How to boot guest from virtual DVD drive (to repair Windows)

[itmv2]

I have a guest Windows 2008 Server R2 O/S which will no longer boot. I need to reboot it from the Windows disc to initiate the repair process. I have added the Windows disc ISO to the guest VM, but can't find a way of getting it to boot from the virtual DVD (i.e. the ISO file). Any idea how I can do this?

The host is ESXi 6.5 on a Dell Optiplex.

[RvdNieuwendijk · Accepted solution]

You have to edit the settings of the virtual machine and enable the force BIOS setup. The next time the virtual machine boots, you can enter the BIOS setup screen, where you can modify the boot startup order to first boot from the virtual DVD.

[itmv2]

That's perfect - many thanks!