Upgrade Windows Server 2003 in a VM to a later OS
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Upgrade Windows Server 2003 in a VM to a later OS

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Article ID: 338008

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Windows Server 2003 support is ending July 14, 2015. This KB article guides you to upgrade the Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 within a VM.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Resolution

Upgrade Procedure

Read the following Microsoft KB to make sure all the requirements are met before starting the upgrade: Supported paths for upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008

  1. With VMware Tools installed, upgrade the Guest OS

Note: You might have to reboot the Guest OS several times during the upgrade

  1. Manually edit the vmx configuration file, change the guest OS parameters
    • For a 64-bit OS if vmx config file has one of the following three parameters,change the parameter guestOS = "longhorn-64"
      • winNetEnterprise-64
      • winNetDatacenter-64
      • winNetStandard-64
    • For a 32-bit OS if vmx config file has one of the following three parameters, change the parameter guestOS = "longhorn"
      • winNetEnterprise
      • winNetDatacenter
      • winNetStandard
      • winNetWeb
      • winNetBusiness
  1. Upgrade or reinstall VMware Tools and reboot the VM.

Expected behavior during upgrade