[an error occurred while processing this directive] Configuring Dual/Multiboot Systems to Run with VMware Workstation for Windows NT and Windows 2000 [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]
 
Configuring Dual/Multiboot Systems to Run
with VMware Workstation for Windows NT and Windows 2000

It is possible to use VMware Workstation to run one or more guest operating systems from existing disk partitions. This is useful for people who already have a dual- or multiboot system and who want to run those operating systems under VMware Workstation. If you don't have a dual-boot system, but want to install a guest operating system into an unused partition through a virtual machine, please refer to this tech note.

Just as with virtual disks, VMware Workstation enables a raw disk to be used in persistent, undoable, and nonpersistent modes. See a detailed 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, booting a previously installed operating system within a virtual machine may not work on some existing installations. Your experience may vary depending on the your hardware configuration and the guest operating system installation.

Caution: The Windows 2000 kernel supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management (ACPI), the new power management interface that is replacing APM. If you have installed Windows 2000 on a computer with ACPI features and then try to access that installation as a VMware Workstation virtual machine running from a raw disk, you can encounter serious problems. For details and a workaround, read this tech note.

VMware Workstation supports using raw disk partitions on IDE drives. Booting guest operating systems on raw SCSI drives is experimental at this time. If a virtual machine is configured with a virtual disk instead of a raw disk partition, its virtual disk file can be stored on the Windows NT or Windows 2000 host computer's file system regardless of whether the host's file system resides on IDE or SCSI drives.

VMware Workstation uses description files to access each raw IDE device on the 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.

VMware Workstation works with existing boot managers installed on the computer system. The boot manager will run inside VMware Workstation and present the user with the choice of guest operating systems to run. The user has to manually choose the guest operating system that this configuration was intended to run.

To configure a virtual machine to run from a raw disk partition, select Existing Partition in the VMware Workstation Configuration Wizard. The next panel 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 run in should be set to Read Write.

To run multiple guest operating systems from different raw disk partitions, first unmap these partitions 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.

Then create a separate configuration for each guest operating system. The steps to do this are:

  1. Before starting, if you are running a Windows or Windows NT guest operating system, you should read the notes on hardware profiles. VMware recommends booting the guest operating system natively on the computer and creating a hardware profile for the virtual machine before proceeding.

  2. In the Configuration Wizard read the introductory text. Check the box for the operating system you have on the raw 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. Click Next.

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

  4. Choose Existing Partition from the virtual disk type settings. If you are not using a boot manager, 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. Click Next.

  5. 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. Click Next.

  6. Configure CD-ROM device settings as required. Click Next.

  7. Configure floppy device settings as required. Click Next.

  8. Configure networking settings as required. Click Next.

  9. 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. Click Finish.

  10. You can go into the Configuration Editor to if you want to change any configuration options from the wizard defaults (for example, to change the amount of memory allocated to the guest operating system or to change the disk mode).

  11. If you have multiple IDE drives configured on a system, the VMware Workstation BIOS will normally attempt to boot them in this sequence:
    1. Primary Master
    2. Primary Slave
    3. Secondary Master
    4. Secondary Slave

    If you have multiple SCSI drives configured on a system, the VMware Workstation BIOS will normally attempt to boot them in the order of the SCSI device number.

    If you have both SCSI and IDE drives configured, the VMware Workstation BIOS will normally attempt to boot SCSI drives followed by IDE drives, in the order described above.

    The boot sequence can be changed in the Boot menu of the virtual machine's Phoenix BIOS. After powering on VMware Workstation, press F2 during the BIOS boot in VMware Workstation to enter the BIOS setup menu.

  12. Press the Power On button. Your virtual machine will start, run the Phoenix BIOS, then boot from the Master Boot Record (MBR).

    Choose the target operating system from the list of options offered by the boot manager.

  13. Remember that your virtual machine hardware environment for the guest operating system probably differs significantly from the real hardware of your machine.

    For Windows guest operating systems, Plug and Play will start reconfiguring Windows. For Windows 95/98 and Windows NT systems, you should manually set up your virtual hardware profile.

  14. Remember to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system.

Warning: If you designate your safe raw disk as an undoable disk, you will need to either commit or discard the changes to the undoable disk before you reboot your guest operating system natively. This is necessary because any changes to sectors on the real disk that have been modified on the undoable disk will invalidate the redo file corresponding to the undoable disk. See the section on disk modes for more information on undoable disks and their corresponding redo files.

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