The VM configuration wizard is designed to step you through a complete configuration of a new VM. The VM configuration wizard offers several advantages:

• It automatically detects and sets every value that it can.
• You need only accept or modify the values.
• It steps through the minimum set of required VM characteristics, so you will not miss anything.
• It contains Help and links to additional help, for each option.
• It is a quick, easy way to define a new VM.

The VM configuration wizard presents a sequence of panels, each containing a device or feature definition with the default, current, or expected value. If the value is OK, press Next to go to the next panel, or if you want to modify the value, simply enter the desired values.

The VM configuration wizard automatically names the virtual disk file (guestos.dsk) and the configuration file (guestos.cfg). So you should create a different directory for each distinct VM that you will define, particularly if you will define multiple VMs using the same guest OS.

You cannot use the VM configuration wizard to modify an existing configuration file. However, you can create a new file and then use the VM configuration editor to make desired modifications.

Note

Some configuration parameters are not available through the VM configuration wizard. For example, to add serial or parallel devices or to change the memory size, you must use the VM configuration editor. The VM configuration wizard also automatically sets the disk mode to persistent.

Upon starting the VM configuration wizard, you see its first panel.

From this point if you continue to press Next, you will see several panels in which you can accept or change settings. You can always press Prev[ious] to return to earlier pages and review or change settings.

Clicking Help on any panel brings up a more detailed discussion of the current setting, and may also contain automatic links to the relevant page on the VMware Web site.

A Finish button is initially dimmed. When the configuration wizard has enough information for a configuration, then the Finish button is undimmed. At any point if you click Finish, the wizard uses default values for any remaining options and presents the configuration summary. Clicking on Finish is the fastest way to configure a VM.

The VM configuration wizard steps through the following characteristics of a VM:

• virtual disk file (persistent mode, and automatically created in the directory that you specify in an early wizard panel)
• CD-ROM and floppy drive
• network connection type (standalone is the default)

When you reach the end, you see a summary of the configuration. At this point you still have the opportunity to go back and change settings. If you press Save, a configuration file is saved to the current directory, with the default name guestOS.cfg.