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.
You can install Windows Server 2003, Web Edition, Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition or Windows Small Business Server 2003 in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows Server 2003 distribution CD. If your VMware product supports it, you may also install from a PXE server.
VMware Workstation or VMware ACE: If you are using the virtual LSI Logic SCSI adapter, Windows Server 2003 automatically installs the SCSI driver when you install the guest operating system. To use the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter in a Windows Server 2003 virtual machine under VMware Workstation or VMware ACE, 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 Server 2003. If you have a virtual machine with a SCSI virtual disk and a Windows 9x, Windows Me, Windows NT or Windows 2000 guest operating system and want to upgrade it to Windows Server 2003, install the new SCSI driver before upgrading the operating system.
GSX Server, ESX Server or VirtualCenter: If you are using the virtual LSI Logic SCSI adapter, Windows Server 2003 automatically installs the SCSI driver when you install the guest operating system. If you are using the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter, 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 Server 2003. If you have a virtual machine with a SCSI virtual disk and an earlier Windows guest operating system and want to upgrade it to Windows Server 2003, install the new SCSI driver before upgrading the operating system.
If you want to run Windows Server 2003 in a virtual machine, be sure you have a full installation CD for the operating system.
Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created and configured a new virtual machine.
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.
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.
In addition, Windows Server 2003 does not automatically detect and install drivers for ISA sound cards, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster emulated in a virtual machine. For details on installing the driver for the virtual machine's sound card, see Configuring Sound in the GSX Server documentation.
The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 product activation feature creates a numerical key based on the virtual hardware in the virtual machine where it is installed. Changes in the configuration of the virtual machine may require you to reactivate the operating system. There are some steps you can take to minimize the number of significant changes.
Note: The size reported to the Windows product activation feature is slightly less than the actual amount configured for the virtual machine. For example, 128MB is interpreted as falling in the 64MB-127MB range.
For more details on Windows Server 2003 product activation, see the Microsoft Web site.
Windows Server 2003 has display adapter hardware acceleration disabled by default. This slows down graphics performance and mouse responsiveness in the guest operating system.
To enable hardware acceleration in a Windows Server 2003 guest, open the Control Panel, then open the Display Properties control panel. On the Settings tab, click Advanced. On the Troubleshoot tab, drag the Hardware acceleration slider all the way to Full.
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 hibernation feature is not supported in this release. Instead of using the guest operating system's hibernate feature, suspend the virtual machine.
VMware GSX Server: In order to install and run a checked (debug) build of Windows Server 2003 in a virtual machine, you must first edit the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx). Add the following line:
uhci.forceHaltBit = TRUE