VMware Workstation 4

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A new virtual machine is like a physical computer with a blank hard disk. Before you can use it, you need to partition and format the virtual disk and install an operating system. The operating system's installation program may handle the partitioning and formatting steps for you.

Installing a guest operating system inside your VMware Workstation virtual machine is essentially the same as installing it on a physical computer. The basic steps for a typical operating system are:

1. Start VMware Workstation.
2. Insert the installation CD-ROM or floppy disk for your guest operating system.

   Note: In some host configurations, the virtual machine is not able to boot from the installation CD-ROM. You can work around that problem by creating an ISO image file from the installation CD-ROM. Use the Virtual Machine Control Panel to connect the virtual machine's CD drive to the ISO image file, then power on the virtual machine.

3. Power on your virtual machine by clicking the Power On button.
4. Follow the instructions provided by the operating system vendor.

The next section provides notes on installing a Windows XP guest operating system.The screen shots illustrate the process on a Windows host. The steps are the same on a Linux host.

For information on installing other guest operating systems, see the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware Web site or from the Help menu.