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Creating a New Virtual Machine

The Configuration Wizard guides you through the key steps for setting up a new virtual machine, helping you set various options and parameters. You can then use the Configuration Editor (Settings > Configuration Editor) if you need to make any changes to your virtual machine's setup.

A new virtual machine is like a physical computer with a blank hard disk. Before you can use it, you need to format the virtual disk and install an operating system. The operating system's installation program may handle the formatting step for you.

Before you begin configuring your virtual machine, check the following notes and make any necessary adjustments to the configuration of your host operating system.

• The real time clock function must be compiled into your Linux kernel.
• VMware GSX Server requires that the parallel port PC-style hardware option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) be built and loaded as a kernel module (that is, it must be set to m when the kernel is compiled).

1. Open a local console.
2. Select File > Wizard to start the wizard.
3. Click Next after reading the introduction.
4. Select the guest operating system and click Next.

   When you select the operating system that you want to run in the virtual machine, the Wizard uses this information to set appropriate default values, such as the amount of memory needed. The Wizard also uses this information when naming associated virtual machine files. It is generally not possible or advisable to run the host operating system again inside the virtual machine. Doing so may cause the host system to crash and possibly cause disk corruption if two operating systems attempt to concurrently use the same disk partitions.

5. Provide a display name and directory for the virtual machine and click Next.

   Each virtual machine should have its own directory. All associated files, such as the configuration file and the disk file, are placed in this directory. Be sure to choose a directory on a local drive because virtual machine performance may suffer if your virtual hard disk is on a network drive.

6. Select the disk type and click Next.

   You can choose from: Create a new virtual disk, Use an existing virtual disk or Use a physical disk. It is recommended that you select Create a new virtual disk.

7. Depending on your selection in the last step, the steps are as follows:
   • If you selected to create a new virtual disk in the last step:
     1. A new screen appears where you can now select the size of the virtual disk and click Next.

        Selecting a size of 4000 megabytes should be large enough to hold the guest operating system and all of the software that you intend to install in the virtual machine, with room for data and growth. There is no way to increase this number later, although you can use the Configuration Editor to install additional virtual disks if
        you run out of space in this virtual disk.

   • If you selected to use an existing virtual disk in the last step:
     1. A new screen appears where you can locate the existing virtual disk you want to use for this new virtual machine. Click Browse to locate the virtual disk file and click Next when finished.
   • If you selected to use a physical disk (or raw disk) in the last step:
     1. Specify which partitions should be hidden from your guest operating system. To do so, check the option in the Read Write column for each partition for which your guest operating system should have read and write access. Leave all other partitions with the Read Only option selected. If you want to hide a partition, select the option in the No Access column. When you are finished, click Next.
8. Decide whether or not to enable the virtual machine to access the CD-ROM drive and click Next. If you want to enable the CD-ROM drive, select CD-ROM enabled and enter the path to the CD-ROM drive, typically /dev/cdrom. (More information...).
9. Enable the floppy drive by selecting Floppy enabled and entering the path to the floppy drive, typically /dev/fd0, then click Next. (More information...).
10. Select the type of networking you want to enable for the virtual machine, then click Next.
11. Click Done to create the new virtual machine.

Related Topics:

• Setting up a dual-boot machine to run different operating systems in a virtual machine
• Setting up a virtual machine on a disk partition
• Setting up a virtual machine on a second virtual hard disk

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