Installing Windows Me into a Virtual Machine

Windows Millennium Edition can be installed in a virtual machine using the standard Windows Me CD.

Note: Some Microsoft Windows Me OEM disks included with new computers are customized for those computers and include device drivers and other utilities specific to the hardware system. Even if you can install this Windows Me operating system on your actual computer, you may not be able to install it in a VMware ESX Server virtual machine. You may need to purchase a new copy of Windows to install in a virtual machine.

Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created a new virtual machine and configured it using the Virtual Machine Wizard.

Use the VMware ESX Server Configuration Editor to verify the virtual machine's devices are set up as you expect before starting the installation. For example, if you would like the Windows Me Setup program to install networking services, be sure that a virtual Ethernet adapter is installed in the virtual machine's configuration. VMware also recommends that you disable the screen saver on the host system before starting the installation process.

To install Windows Me into a virtual machine:

Insert the Windows Me CD in the CD-ROM drive on your VMware ESX Server host.
Power on the virtual machine to start installing Windows Me.
Choose to boot from CD-ROM, then click the Start Windows Me Setup from CD-ROM option. The setup program runs FDISK and reboots.
Once again, choose to boot from CD-ROM, then click the Start Windows Me Setup from CD-ROM option. The setup program continues installing Windows Me.
Follow the Windows Me installation steps as you would for a physical machine.

VMware Tools

Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system.

Enabling Sound After Installing Windows Me

The VMware ESX Server sound device is disabled by default and must be enabled with the Configuration Editor (Settings > Configuration Editor) after the operating system has been installed.

Known Issues

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.