Installing a Windows 8 virtual machine

In the previous section, you read about how to specify hardware settings for the virtual machines you want to install. Based on this, you can now install a virtual machine. In this section, you'll read about how to install a Windows 8 virtual machine.

In the previous procedure, you have read about how to define the hardware settings for the virtual machine you want to create. After the hardware options have been defined, the virtual machine is added to the VMware dashboard. Before you can start the actual installation, you'll now first have to define the installation disk that you want to use. To do this, select Virtual Machine from the VMware dashboard and click on Edit virtual machine settings.

After clicking on Edit virtual machine settings, on the Hardware tab select CD/DVD (IDE). If you want to install from an ISO file, click on Use ISO image file and browse to the file you want to use to start the installation.

Now click on the OK button to save the settings and click on the Play button to start the virtual machine. You'll now see the virtual machine starting, with the virtual machine startup windows shown in a window within the VMware Workstation console. In case the installation program doesn't fit, you can maximize this window. The easiest way to do this is using the buttons on top of the installer window. Hover the mouse over the buttons to see a description of each; you need to enter fullscreen mode to work conveniently from a fullscreen environment. To get back out of the fullscreen display, use the Ctrl + Alt keys simultaneously. Next, move the mouse button to the upper part of the screen to show the button bar. You can see that the fullscreen button is currently active; click on it again to deactivate it.

The installation procedure itself is the same as the way that you are familiar with it on a normal Windows installation. Complete all of the required steps to finish the installation. Note that you do need a valid registration key to install Windows 8. If you want to set up a Windows 8 machine for testing purposes, you can request an evaluation key from www.microsoft.com. Even if it is just for testing purposes, you will need to register the virtual machine at www.microsoft.com; it is not possible to complete the installation procedure without registration.