VMware

Windows NT 4.0 documentation covers information on how to install the operating system in a virtual machine. For additional information about the operating system, refer to the instructions included in the installation media.

Windows NT 4.0 documentation includes the following topics:

Installation Instructions

You can install Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation or Server) in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows NT distribution CD.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following tasks are complete:

  • Read General Installation Instructions for All VMware Products.
  • Create and configure a new virtual machine.
  • To set up a virtual machine running Windows NT 4.0 and using multiple disks, you must first create a virtual machine with only one disk. Install Windows NT on that disk. Then use the configuration tools in your VMware product to add the additional disks.
  • If you have a Windows NT 4.0 guest with a SCSI virtual disk, you cannot add both an additional SCSI disk and an IDE disk to the configuration.
  • If you intend to run a Windows NT virtual machine with IDE virtual disks on a multiprocessor host computer, you might notice slower than expected disk input/output performance.

Installation Steps

  1. Insert the Windows NT 4.0 CD in the CD-ROM drive.
  2. Power on the virtual machine to start installing Windows NT 4.0.
  3. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
  4. Install VMware Tools.

After installation, consider the following configurations.

Enable DMA Transfer Support

Virtual disks support DMA transfers for better performance. You can enable DMA after installing Windows NT 4.0. DMA is always enabled on SCSI virtual disks.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following task is complete:

The NT Service Pack 3 or 4 CD is required to enable this option.

Installation Steps

  1. Power on the virtual machine.
  2. Insert the SP3 or SP4 CD in the drive.
  3. Run DMACHECK.EXE from the \SUPPORT\UTILS\I386 folder on the CD and click Enabled for the IDE controller and channel that is configured with the virtual disk.
    Typically, the controller and channel is channel 0, unless the virtual machine is configured with multiple virtual disks.
  4. (Optional) To enable DMA with a virtual disk and a CD-ROM attached as master and slave to the primary IDE controller (channel 0), complete the following tasks:
    1. Power off the virtual machine.
    2. Use the Configuration Editor to move the CD-ROM to the secondary IDE controller (channel 1) at IDE 1:0.
    3. Boot the virtual machine with Windows NT, run DMACHECK and enable DMA for channel 0 only.
      Caution Do not enable DMA for any IDE channel that has a CD-ROM drive configured for it. Enabling DMA for such a configuration causes an error.

Install Network Driver in the Windows NT 4.0 Guest

If networking was disabled at the time you installed Windows NT, you can enable it after installing the operating system.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following tasks are complete:

  • Shut down Windows NT and power off the virtual machine.
  • Add the network adapter to the virtual machine's configuration.

Installation Steps

  1. Power on the virtual machine.
  2. While Windows NT is booting, insert the Windows NT 4.0 CD in the CD-ROM drive.
  3. Log on to Windows NT and install the AMD PCNET driver.
    1. Open the Network properties page by double-clicking the Network icon in Control Panel.
    2. Click the Adapters tab to change to the Network Adapters screen.
    3. Click Add and select AMD PCNET Family Ethernet Adapter.
    4. Specify the \i386 folder on the CD in the path you enter (for example, type D:\i386 if the CD is in drive D).
    5. Click Continue.
      Windows NT setup prompts you for the Windows NT files again.
    6. Click Continue.
    7. Use the default adapter settings.
      Windows NT setup prompts you again for a path to the WindowsNT files.
    8. Click Continue to finish installing the driver.

VMware Tools in a Windows NT 4.0 Guest

  • To view VMware Tools online help in a Windows NT 4.0 guest, Windows NT 4.0 must have Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater installed.
  • For information on VMware Tools, see Knowledge base article 1014294, General VMware Tools installation instructions, at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014294.

Knowledge Base Articles for Windows NT 4.0

The following link refers to knowledge base articles on operating system specific issues. See VMware Knowledge Base for a list of known issues about the operating system.

VMware Compatibility Guide

The VMware Compatibility Guide Web site lists supported guest and host operating systems and provides related support information.


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