I'm trying to install Vista Beta 2 in Virtual PC. The system starts to load, but after entering my product key, I receive the message "Setup failed to open the Windows image file". After clicking OK, the system hangs up and doesn't install.
I've also tried to install Virtual Machine additions, but they do not run automatically. How does one "open the CD-ROM drive inside the virtual machine to run the setup program"?
I've moved this thread to the general forum as it seems more on topic.
One problem I had when trying to set up Vista on Virtual PC is that I didn't give the VPC enough memory. I think I had to bump memory up to 512 MB before the install would run correctly. Sorry I don't remember if my failure symptom was the same as yours.
The Virtual Machine Additions install drivers so you can't install them until you've completed installing the OS.
What did you create an iso image file from and why did you need to create it?
I thought Micorosft provided an iso image you could download and use directly? I used the physical CD from my MSDN subscription so I didn't need an iso image.
I created it from the Vista Beta 2 CD-ROM, because when I try to load vista in Virtual PC it fails to load and returns a message "Setup failed to open the Windows image file".
where is the iso image that Microsoft provides?
I have successfully installed Vista Beta 2 in VPC 2004. To get it to work, I had to set up the VPC with 1 GB RAM and a 16 GB VHD. The host machine is a 3 GHz Dell with 2 GB RAM and 160 GB disk. The performance is as slow as itch, but I don't know what portion is due to the Beta and what is due to VPC. And installs off the DVD take forever to complete. (Start it and go to dinner).
I've also installed VMA and they seem to work fine. As noted they must be installed after the OS. To complete the pain, I've also installed Office 2007 Beta which also works. Good luck and hope this helps.
Sorry I wasn't able to be more positive. However, I think it may be worth the effort. MS has moved everything in Vista so its a real hide and go seek to find the features you want that are still there somewhere. MS Office 2007 is something similar. You'll definitely want to test Vista and Office 2007 before deploying in a production environment.
Lots of luck.
