Running a virtual machine before logging in to the host

[Alex]

Hello .
My question is how it is possible to run some virtual machine upon a
startup - BEFORE logging in to the host .

My host is Windows 2000 professional.
And on my VM's I have win2003 , win2000 advanced , and more ..

The reason I need this , is because I have an Active Directory installed on
the servers that are under the VM's , and I've added my host to that a
domain in that AD,
but for me ( my host ) to log in to the domain , I need the server ( VM) to
be running ( before I login to the host of course ) .

And besides .. it's just interesting .
Since there are many situations I can think of , that you want the VM's up
and running , but you don't want to log in to the host

Thank you .

[NM]

In news:bv0dvn$bp8$1...@london.vmware.com,
Alex <ale...@inter.net.il> typed:

AFAIK, not with WS. You need the server version to do this. I have a
second VM running client components that is part of the "server" VM domain.

[Jefferson Harris]

This works for me.

One caveat is that if the host bounces you may have file length
discrepancies when restarting the VMs. To fix it you'd have to allow the
service to interact with the desktop in order to see the vmware app. I tend
not to have it interact with the desktop, so that the service will run
completely independently of the host's screen. Make sure though that the VM
you build has some remote access capability or you won't be able to operate
it. That is probably only true with disks that can grow. Fixed disks or
raw disks probably wouldn't have that problem.

Workstation can be started as a service, meaning that you can get the
VM up and running without logging in to the system, and the VM won't shut
down on you when you log out.

The standard way of adding a service is to use instsrv.exe which is a
utility that comes with the Resource Kit, however, VMWare, like many apps
needs a bit more.

A companion to instsrv is srvany.exe and the method for starting VMWare as a
service is as follows:

At a DOS prompt (assuming you have the resource kit in your path or are in
that folder) type in:

instsrv VMWare c:\progra~1\resour~1\srvany.exe //you may use long file
names as well with double quotes for spaces in the string

This creates a VMWare service which is thus far none functional.

Next, create as indicated by the following registry snippet:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VMStart\Parameters]
"Application"="C:\\Program Files\\VMware\\VMware
Workstation\\Programs\\vmware.exe \"D:\\vms\\Windows 2000 Advanced
Server\\windows 2000 advanced server.vmx\""

You can edit this snippet for your own paths, save it to a .reg, and install
it by double-clicking. Note that the \\ are required delimiters so don't
edit them out, however if you create the application keyof a type sz and
then type in string it will look like this:

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation\Programs\vmware.exe
"D:\vms\Windows 2000 Advanced Server\windows 2000 advanced server.vmx"

Note that you're passing the name of the VM you want to start as an argument
to the executable, thus the double-quotes are needed.

Once you've done this you can start the service, you then need to go to the
Configuration Editor>>Options tab and check the Power on after starting
application checkbox. You probably do not want to select exit on Power
Off...the VM window goes away, but the service still runs.

From there go to your Services applet, set the VMWare service to start
Automatic and allow it to interact with the desktop.

Then you're all set and VMWare with the selected vmx will start
automatically on a restart of the host without logging in.

"Alex" <ale...@inter.net.il> wrote in message
news:bv0dvn$bp8$1...@london.vmware.com...