This guest operating system is supported on the following VMware products:
Note: If you are installing a guest operating system through VMware VirtualCenter, be sure it is supported under the VMware product - ESX Server or GSX Server - on which you are running the virtual machine.
Be sure to read General Guidelines for All VMware Products as well as this guide to installing your specific guest operating system.
The easiest method of installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 in a virtual machine is to use the standard Mandrake Linux distribution CD. The notes below describe an installation using the standard distribution CD; however, installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 via the boot floppy/network method is supported as well. If your VMware product supports it, you may also install from a PXE server.
Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created and configured a new virtual machine.
Note: During the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 installation, you are offered a choice of XFree86 X servers. You may choose either one, but do not run that X server. Instead, to get an accelerated SVGA X server running inside the virtual machine, you should install the VMware Tools package immediately after installing Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 and create one symbolic link as described in the steps that follow.
This completes basic installation of the Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 guest operating system.
Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details, see the manual for your VMware product or follow the appropriate link in the knowledge base article at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=340.
Note: With a Mandrake Linux 8.0 or 8.1 guest, you should install VMware Tools from the Linux console. Do not start X until you have installed VMware Tools and set up a symbolic link to the XFree86 configuration file.
Be sure you are logged on as root (su -), then take the following steps to set up a symbolic link to the correct XFree86 configuration file.
cd /etc
ln -s /etc/X11/XF86Config.vm XF86Config
Use the startx command to start your X server.
VMware GSX Server: The sound device is disabled by default and must be enabled with the virtual machine control panel (VM > Settings) after the operating system has been installed. To set up the virtual machine to play sound, see Configuring Sound in the GSX Server documentation.
Installation of Mandrake Linux 8.0 sometimes hangs at running /sbin/loader for no apparent reason. The hang is caused by a bug in early versions of the 2.4 Linux kernel. The bug has been fixed in kernel 2.4.5. Distributions based on this kernel should install without problems.
For earlier 2.4-series kernels, a workaround is available. Although the Linux kernel bug is not related to CD-ROM drives, the workaround involves changing a configuration setting for the virtual DVD/CD-ROM drive.
Power off the virtual machine and close the virtual machine window. Open the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx file on a Windows host or .cfg file on a Linux host) in a text editor and add the following line:
cdrom.minvirtualtime=100
Save the file. Now you should be able to install the guest operating system as described above. After you finish installing the guest operating system, remove this setting from the configuration file, as it may have a performance impact.
On a Linux host with an XFree86 3.x X server, it is best not to run a screen saver in the guest operating system. Guest screen savers that demand a lot of processing power can cause the X server on the host to freeze.
The shutdown process in the guest operating system may hang when shutting down the network interface because of the way the Mandrake Linux 8.0 shutdown script handles dhcpd. This problem does not occur with Mandrake Linux 8.1 guests.