Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created a directory for the new virtual machine and configured it.
MS-DOS 6.22 can be installed inside a virtual machine using the MS-DOS installation disks provided with the full version. If you have the upgrade disks, you need to install an earlier version of DOS before you upgrade. To start installing MS-DOS 6.22, put the first disk in the floppy drive, power on the virtual machine and follow the instructions on the screen.
After you install DOS, VMware recommends that you install a CPU idle program within the virtual machine. Most versions of DOS do not idle the CPU when they are idle. Therefore, when you are running DOS in a virtual machine, the virtual machine takes up CPU time on the host even when DOS is idle. VMware GSX Server relies on the guest operating system to use the Halt instruction or advanced power management to deschedule the virtual machine when it is idle.
We have tested a program called DOSIDLE.EXE and have found it works successfully with VMware GSX Server. It can be downloaded from www.vmware.com/software/dosidle210.zip.
Follow the instructions provided with the DOSIDLE.EXE program. But be aware of the -cpu option, which causes the idle program to access the CPU at a low level in order to optimize performance. There is a good chance that this does not work with some CPUs under VMware GSX Server. It is suggested that you not use it.
Windows 3.1x can be installed using the standard installation disks. VMware GSX Server virtual machines support the networking features found in Windows 3.11 (or Windows for Workgroups). If you set up networking, choose the Advanced Micro Devices PCNET Family (NDIS2/NDIS3) Ethernet driver.
The VMware GSX 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.
The current support for DOS/EMM386 is limited. We recommend that you avoid using it for now. Be sure to comment out the entry in the CONFIG.SYS file.
We intermittently encounter erratic mouse behavior in virtual machines running Windows 3.1x in window mode. This problem does not appear in the full screen mode.
No VMware Tools package exists for DOS or Windows 3.1x guest operating systems; therefore, Windows 3.1x is limited to VGA mode graphics and it is always necessary to use the Ctrl-Alt key combination to release the mouse from a DOS or Windows 3.1x virtual machine.
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