For those of you that prefer to run operating systems in
virtual machines to make testing easier while maintaining
the primary operating system integrity, I've included the
procedure I use to install Vista in VMWare Workstation v
5.5.3 Build 34685. There are numerous ways this can be done
and you may well find my method rather tedious, so feel free
to experiment and modify the routine to suit your taste.
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After installing
VMWare, fire it up and click the New Virtual Machine
icon to get started. |
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The New Virtual
Machine Wizard is the easiest way to create a new
virtual machine. Click the [Next] button. |
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I'm going to use the
'Typical' configuration because I don't care about
backward compatibility in this situation. Either
choice will eventually net you the same results. |
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Obviously we are
going to select Microsoft Windows as the operating
system and use Windows Vista as the choice to be
installed. |
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Give the
installation a name and use the [Browse] button to
select a location where the virtual machine will be
stored. |
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Select the type of
network you want to use for the installation. If you
aren't sure, use bridged networking. It will work in
the majority of cases. |
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It's very important
you set the disk capacity large enough to
accommodate the requirements of the operating system
being installed. In this case 16GB is sufficient.
Allocating all the disk space does enhance
performance slightly but it isn't necessary for a
successful installation.
That's it for the Wizard so click the [Finish]
button. |
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After the Wizard
completes you're brought back to the main console
view. The 'Commands' section
lists the options available for the particular
machine and 'Devices' details the current machine
configuration.
In the 'Commands' section click
[Edit Virtual Machine Settings] to make some
additional changes. |
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The recommended
minimum memory for a Vista installation is 512MB. If
you have extra memory available you can bump it up
to a higher number. I usually set it to 1024MB as a
minimum to enhance performance.
On the left side of the Virtual
machine Settings window you see the available
hardware. I want to add a few things so click the
[Add] button. |
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Clicking the [Add]
button in the previous step opens the Add Hardware
Wizard. Click the [Next]
button to continue. |
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The list on the left
shows the type of hardware you can add. I selected
DVD/CD-ROM drive because this system has more than
one that I want available for easy access. |
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There are two
choices available for the drive. It can either be a
physical drive on the system or you can set it up so
it will use an .iso image instead of an actual
drive. I'm going to use both
options, but will start with the physical drive.
Click [Next] to continue. |
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Because I selected
'Physical Drive' in the previous step, the drop down
box shows me a lit of physical drives on the system.
I can select an individual drive or have it
auto-detected. In this case I selected Drive Z.
Click [Finish] to exit the Wizard. |
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Back at the settings
screen you can see CD-ROM 2 has been added and it is
using drive Z located on the system itself.
Because I want to add another drive
I'm going to click [Add] again, but if you were done
just click [OK] to return to the main console. |
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Again I'm going to
select DVD/CD-ROM Drive as the type of hardware to
be added. Click [Next] to
continue. |
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This time I'm going
to select the 'Use ISO Image' option.
Click [Next] to continue. |
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Use the [Browse]
button to select the .iso image file you want to use
with the virtual drive and set the device status to
connect at power on if that's what you want to
happen. In this case I do
want it to connect at power on because I'm using the
Vista .iso image file.
Click [Finish] to continue. |
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Back in the Virtual
Machine Settings screen you can see the changes that
have been made. Click [OK]
to get back to the main VMWare console. |
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In the 'Commands'
section click on [Start This Virtual Machine] to
fire it up and begin the Vista installation. |
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When VMWare loads
the virtual machine it's almost 100% certain you'll
have to set the boot order for the drives to make
sure it boots from the CD/DVD before the hard drive.
As you can see it says to Press F2 to
enter setup. Before you press F2, click one time
with the mouse anywhere inside the VMWare window
(the black area) and then press F2 and it will load
the BIOS setup window. If you miss the click/press
combination just restart the virtual machine and try
again.
Set the BIOS so the system boots
first from the DVD/CD drive, save the changes and
restart the virtual machine. |
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With the CD/DVD
drive pointing to the Vista .iso file you'll see the
Windows Is Loading Files screen for a minute or so
--- |
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--- then the
Microsoft Corporation splash screen appears for a
minute or two. |
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After a few
moments the Install Windows screen appears where
you select the Language, Time and Currency
format, and Keyboard or Input Method. |
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This is the main
Install Windows screen where it all starts.
There are a couple of different variations on
this screen depending on system and
configuration, but essentially you simply press
the Install Now button to proceed. |
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Once again it's
time for the Product Key and talk about
activation. Unlike XP and previous Windows
offerings that stopped dead if you didn't have a
product key, this is no longer the case with
Vista. You aren't required to enter a key at
this point, although there are some strongly
worded cautions about the potential for data
loss if you choose not to enter the key. There
is also a check box to select whether or not
Vista will be automatically activated. |
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If you chose not
to enter the Product Key in the previous step,
this screen will pop up asking you to confirm
that you do not want to enter the key. The same
warning of potential data loss is present and an
additional warning has been added that you may
need to purchase another edition of Vista if you
continue without entering the key. Pressing [
Yes ] will return you to the screen where the
key can be entered. Selecting [ No ] will take
you to the screen below. |
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Declining to
enter the product key in the previous step
brings you here where you must select the
edition of Windows that you purchased. The
warning makes it clear that if you select a
version you don't have a key for, you'll either
have to purchase that version or reinstall Vista
and select the proper version. This screen is a
two step process; selecting the appropriate
version and then certifying you have selected
the version of Vista by using the checkbox. Once
those two items have been completed the [ Next ]
button is activated. |
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Next up is the
Vista license terms. Simple choice; click [ I
accept the license terms ] and the install
continues. If you decide not to check the box
you'll want to make use of that red 'X' in the
upper right hand corner of the screen. |
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Now it's time to
select the type of installation. Upgrade or
Custom are the choices, but as you can see in
this case Custom is the only option. There are
two items of note. The first is under Custom
where it states you can use this option to make
changes to the disks and partitions. This is
true to a point. You can create and delete
partitions and resize a partition using the
'Extend' command. The second item of note is if
you want to 'Upgrade'. you need to start the
installation from inside Windows. |
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After the type
of installation has been determined it's time to
decide where to install Vista. As you can see
from the screen capture the options in this
scenario are limited. There is one 16GB hard
drive available and it's all unallocated space.
If your intention is to allocate the entire
drive to Vista with no additional partitions for
other uses, all you have to do is click on Disk
0 and then click the [ Next ] button. The
installation will continue.
That's the absolute minimum step.
If however you want to partition the drive and
format it (unnecessary at this point, but
possible) then click on 'Drive Options' for
additional choices. |
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Once you've
finished up the install location and click [
Next ] it's just a matter of waiting as Vista
goes through the install motions. They are true
to their word on this screen when they say the
system will restart several times.
How long will it take to install
Vista? I've experienced timeframes all over the
spectrum from 30 minutes to over 5 hours, but
for a clean install on a relatively modern
system I'd be surprised if it took over an hour,
and the majority of installs I've done have been
in the 30 - 45 minute range. |
At the end of the install routine there will be five
screens where you input specific user, network,
updating, and time zone options and a 'Thank You'
message for installing Vista.
The system will reboot and you're going to
see a series of 'promotional' screens of sorts trying to
convince you it was a smart idea to load Vista.
Eventually you come to the login screen
where you select a user and enter your password.
Finally the desktop loads and the Welcome
Center is displayed.
Once you reach the point above where the
desktop is displayed Vista is ready to go, or it would be
under a normal situation, but since this is a virtual
machine installation there is one more step; installing the
VMWare Tools to speed up overall performance, graphics
capability, and mouse features. The Tools make a significant
difference in performance so don't neglect this last series
of steps.
After the reboot, log back in to Vista and
the virtual machine with Vista installed is ready to go.
