Specifications

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VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide
Running a Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server
2003 Virtual Machine from an Existing Multiple-Boot
Installation
If you have installed Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 on a
computer, then try to run that same installation of the operating system as a GSX
Server virtual machine running from a physical disk, the virtual machine may fail with
an error message reporting an inaccessible boot device.
The problem occurs because the physical computer and the virtual machine require
different IDE drivers. The Windows plug and play feature, which handles drivers for
many hardware devices, does not install new IDE drivers.
If you encounter this problem, VMware recommends that you install your Windows
2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 guest operating system in a virtual disk,
rather than running it from a physical disk.
If you encounter this problem but it is important for you to run the virtual machine
from the existing physical disk configuration, you can set up separate hardware
profiles (described in Setting Up Hardware Profiles in Virtual Machines on page 206)
and manually update the IDE driver in the profile for the virtual machine. For a
detailed description of the workaround, see the VMware knowledge base
(www.vmware.com/info?id=41).
Setting Up the SVGA Video Driver for a Windows 95 Guest
Operating System Booted from a Physical Disk
This section explains how to configure the video driver in a Windows 95 physical disk
installation using GSX Server. The steps below assume you are using Windows 95 as
one of the operating systems in a dual-boot or multiple-boot configuration. Following
these steps, you create separate hardware profiles for your virtual machine and your
physical machine. For more details on hardware profiles, see Setting Up Hardware
Profiles in Virtual Machines on page 206.
1. Boot Windows 95 natively (not in a virtual machine).
2. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop, then select Properties.
3. Click the Hardware Profiles tab.
4. Highlight the Original Configuration profile, then click Copy.
5. Name the profile Virtual Machine, then click OK. You may also want to rename
the Original Configuration profile to Physical Machine.
6. Click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.