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Configuring IDE Drives

Virtual hard drives and CD-ROM drives are added and removed using the IDE Drives panel in the Configuration Editor. The content of a virtual hard drive may be stored in a file or in a set of existing (raw) disk partitions on a host hard disk. The virtual CD-ROM is connected to the CD-ROM device on the host.

Normally a virtual machine has at least one virtual hard drive (and in most cases also one virtual CD-ROM drive). If you have neither, you may still boot from a floppy. If you don't have a floppy either, the virtual machine will not be able to boot.

See the VMware Web site for more information on the different disk types and modes.

Follow these steps to add a virtual IDE drive:

  1. Open the VMware Workstation Configuration Editor by choosing Settings > Configuration Editor.
  2. Click the plus sign to the left of IDE Drives.
  3. Click the IDE drive that you wish to define or modify.
    You can use any device type in any of the four positions. However, you should not install a device in the "slave" position, P-S (primary slave) or S-S (secondary slave), unless the corresponding "master" position, P-M (primary master) or S-M (secondary master) respectively, also contains a device. If you do this, the virtual machine will not be able to boot, and you will be asked to correct the problem.
    A common convention is to use the first position, P-M (primary master), for a hard drive and the third position, S-M (secondary master), for a CD-ROM drive.
  4. Click Install.
  5. Follow one set of steps below, depending on what you are adding.
  6. Click OK or Save to exit the Configuration Editor, or continue to add or modify other features.

Follow these steps to install a virtual disk stored on a file system:

  1. Follow the initial steps above to add an IDE drive.
  2. Choose Virtual Disk as the Device Type.
  3. Choose a Disk Mode.
    The default is persistent. VMware Workstation supports three disk modes: persistent, nonpersistent, and undoable. Technical notes on the VMware Web site provide additional information about VMware Workstation disk modes.
  4. Enter a full pathname for the disk in the Name field. By convention, the filename extension is .dsk.
  5. In the Capacity (MB) field, specify the maximum size for the disk file.
    The specified size is the maximum capacity of your disk. The actual disk file is initially much smaller and grows as you add data to it, up to the specified maximum.
    The disk should be large enough to contain the guest operating system and any applications and data you will need. Choose the size carefully, because once a disk is created, its maximum size can never be changed. You can, however, add more virtual disks in unused positions.
  6. Click Create.
To install a CD-ROM:
  1. Follow the initial steps above to add an IDE drive.
  2. Choose CD-ROM as the Device Type.
  3. Select which CD-ROM drive you want to be used by the virtual machine. Often, but not always, the device name for the CD-ROM is /dev/cdrom.

Some computers such as laptops have CD-ROM drives that can be removed. To disable access to the CD-ROM when the virtual machine is powered on, uncheck the Start Connected box in the disk configuration panel. To disable or enable access to the CD-ROM drive while a virtual machine is running, use the Devices menu. This can also be done from within the virtual machine if the VMware Tools have been installed. The VMware Tools may be installed by following these installation instructions.

To install a virtual hard drive stored in a set of existing partitions:

  1. Follow the initial steps above to add an IDE drive.
  2. Choose Raw Disk as the Device Type.
  3. Choose a Disk Mode.
    The default is persistent. VMware Workstation supports three disk modes: persistent, nonpersistent, and undoable. Technical notes on the VMware Web site provide additional information about VMware Workstation disk modes.
  4. Enter the disk Device you want the virtual machine to use. The IDE devices are usually named /dev/hda, /dev/hdb, etc.
  5. Enter a full pathname for the raw disk file in the Name field. This file contains information about the disk being used, including its name and which partitions are available to the virtual machine. By convention, the filename extension is .raw.
  6. Click Create Raw Disk....
  7. Click the Partitions button to specify which disk partitions are accessible to the virtual machine.

See Also