How to Install OS in VMware & Troubleshooting

Windows 7 documentation covers information on how to install the operating system in a virtual machine. For additional information about the operating system, refer to the instructions included in the installation media.

Installation Instructions

You can install Windows 7 in a virtual machine using the corresponding Windows 7 distribution CD.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following tasks are complete:

• Read the Microsoft System Requirements for the recommended storage and memory values.
• Create and configure a new virtual machine, with the appropriate virtual storage and virtual memory to support the intended workload.

Installation Steps

1. Insert the Windows 7 CD or DVD in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Turn on the virtual machine to begin installing Windows 7.
3. (Optional) If you are using VMware Paravirtual as the default SCSI controller, you can install Windows 7 32-bit using the pvscsi-windows2003.flp driver and Windows 7 64-bit using the pvscsi-windows2008.flp driver.
4. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
5. Install VMware Tools.
6. (Optional) On VMware Fusion, install Boot Camp drivers so that the guest operating system can access hardware devices on the physical machine.
   Windows 7 32-bit supports only Boot Camp 3 drivers and Windows 7 64-bit requires Boot Camp drivers to be installed individually.
   
   Done!!!       

Source: VMware India