Installing windows server 2008 r2 on windows vista

[LAIT]

Hi there,

Im new to the concept of vmware.

I have Vmware workstation and im working on windows vista what i need is to install windows server 2008 on it.Is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

[Luckybob]

It is possible to install Windows 2008 R2, but there are some issue with it. For the best results, I would recommend not installing the VMtools. There are some other work around for different issues, but in my personal experience, not installing the tools makes it functional.

[okonita]

<!1. >Luckybob,

I am relatively new to VMware and windows server 2008 R2 on Windows Vista. I am in the process of installing Win server 2008 r2 and I am curious to know what issues have you found with VMTools on Win server 2008 r2?

Thanks

[LAIT]

I downloaded Windows server 2008 r2 ISO file from microsoft and im trying to install it but its not working.

It load the files. Then when i click install a message appear.

A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a driver floppy disk, CD, DVD or usb flash drive, please insert it now.

I tried everything, from mounting an image using daemond tools, making two CDs one phisical and the other one is the ISO image but its not working.

when i click ok another message appear.

No Device drivers were found. Make sure that the installation media contains the correct drivers, and then click ok.

Any ideas?

[continuum]

which guestOS did you select ?

try with

guestOS = "longhorn-64"

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[LAIT]

Yes i already selected Windows Server 2008 x64 edition although im installing Windows Server 2008 R2 which by the way is not in the Vmware guest OS.

I tried to install Windows 7 using ISO and it worked. Back to the main question: Can i install Windows Server 2008 r2 on windows Vista using Vmware Workstation?

and

Any further suggestions?

[ilikerice]

I am trying to to do the same thing, but not as far as you. Is your vista machine 32-bit? I'm wondering if Vmware workstation 6.5.3 can create a VM of windows server 2008 R2 on a 32-bit workstation. I am expecting it not to work if I try this, so you must have 64-bit right? When searching if this configuration is possible, I saw your post.

[continuum]

the host OS does not matter - you need 64bit CPU and VT enabled in BIOS

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[LAIT]

I have a p8600 CPU and the VM is enabled in it and my Vista is x64

As i said, i tried to start installing another O.S and it works. Why not the Windows Server 2008 r2?

[continuum]

sorry I really have no further idea other than download the iso again and try again.

There seems to be some voodoo involved here - for some folks 2008 R2 produces an error related to CD-drivers.

I tried to reproduce the issue here and downloaded the 2008 R2 trial but it installed without any problems.

Can you try a different host to do the installation ?

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[LAIT]

I tried many host.

As it seems its one of two.

It's either Vmware workstation does not support Windows Server R2 coz i installed windows server 2008 SP2 now OR there is something wrong with the ISO copy of my windows server.

I will install Windows server 2008 SP2 instad.

Thanks for your help.

[continuum]

OR there is something wrong with the ISO copy of my windows server.

I have heard this often recently - so always verify downloads from MS using the checksum.

2008 R2 runs fine here - I am using 32bit 2003 as the host OS - so there is no general problem of Workstation with 2008 R2

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[ilikerice]

Wow, what type of CPU do you have? I've heard core duo is OK,....but it think it has to be 64-bit CPU?

I tried it on a 32-bit system and I got an error/warning. I don't recall if you said you got an error?

One thing I think is odd, is that my error says ...or this virtual machine has 64-bit support disabled. Looks like there's a setting that might cause a 64-bit Os to not virtualize, you could check.

Anyways, it says...

"This host does not support longmode." I have a t60 lenovo laptop.

The first thing you do is create new VM and then select the .iso, there was no place for me to select the OS I want to virtualize you mentioned at top, just like you have for the windows 7 .iso you created that works. So you're steps must be OK.

[LAIT]

I have P8600 CPU. So as i said before it has x64 and the V is enable in it.

But i solved the problem by installing windows 2008 sp2 instead of the R2.

[continuum]

I've heard core duo is OK

don't count on that - as far as I know most of them support VT but not all of them.

Also some boards do not allow VT even if the CPU supports.

There is a long sad post about the Sony Vaio for example which had a lot of problems.

Here I use T5600 in a HP compaq NX 9420 notebook

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[LAIT]

You can count on the CPU type according to Intel or AMD table All you have to do is ask the company or the store that you are going to buy from and insure that this brand supply VT and include it in the contract so in case that you will find any problem in the future you can return the laptop and this is what i did.

[injvstice]

I am running this exact configuration, but I'm having quite a few problems with the network. The network seems to drop randomly, and sooner or later I lose network connectivity totally from inside the VM. Even restarting the VM does not help, but restarting the host itself does.

It is also interesting that when the problem happens, I also tried fixing it by resetting the network adapters on the host, but this most of the time caused the adapters to lock up during the reset and remain in a "Media Invalid" state until I reboot.

This is different than my experience with ESXi, where I've run R2 without any noticeable issues.

[TECHIE201110141]

Here is the solution for installing Server 2008r2 on VMware:

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-install-windows-server-2008-r2-x64-on-vmware-7/

[continuum]

@ TECHIE

please fix your howto

using EasyInstall is exactly the reason why the setup of 2008 R2 fails in so many cases.

If you want to successfully install 2008 R2
- check md5 checksum of the download - bad downloads are the  most common reason for the "can't find driver" problem
- do NOT use EasyInstall

[JJoel42]

Workstation should absolutely install and run Windows Server 2008 R2.   Please point us to where you are downloading the ISO from.   We will give it a try.   Potentially there is an image that is packaged differently from the retail and MSDN versions that we test with.