Cannot Install Windows XP

[netlab]

New to VMware. Running ESXi 4 on a Dell R410 using SATA drives with no RAID. ESXi installed without problem. Created my first VM without problem. But, when trying to install my first Guest Operating System (XP) I get the error message: "Operating System Not Found" within the Console Screen. The XP CD was in the CD ROM drive. I'm assuming there is a problem with one of my VM settings. I tried numerous settings related to CD/DVD. I was not able to change any settings related to "Host Device" or "DataStore ISO File." Any help would be appreciated.

[weinstein5]

Welcome to the firums - make sure that in the VM settings that the cd is set to connect at power pn =

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[a_p_]

It seems that a lot of systems have issues accessing the physical CD/DVD drive for installing operating systems. I'd suggest you create an ISO image of the CD, upload it to a datastore and attach this ISO file to the virtual machine.

To do this follow these steps:

1. create an ISO image of the CD

2. login to the vSphere client and open the datastore (right click on a datastore --> browse datastore)

3. create a new folder, e.g. ISO-Repository

4. click the upload icon and upload the ISO image to this folder

5. start the VM and attach the ISO from the datastore (make sure the CD drive is set to "Connect at power on" in the VM's settings)

If you create the XP-VM using a BusLogic SCSI controller, you need to apply the drivers during installation (F6).

You can also select an IDE controller for the virtual disk. In this case you don't need additional drivers, however you cannot resize/grow the virtual disk when using IDE.

Hope this helps you solve the issue.

André