I can't seem to boot to the .iso file for a Windows Server 2003 Enterprise install I'm trying to accomplish. I know the .iso image is good, as I have used it elsewhere. As far as the virtual machine settings are concerned I have the CD/DVD mapped to a "Datastore ISO file" and browse out to the file to select it. I have checked the boot sequence in the BIOS, which is set to CD-ROM first, Network boot, Removable Devices, and Hard Drive.
This is a Dell PowerEdge R200 host.
Hmmm, it looks like the ISO is located on an NFS share. Could you move the ISO to a local datastore and retry the connection? I'm not 100% sure but the NFS share may not be able to connect until after the VM is booted into an OS. Moving the ISO to a local datastore would confirm that.
Are the 'connected' and 'connect at boot' options checked in the CD/ROM settings for the VM? If not the boot sequence will go straight to network boot.
Hmmm, it looks like the ISO is located on an NFS share. Could you move the ISO to a local datastore and retry the connection? I'm not 100% sure but the NFS share may not be able to connect until after the VM is booted into an OS. Moving the ISO to a local datastore would confirm that.
Thanks Jeff, that did the trick. So, I need to have all .iso images local to the host to build from them? This is somewhat limiting.
They don't need to necessarily be on local storage, just storage that can be presented to the VM reguardless of the boot state. I have booted from .iso's on iSCSI or FC datastores just not NFS shares. I would think you could store and use .iso's on any .vmdk formatted device.
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Thanks,
Jeff