Cannot install 8.04 Server as a guest on Windows Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1

I'm having the same exactly issue with no luck.

At the "Start" screen, I hit F6 for more option and modified my install to look like this
file=/cdrom/pressed/ubuntu-server.seed xxxxxx /initrd.gz quiet splash vga=791 noreplace-paravirt —
(can't remember what xxxxxx was, but I left the default entry)

Install is still running right now, but at least I got past the first screen. I'll post back here if I have any problems

At last we achieved a successful install... There are a number of things that need to be noted when attempting an Ubuntu 8.04 Server install as a guest using Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, as follows:

Stage 1 - Boot options for the Install

In order to commence the "Install from CD" after booting the 8.04 Server CD, you must add the boot options vga=771 (or vga=791) and noreplace-paravirt.

The vga option will allow you to see stuff as VS2005 is a bit odd with video, and the noreplace-paravirt stops the install kernel from constantly rebooting the machine!

This should get you happily installing Ubuntu 8.04. Thanks to ored4jc for the head-start.

Stage 2 - Post-Installation, Replacing the "server" kernel with "generic" kernel

The default kernel that is installed with 8.04 Server is the linux-2.6.24-16-server kernel - but since this has been optimized for i686 CPU's, it seems (to me anyway) that this will NEVER RUN under MS VS 2005 R2 (all you get is a critical "BUG: Int 6: CR2 00000000" freeze) - so the solution is to replace the "server" kernel with the "generic" kernel which is not optimised only for i686 CPU instruction sets and works in VS2005.

To install the generic kernel, I found this was best done at the very last step of the Installation process - DO NOT choose "Continue" to reboot, instead choose "Go Back" and then choose the menu option that gives you a terminal.

In the terminal at the end of the installation process (be careful the following assumes you've configured networking and the virtual machine has internet access which it should if you completed those steps during the installation), do the following:

#> chroot /target /bin/bash
#> aptitude install linux-generic
#> aptitude remove linux-server linux-image-server linux-image-2.6.24-16-server linux-ubuntu-modules-2.6.24-16-server
#> exit

Staying in the terminal, it is now wise to edit the grub menu to add the boot options to the generic kernel so that it will start correctly (yes, the same boot options as the install CD); you do it like this:

#> nano /target/boot/grub/menu.lst

Look for the lines similar to below, and add the boot options (i.e. vga=771 noreplace-paravirt) at the end of the kernel line.

     title Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-18-generic
     root (hd0,0)
     kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-18-generic root=UUID-XXXXXXXXXXX ro quiet splash vga=771 noreplace-paravirt
     ..

Then we chroot back into the target and update the grub menu like this:

#> chroot /target /bin/bash
#> update-grub
#> exit

And exit the Terminal to return to the Installation menu options, by typing:
#> exit

Then select "Finish the Installation" and choose "Continue" to reboot - fingers crossed it will work for you too!

which option give me a terminal
1. choose language
2. configure the keyboard
3. Detect and mount CD-ROM
4. Load debconf preconfiguration file
5. Load installer components from CD
6. Detect network hardware
7. Configure the network
8. Configure the clock
9. Detect disks
10.Partition disks
11.Install the base system
12.Set up users and passwords
13.Configure the package manager
14.Select and install software
15.Build LTSP chroot
16.Manually partition a hard drive (fdisk)
17.Install the GRUB boot loader on a hard disk
18.Install the LILO boot loader on a hard disk
19.Continue without boot loader
20.Finish the installation
21.Change debconf priority
22.Check the CD_ROM(s) integrity
23.Save debug logs
24.Execute a shell
25.Eject a CD from the drive
26.Abrot the installation

i will be waiting to your replys

thanks

It is Option 24. Execute a shell.

thank you for your Option when i type this it was still missing some file
aptitude install linux-generic
Reading package list... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
Building tag database... Done
Couldn't find any package whose name or description matched "linux-generic"
Couldn't find any package whose name or description matched "linux-generic"
No packages will be instaled, upgraded, or removed.
0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B of archives. After unpacking 0B will be used.
Radding package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
Building tag database... Done

where can i find and get the package of "linux-generic"

thank again

Hi,

I am a complete newby to Linux and Ubuntu. My first try with Linux has been to install Ubuntu Server onto a Virtual Machine in MS Virtual Server 2005 (Hey, just using what's available to me, by lack of hardware) I just wanted to add my experiences regarding the above mentioned tweaks trying to get this to work

Machine: Dell Dimension 8200 P4 2,4 Ghz, 3Com 905C-TX NIC
MS Virtual Server 2005 R2

Ubuntu version 2.6.28-11 server using text based installer:
- The option VG1=771 is imperatif (else the installer hang on booting)
- Could not deinstall the 2.6.28-11 kernel and then reinstall the generic kernel because the emulated NIC would not come up in Ubuntu
  Trying to do this actually broke my installation because the linux kernel was removed without installing a new one
- Installing the Ubuntu server with the default kernel 2.6.28-11 did not cause any freezes and I am still running this todate
- When trying to get the NIC to be recognized I did the following:

1) Manually add these lines to the /etc/network/interface file to just active the NIC with standard DHCP setting:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

Result: Still no network

2) Manually add these lines to the /etc/modules file to load the /etc/modules file to load the NIC driver in Ubuntu

tulip

Result: Still no network

3) Manually add bootoption /boot/grub/menu.lst file to disable power management (apparently this sometimes pervents Ubuntu from recognizing hardware correctly )

Add option acpi=off to the active boot entry

Result: Still no network

4) Then I found this blog entry :
Set the NIC configuration for the virtual machine in Virtual Server 2005 to static
(see: http://doingitvirtual.com/blogs/virtualzone/archive/2007/09/11/using-virtual-server-2005-r2-differencing-disks-with-ubuntu-server-7-04.aspx )

Network up and running !!!

Hope this helps somebody.