under Windows NT. Since the virtual machine and guest operating system will be accessing a raw disk partition while the host continues to run Windows NT, it is critical that the virtual machine not be allowed to modify any partition mounted under Windows NT or in use by another virtual machine. To safeguard against this problem, be sure the raw disk partition you mark Read Write for the virtual machine is not in use.

    9. Click Next.

    10. Configure CD-ROM device settings as required.

    11. Click Next.

    12. Configure floppy device settings as required.

    13. Click Next.

    14. Configure networking settings as required.

    15. Click Next.

    16. Look through the confirmation page to see what is about to be done. Click Back if you need to change settings. Note the location of the configuration file (.vmx). This is the file you will need to specify when you run VMware Workstation.

    17. Click Finish.

  4. In the Configuration Editor, you can modify any configuration options from the Configuration Wizard defaults, for example, to change the amount of memory allocated to the guest operating system or to change the disk mode.

  5. At this point you are ready to begin installing the guest operating system into the raw disk you configured for the virtual machine. For more details, read the installation notes for various guest operating systems.
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