Install Vista 64 Upgrade (no full version available)

[itaxcpa1]

I want to install my vista 64 upgrade cd (either on top of win xp or separately in its own vm) whereas windows xp pro installed as a guest OS in Fusion tells me I must boot from the cd to do the install.

Is there a way that I can do this? The vmware manuals seem to say I need a full version windows vista, but I just don't have one for vista (I only have the upgrade).

Thanks for your help.

[nospamboz]

To boot an already existing VM from a CD/DVD or ISO file, first make sure VM settings

are such that the CD is connected and available when the VM boots. Then you need to

change the VM BIOS so it boots off the CD. To get into the VM BIOS, you either have to

quickly (and repeatedly) click the VM window and hit F2 as it's booting, or modify the

VM's VMX file with a genuine text editor (Terminal/vi or Textwrangler, NOT TextEdit)

and add/change a line to read:

bios.forceSetupOnce = "TRUE"

When you're in the BIOS, find the screen that specifies boot order and put the CD first.

After saving and exiting, it should boot off the CD.

I assume you're already aware that full Vista installs are possible with upgrade DVDs.

Don't forget to change the BIOS boot order back when you're done.

[rcardona2k]

You can also temporarily change the boot order by clicking in the VM windows at POST time (when the VMware logo is up), and pressing Esc. This gives you a boot order menu where you can choose the CD/DVD to boot from.

[admin]

True, but it's hard to hit ESC fast enough without editing the vmx somehow (we've tried to make the BIOS POST as fast as possible since most users don't need to edit it; optimize the common case and all that).

[rcardona2k]

I can still use Esc, is that a bug?

[hatchmo]

BBEdit will not allow me to edit the vmx file. It opens it, but it says the file is Read Only. I can't seem to open it at all in vi under Terminal. How do I make the file Read/Write temporarily?

[admin]

What exactly is the file you're trying to edit? It should be something like "/Users/yournamehere/Documents/Virtual Machines/Vista.vmwarevm/Vista.vmx"; you should not be editing something like "/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/vmx" - these are very different files.

[hatchmo]

I'm finally able to set the BIOS to startup using the DVD drive. However, Fusion will not boot from it.

Here is what I'm trying to do:

I have a full install CD for Windows 2000, and an Upgrade DVD for Windows Vista Ultimate 64.

I'd like to perform a clean install of Vista. The way to do that is to boot from the Upgrade DVD.

I've set the BIOS to boot from the CD drive first. But Fusion simply begins running the upgrader from the DVD each time, never booting from it.

Is it possible to VMWare will boot from a CD, but not from a DVD?

[admin]

I've booted off DVD .isos before. Does your post mean you managed to get this working?

[hatchmo]

Yes, I got it working. I had no VM or emulator on my Mac Pro. I installed Fusion 1.1, created a VM using the "Windows Vista x64 Edition" popup selection, then forced it to boot from a Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade DVD. The install went smoothly. Discovering how to do that was 6 hours of frustration, mostly on this discussion board. No one thread gave me all the answers, but I cobbled together bits and pieces to make it work. It would be nice if VMWare would create a PDF that explains all this.

[nospamboz]

The install went smoothly. Discovering how to do that was 6 hours of frustration,

mostly on this discussion board. No one thread gave me all the answers,

but I cobbled together bits and pieces to make it work.

You're welcome.

[DCieslinski]

This setting worked great. I have a dual-quad core machine with 8gb or ram running Vista64 and VMWare boots too fast to hit the ESC or F2 key most of the time. I added the bios.forceSetupOnce line and was able to change the boot order from there. Thanks!!!!!!!

[WoodyZ]

This setting worked great. I have a dual-quad core machine with 8gb or ram running Vista64 and VMWare boots too fast to hit the ESC or F2 key most of the time. I added the bios.forceSetupOnce line and was able to change the boot order from there. Thanks!!!!!!!

You can also add the following to the .vmx file to add a 2 sec delay to give time in the future to easily hit F2 or Esc when needed. (Or change 2000 to what you prefer. Value is in milliseconds.)

bios.bootDelay = "2000"

[DCieslinski]

Even better, works like a charm... THANKS!