Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP
Support
Windows XP
32-Bit Version
This guest operating system is supported on the following VMware products:
| • |
|
VMware Workstation 4.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.5, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 5.0, 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2-Windows XP Professional and Home Edition
Service Pack 1 supported on all listed versions
Service Pack 2 supported on Workstation 4.5.2, 5.0, 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2
Experimental support for 2-way Virtual SMP on Workstation 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2 |
| • |
|
VMware ACE 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2-Windows XP Professional and Home Edition
Service Pack 1 or 2 also supported |
| • |
|
VMware GSX Server 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2.1- Windows XP Professional and Home Edition
Service Pack 1 supported on GSX Server 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2, 3.2.1
Service Pack 2 supported on GSX Server 3.1 and 3.2, 3.2.1 |
| • |
|
VMware Server 1.0-Windows XP Professional
Service Pack 1 or 2 also supported
Experimental support for 2-way Virtual SMP on VMware Server 1.0 |
| • |
|
VMware ESX Server 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.5, 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 2.5.3, 3.0-Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 1 or 2
No support for Virtual SMP |
Windows XP
64-Bit Version
This guest operating system is supported on the following VMware products:
| • |
|
VMware Workstation 5.5, 5.5.1, 5.5.2-Windows XP Professional |
| • |
|
VMware Server 1.0-Windows XP Professional |
Note: If you are installing a guest operating system through VMware VirtualCenter, be sure it is supported under the VMware product-ESX Server or GSX Server-on which you are running the virtual machine.
Windows XP
General Installation Notes
Be sure to read
General Guidelines for All VMware Products as well as this guide to installing your specific guest operating system.
You can install Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows XP distribution CD. If your VMware product supports it, you can also install from a PXE server.
VMware Workstation or VMware ACE: To use the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter in a Windows XP virtual machine, you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware Web site at
www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP. If you have a virtual machine with a SCSI virtual disk and a Windows 9x, Windows Me, Windows NT or Windows 2000 guest operating system and want to upgrade it to Windows XP, install the new SCSI driver before upgrading the operating system.
GSX Server, ESX Server or VirtualCenter: If you are using the virtual BusLogic SCSI adapter, you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware Web site at
www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP.
GSX Server or ESX Server: If you are using the virtual LSI Logic SCSI adapter, you must download the driver from the download center at the LSI Logic Web site. Go to
www.lsilogic.com/support/ and look for the LSI20320 SCSI adapter driver for your guest operating system. For details on installing this driver, see the VMware ESX Server Administration Guide. The LSI Logic Web site also provides an Installation Guide for the LSI Logic Fusion-MPT™ Driver: SYMMPI.SYS V1.xx.xx, located (at the time of this Guest Operating System Installation Guide's publication) at
www.lsilogic.com/files/support/ssp/fusionmpt/WinXP/symmpi_xp_12018.txt
If you want to run Windows XP Home Edition or Professional in a virtual machine, be sure you have a full installation CD for the operating system.
Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created and configured a new virtual machine.
Windows XP
Installation Steps
1 Insert the installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2 Power on the virtual machine to start installing the guest operating system.
3 If you are using the virtual BusLogic SCSI driver downloaded from the VMware Web site or the LSI Logic SCSI driver downloaded from the LSI Logic Web site, you must take some special steps at this point in the installation process. As the Windows XP installer loads, press the F6 key. This allows you to select the additional SCSI driver required for installation. Press S to specify the additional driver. After you specify the SCSI driver, press Enter to continue with setup.
4 Follow the installation steps as you would for a physical machine.
Windows XP
VMware Tools
Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details, see the manual for your VMware product or follow the appropriate link in the knowledge base article at
www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=340.
Windows XP
Sound Driver Needed for 64-Bit Guests
VMware Workstation 5.5.x and VMware Server: if you want to use sound in a 64-bit Windows XP Professional guest operating system, you must use the driver available on the VMware Web site at
www.vmware.com/download/ws/#drivers under VMaudio Driver (experimental).
Windows XP
Enabling Sound in a Windows XP Guest
VMware GSX Server: The sound device is disabled by default and must be enabled with the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings) after the operating system has been installed. To set up the virtual machine to play sound, see Configuring Sound in the GSX Server documentation.
Windows XP
Known Issues
Windows XP
Product Activation
The Microsoft Windows XP product activation feature creates a numerical key based on the virtual hardware in the virtual machine where it is installed. Changes in the configuration of the virtual machine might require you to reactivate the operating system. There are some steps you can take to minimize the number of significant changes.
| • |
|
Set the final memory size for your virtual machine before you activate Windows XP. When you cross certain thresholds-approximately 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB-the product activation feature sees the changes as significant. |
Note: The size reported to the Windows product activation feature is slightly less than the actual amount configured for the virtual machine. For example, 128MB is interpreted as falling in the 64MB-127MB range.
| • |
|
Install VMware Tools before you activate Windows XP. When the SVGA driver in the VMware Tools package is installed, it activates features in the virtual graphics adapter that make it appear to Windows XP as a new graphics adapter. |
| • |
|
If you want to experiment with any other aspects of the virtual machine configuration, do so before activating Windows XP. Keep in mind that you have 30 days for experimentation before you have to activate the operating system. |
For more details on Windows XP product activation, see the Microsoft Web site.
Windows XP
PAE Message During Installation
VMware Workstation: If your host computer has a processor that includes NX (no execute) technology you might get an error message during installation. The message says the guest operating system is trying to use PAE. The NX technology is present in AMD processors including Athlon64, Opteron and Sempron. It is also present in Intel EMT64-capable processors.
To avoid the problem, be sure the virtual machine is powered off, and then use a text editor to edit the configuration (.vmx) file for the affected virtual machine. Add the following line to the file:
paevm="true"
You can then power on the virtual machine and install the guest operating system.
Windows XP
Guest Screen Saver
VMware Workstation: 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.
Windows XP
Hibernation
The hibernation feature is not supported. Instead of using the guest operating system's hibernate feature, suspend the virtual machine.
Windows XP
Checked (Debug) Build
VMware GSX Server: In order to install and run a checked (debug) build of Windows XP in a virtual machine, you must first edit the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx). Add the following line:
uhci.forceHaltBit = TRUE
Windows XP
Disable PAE in ESX Server Virtual Machines
EXS Server 2.5.x: Although ESX Server 2.5.x virtual machines are compatible with Physical Address Extension (PAE), they are not optimized for it. As a result, guest operating systems with PAE enabled might experience poor performance. For best performance, VMware recommends that you disable PAE in guest operating systems. For more information and instructions on disabling PAE, see the knowledge base article at
www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2020.
EXS Server 3.0: Note that disabling PAE also disables NX (no execute) and ED (execute disabled) features found in recent AMD and Intel processors. These features are not supported by ESX Server versions before ESX Server 3.0.
Windows XP
ESX Server Virtual Machine Running Windows Might Fail to Power On If Not Rebooted after VMware Tools Installation
EXS Server 2.5.x: After you install VMware Tools on an ESX Server 2.5.x virtual machine that is running Microsoft Windows, the VMware Tools installer asks you to reboot the virtual machine. If you choose not to reboot at that time, and subsequently remove power from the virtual machine, either by using the button Power Off Virtual Machine in the remote console, or by shutting down the ESX Server, you might then be unable to power on the virtual machine again. When you attempt to do so, the virtual machine might fail to boot up, displaying the message STOP 0x0000007B: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE. To avoid this problem, after installing VMware Tools, be sure to reboot the virtual machine when the VMware Tools installer prompts you
