Installing VMware Server 2.0 On Windows XP

Probably you know about virtualization, and the benefits it brings when it comes to hardware resources. Now that I’m starting this new web site, I will be testing many software, including server 2008 and exchange 2003/2007. instead of having many machines to host these OSs and applications, I will install VMware server 2.0 to host them.

let’s get started.

The first thing you need to do to start using the VMware server 2.0 is to download the software from http://www.vmware.com/download/server/ you will have to register to get the activation key through your e-mail. the file size is 580MB so make sure you  have a good Internet connection speed, and at least  2 GB of hard drive space available on your computer. once you download the VMware Server 2.0 file, double click it to install it:

the above screen should come up when you double click on the installation file. wait a few minutes until the installation wizard comes up:

click on the Next button.

accept the license agreement on the following screen, and click Next.

On the next window choose the destination folder. most of  the time, the default path should be fine.

Click on the next button.

Next, you will need to choose  the storage path for your virtual machines. the default path is C:\Virtual Machines. again, most of the times this path is fine.

as you can see, you also need to specify the full qualified domain of the machine VMware server will be hosted. the default settings are fine with me, because I will be using VMware on my local computer. also uncheck “Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system” if you won’t be using VMware server 2.0 regularly.

click next, after you enter the settings.

next, you will need to choose where you will want to have the shortcuts to launch VMware server, click next, after that.

on the  next screen, you are ready for the installation, click on Install.

after while through the installation, VMware server installation wizard should ask you for the registration key:

Enter your own registration key you got on your e-mail from VMware. click Enter after that.

the installation of VMware Server 2.0 should be finished.

click on Finish on the following screen.

restart the computer to launch VMware server for  the first time.