Virtual Server 2005 provides features that improve the integration and performance of a virtual machine running certain Windows operating systems. These features are part of Virtual Machine Additions; they are not native to the operating system or to the Virtual Server service. Virtual Machine Additions is not installed by default when you install Virtual Server, although you must install it in order to use a guest operating system effectively.
Virtual Machine Additions will also improve many aspects of your experience when using Virtual Server. For example, if Virtual Machine Additions is installed on the virtual machine, you can move the pointer freely between the virtual machine window and the host operating system when using the Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) client.
Virtual Machine Additions is included with Virtual Server and can be installed from the guest operating system when it is running a supported operating system.
Important
The following features are included in Virtual Machine Additions:
For information about how to install Virtual Machine Additions, see Install Virtual Machine Additions.
You must install Virtual Machine Additions on all virtual machines. The version of Virtual Machine Additions included with Virtual Server 2005 is the most recent and should be installed on any virtual machine running earlier versions of Virtual Machine Additions. For more information, see Installing Virtual Machine Additions.
Virtual Machine Additions is included for the following supported server operating systems:
Virtual Machine Additions is provided as a convenience for the following client operating systems:
You can perform either a standard installation by using the Setup Wizard or an unattended installation by using a command prompt. A standard installation prompts you for confirmation, whereas an unattended installation is completed without prompting you or displaying a user interface. For instructions on how to perform a standard installation, see Install Virtual Machine Additions. To perform an unattended installation, copy the Virtual Machine Additions image file to a location where it can be accessed by the virtual machines, and then type the syntax as shown in the following section.
setup.exe -s -v"/qn [Reboot=ReallySuppress]"
If you move a virtual machine that was created with Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 to Virtual Server, we recommend that you reinstall Virtual Machine Additions, even if it was installed in Virtual PC. This is because the version of Virtual Machine Additions included with Virtual Server has been updated.