VMware Workstation Pro is a hosted hypervisor that runs on x64 versions of Windows and Linux operating systems; it enables users to set up virtual machines on a single physical machine and use them simultaneously along with the host machine. When you use Easy Install, you usually do not need to provide information during guest operating system installation. If you did not provide all of the Easy Install information in the New Virtual Machine wizard, you might be prompted for a product key, user name, or password. Kindly refer to the following VMware Workstation-related errors and fixes. How to solve VMware workstation .lck error, the VM appears to be in use, how to create a VM (virtual machine) on VMware, and how to create and add a new virtual hard-disk to a Virtual Machine. In this guide, you will learn how to fix Windows cannot find the Microsoft software license terms.
I am sure you must have been very frustrated just like me on this issue as shown in the figure below. I had to download Windows Server 2019 ISO file multiple times and yet did not work. I assigned the License key and yet the issue persisted. To resolve this issue. you will have to Bypass the “VMware Workstation easy install”.
The solution to fix Windows cannot find the Microsoft software license terms
We will have to bypass the “Easy Install” on VMware Workstation. In doing this, you should be able to run your Windows Server or client installation. To do this, follow the steps below.
Instead of selecting the “Installer disc image file”, please select “I will install the operating system later” as shown below. Click on Next to proceed.
Select your guest operating system. In my case, it is Microsoft Windows and the version is “Windows Server 2019”.
Enter the Virtual Machine name and set the VM location as shown below.
Enter your desired disk size and select how you would like to have your virtual disks stored. You can choose to have it stored as single files or multiple files.
Click on finish to complete the VMware VM creation.
Now, you will have to click on Edit to edit the VM settings as shown below.
Click on the CD/DVD (SATA) device and navigate to use the ISO image file as shown below. Click on browse and select your ISO file. Click on Ok to complete this step.
Note: This should work by default. But if it does not work, and you are prompted with the error "EFI network VMware timeout boot on Windows", please refer to this additional link for a quick fix.If you are not prompted with this error, please proceed with the steps below to complete your VM installation.
– Select the Language to install, keyboard etc and
– Click on Next.
Click on Install as shown below.
Select your desired OS you wish to install. I will be selecting the Windows Server 2019 Datacenter (Desktop Experience).
Accept the license terms and click on Next to proceed
I have nothing o do on the following page, therefore, I will click on Next.
As you can see, Windows has started installing unto the VM
As you can see the process has completed and a bit faster than installing Windows on a VirtualBox. See how to install Windows Server 2019. Next, click on “Finish” to complete the steps. How to set up a VM via PXE boot on a Generation 1 VM, and How to set up a Hyper-V Virtual Machine through PXE boot.
I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.
