how do i install Windows Server 2016 on a brand new VM?

[jeffatencio]

Im trying to install on a blank VM. I have the bootable usb with the os plugged into it but cant boot off or install. Any ideas?

[a_p_]

Welcome to the Community,

just a quick question. Don't you have the original ISO installation image? Attaching the ISO to the VM as a virtual CD is the usually, and probably easiest way to install a guest operating system.

André

[jeffatencio]

Yes its an ISO file on a bootable flash drive. Ive used it on actual servers before but never a VM.

[scott28tt]

The VM CD drive needs to boot from the ISO file on the flash drive, not boot from the flash drive itself.

ESXi will need to mount the flash drive as a datastore before you can set the VM CD drive to do that.

[Alex_Romeo]

Hi,

I agree with the previous answers. You cannot do it also because the USB drive does not appear in the list in the Bios Boot of the virtual machine.

ARomeo

[jeffatencio]

How do you mount it as a datastore on ESXi? I have the ISO file chosen under CD Drive 1 but cant boot off of it

[IRIX201110141]

Well

1. Mark the CDROM as connect at boot within the VM settings

2. Be sure that the ISO it self is bootable and a complete one

3. You have to toogle the boot order in the VM BIOS if there is something already on the vDISK (not very likely if you have created a fresh and virgin VM)

To 99.9% i forget to mark the box for CDROM connected countless times in the last 12 years.  A windows ISO is more than 3GB in size and often the download from the internet gets corrupted so bei sure that you check the md5/sha1 checksum.

Regards,

Joerg

[jeffatencio · Accepted solution]

I had to disable the VBS to get it to work. Thanks for your help

[IRIX201110141]

VBS?

[a_p_]

VBS = Virtualization-based Security