If you don’t have Windows Server 2008, download the trial version from Microsoft from the following link Windows Server 2008 download link that should be enough for you to play for a few months. then you can uninstall it.

Once you download the ISO image, logon to your VMware Infrastructure Web Access, and click on the virtual machine you created following the tutorial above, then right click on the CD/DVD Drive and select Edit:

Then right at the bottom select ISO Image.

Now, minimize the browser and copy the Windows Server 2008 ISO Image you downloaded from Microsoft to your Virtual Machines directory. in my case that directory will be C:\Virtual Machines\Server 2008. now go back to the browser again, and click on Browse and the Server 2008 ISO image should show up at the directory like the image below:

Select the ISO Image and click OK.  now you should be ready to start.

Power on your virtual machine.

After a few seconds of loading, the following window should come up:

Choose your settings and click on Next.

The Install Now button will come up.

Click on Install Now.

next, the activation button will come up. and because we don’t have an activation key for this server, we won’t put any. just click Next.

You will get the following warning:

and assuming you are installing Windows Server 2008 just for testing clicking NO should be fine. otherwise you probably will need to buy a license when the trial period expires.

Next, select the edition of Windows you purchased ( downloaded) from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 Standard ( Full Installation)

check "I have selected the edition of windows that I purchased" and click on Next.

Next, the license terms. check " I accept the license terms"

Click on Next, after agreeing the license terms.

Next, choose the type of the installation you want. the Upgrade option should be grey-out, so choose the custom (advanced) options.

Choose, Custom (Advanced) option.

Next, Installer will ask you where you want to install Windows Server 2008. of course we only have one drive on the VM machine. so choose that:

click Next, after selecting your drive.

Windows should start installing at this point.

That should take awhile…

the above window should come up after windows rebooting.

Windows completing installation.

After awhile, windows will ask you that the password needs to be changed before logging in the first time:

Click OK.

choose your password for the administrator user.

After changing the password, windows should start preparing your desktop for the first time.

Wait a little bit, and windows will load.

the first thing you should do when windows loads, is to change the time zone. on the Initial Configuration Task page that comes up the first time, click on Set Time Zone:

click on Change Time Zone on the window that pops up, and choose your zone, and click OK.

Now server 2008 should be installed on your VM machine.

on the next post we will be installing track it demo on this virtual machine. stay tuned.

please note. this article was selected from my other blog http://forevergeeks.com

Today we will create the virtual machine on VMware console that will host our Track It server.

Login to your VMware console, and click on Virtual Machines, and select Create Virtual Machine:

The create virtual machine wizard will come up. name the virtual machine.

Click on Next and choose the Guest Operating System you will be installing. I will be installing Windows Server 2008 on this virtual machine, so I will choose the operating system accordingly:

After choosing the Guest Operating System, click on Next.

choose the Memory Size and processors on the following screen:

On the next screen click on  Create a new Virtual Disk and choose the hard disk space you want to allocate for this virtual machine:

I’ll allocate 16 GB for my VM.

on the next screen select the Network Adapter:

choose the network connection to be Bridged, and check connect at power on option if you want the NIC card to be available when you power on the machine. otherwise you won’t have network connection.

Next choose to use the Physical Drive or ISO Image:

On a VMware virtual machine you can use either the physical CD drive or an ISO image to install the operating system and applications. 

choose your CD-ROM letter, and select connect at power on option if you want the CD-ROM to be activated when you power on the VM.

click on on Next.

on the next screen select the option if you want to use a floppy drive. as you know, floppy drives are barely used nowadays. so I won’t choose any:

Next choose if you want to use the USB Controller:

and yes, that can be useful.

after that, you are done! well, almost.  you need to click on Finish.

that’s it, after clicking the finish button, your virtual machine should be created, and should show up at the inventory section on the left panel.

On the next post we will be installing windows server 2008 on this virtual machine which eventually will host our demo track it server. stay tuned.

If you are not very techie, don’t be intimidated by the idea of virtualization, I will guide you step by step on how to install track it on a virtual machine, and demo the track it software before you install it on a production server.

Getting The Virtual Machine Ready

for this tutorial we will be using a VMware machine, to download VMware server go to this URL http://www.vmware.com/products/server/ be aware that the download size is about 500 MB for VMware server 2.0 so you will need a speedy Internet connection – it could take more than 24 hours using a dial-up connection.

The Installation

after you download the VMware server, execute the executable file. the installation wizard should come up:

Click on Next.

the agreement window should come up:

Accept the agreement and click on Next.

the destination path window will come up:

Choose the path, and click on Next.

on the next window you will be asked to enter the full qualified domain for the URL you will be accessing the VMware console. this is typically the name of the computer or IP address. choose your domain and click on Next.

note. if you don’t want the VMs to start every time you turn on your computer, uncheck the “allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system.

next, select the shortcuts:

finally, ready to install.

Let it install!

after the initial installation, the registration window will come up:

Enter your VMware registration key, and click on Enter.  

And that Should finish the installation.

you might need to restart the computer.

To login to the VMware web console, click on the VMware Server console on the locations you chose to have shortcuts during the installation. the VMware infrastructure Web Access  will come up:

The password to login to the console should be the same as the administrator password you use to login to your computer. if you are you using a computer without a password, you will need to set a password, otherwise you won’t be able to login to the VMware console.

On the next post, I will create the virtual machine where track It will be installed.