Specifications

CHAPTER 6 Using Disks in a Virtual Machine
221
Read the section appropriate to your GSX Server host operating system.
• Configuring a Windows Host on page 221
• Configuring a Linux Host on page 223
Configuring a Windows Host
The following sections describe configuring physical disks on a Windows host.
Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Dynamic Disks
If your host is running Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 and is
using dynamic disks, see Do Not Use Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows
Server 2003 Dynamic Disks as Physical Disks on page 213.
Configuring the Virtual Machine to Use a Physical Disk
Use the following steps to run a guest operating system from a physical disk.
Note: If you use a Windows host’s IDE disk in a physical disk configuration, it cannot
be configured as the slave on the secondary IDE channel if the master on that channel
is a CD-ROM drive.
1. Identify the raw partition on which you plan to install the guest operating
system.
Check the guest operating system documentation regarding the type of
partition on which the operating system can be installed. For example, operating
systems like DOS, Windows 95 and Windows 98 must be installed on the first
primary partition while others, like Linux, can be installed on a primary or
extended partition on any part of the drive.
Identify an appropriate raw partition or disk for the guest operating system to
use. Be sure that the raw partition is not mounted by the Windows host and not
in use by others. Also, be sure the raw partition or disk does not have data you
will need in the future; if it does, back up that data now.
2. Start the New Virtual Machine Wizard (File > New > New Virtual Machine) and
select Custom.