VMware

Windows XP 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 XP documentation includes the following topics:

Installation Instructions

You can install Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows XP 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
  • ESX, VMware Workstation, and VMware ACE. To use the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter in a Windows XP virtual machine, you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP.
  • ESX. If you are using the virtual LSI Logic SCSI adapter in a Windows XP virtual machine, download the driver from the download center at the LSI Logic Web site. Go to http://www.lsi.com/cm/DownloadSearch.do?locale=EN and download the LSI20320-R SCSI adapter driver for your guest operating system.
    The LSI Logic Web site also provides a guide for installing the drivers. Go to http://www.lsi.com/. Select Support & Downloads > Documentation. Enter the search term Fusion MPT to find the Fusion-MPT Device Management User Guide.
    You can use the vmscsi SCSI driver for the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter provided on the Windows XP Professional floppy image that is included with the ESX software. Although supported by ESX 4.0 Update 1, the e1000 NIC driver is not provided with the 32-bit version of Windows XP Professional. Forsupport, download the driver from the Intel Web site. See knowledge base article 1016456 at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1016456.
  • If you have a virtual machine with a SCSI virtual disk and an earlier Windows guest operating system, and want to upgrade the virtual machine to Windows XP, install the new SCSI driver before upgrading the operating system.

Installation Steps

  1. Insert the installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
  2. Power on the virtual machine to start installing the guest operating system.
  3. (Optional) If you are using the virtual BusLogic SCSI driver downloaded from the VMware Web site or the LSI Logic SCSI driver downloaded from the LSI Logic Web site, you must install an additional driver.
    1. As the Windows XP installer loads, press the F6 key.
      This allows you to select the additional SCSI driver required for installation.
    2. Press S to specify the additional driver, and press Enter to continue with the installation.
  4. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
  5. Install VMware Tools.
  6. (Optional) On VMware Fusion, install Boot Camp drivers so that the guest operating system can access hardware devices on the physical machine.

VMware Tools in an Windows XP Guest

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 XP

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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