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ChristopherFiel
Contributor
Contributor

VmWare Player 5 for windows

Hello,

          The player seemed to install okay, but I cannot load a guest OS as the player wants to PXE boot to/from a network and I want to load from the cd or hard drive.  I've tried f2 and escape when the player boots, but no luck.  Any suggestions?  Thank you for any help you can provide.

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

Hi
in a newly created VM VMplayer will start from CD if it bootable - usually you do not need to go into the virtual BIOS.

Just make sure the CD or ISO is configured to start at boot


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Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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ChristopherFiel
Contributor
Contributor

I've tried pointing to the cd/dvd and to the hard disk.  Player always wants to PXE boot and never can find the guest OS install program.

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

are you sure your CD or ISO is bootable ?


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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ChristopherFiel
Contributor
Contributor

The cd is bootable. Windows 98 for computers without Windows. I made an ISO image of the disk and tried to boot from that, no luck. I made an ISO image of a Windows 98 boot floppy disk, no luck. The information that I have been able to glean from the forums seems to indicate that PXE boot should be down the list from cd and hdd. Every time player starts the virtual drive, it goes immediately to PXE. I’ve tried hitting F2 and escape as the virtual begins to mount, but cannot access the bios for the virtual machine. As a side note, I’ve tried Microsoft Virtual PC and VirtualBox and experience the same problem with them. The computer I’m using is an Asus CG5290 with the first generation core I7-920 processor with an Asus motherboard.

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

The Windows 98 installation CD is not bootable.  Make a .flp image of the Windows 98 boot floppy (see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1739), and mount it as a virtual floppy drive.

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ChristopherFiel
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Contributor

By the way, the host OS is Windows 7 Home Premium.

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ChristopherFiel
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Contributor

I can’t connect to anything because the console defaults to PXE boot and I am not booting from a server. The console will not allow me to change the point of origin for the boot . I might not have a deep enough understanding of the whole process. I’m thinking it would be easier to get an old machine running and forget vm.

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

ChristopherFields, so as not to be confused by the linked VMware KB Article Creating Floppy Images mentioned by jmattson, as it's written for a very old version of ESX not VMware Player 5, all you need to do is use a program like WinImage to create an .ima (not the WinImage default .imz) type file and you do not need to rename it as suggested in the KB. (That was true in older versions of VMware products however not with the last several major releases of VMware Player/Workstation/Fusion.) Then add the virtual floppy image via Player (menu) > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings... not what is shown in step 3 of the KB.

BTW When I wrote the reply originally I was thinking of .img files not .ima when I said you wouldn't need to rename it so if you used WinImage and save it as an .ima you will need to rename either .flp or .img.  I use .img because I can mount it automatically in the Host because .img is associated with WinImage and .flp isn't associated or not with a Host app that will automatically open it.

Message was edited by: WoodyZ - Originally posted, Dec 12, 2012 11:18 AM.

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ChristopherFiel
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Your advice has got me going on the right track. It is still fighting me every step of the way, but at least the player is loading the guest system.

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