How to install Windows Server 2022 on VMware Workstation

Windows Server 2022 Operating System builds on the existing Server 2019 and will become part of the long-term servicing channel program. Just like the predecessor “Windows Server 2019“, this operating system can also be installed locally without much focus on cloud integration. This allows classic (legacy) server roles such as WDS, DHCP, DNS, ADFS, Active Directory Domain Services (Domain Controller), and Internet Information Services (IIS) to be configured on the server. In this article, we shall learn how to install Windows Server 2022 on VMware Workstation.

This is a pre-release software. It is provided for use “as-is” and is not supported in production environments at the time of writing this article. Users are responsible for installing any updates made available from Windows Update.

If you would like to install Windows Server 2022 on a VirtualBox, please see the guide “How to install Windows Server 2019 on Virtualbox“. All you need is to select the Windows Server 2022 ISO instead of Windows Server 2019 ISO. What are the new capabilities in Windows Server 2022.

Windows Server 2022 Features and Installation

Windows Server 2022 brings a lot of innovations on IT security, portal integration, and Windows Containers support on Kubernetes. With the secured-core Server, the server should be protected at the hardware, firmware, and operating system level.

A Trusted Platform Module 2.0 is used for this. Also, see this guide on how to perform an in-place upgrade from Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2019. If you would like to install and test the features of Windows Server 2022, please follow the steps below.

There are various ways to create a New Virtual Machine on a VMware workstation. Launch the VMware console and on the menu, click on File and select New Virtual Machine.

VMware Workstation installation of Windows Server is pretty fast compared to VirtualBox. Select Typical and follow the installation steps as described below.

On the guest operating System window, please select the second option “Installer disk image file (iso) and browse to the location of your Windows Server 2022 Preview ISO. When selected, click on Next to continue.

In the next window, select next to continue. Currently, VMware have not updated the list of the various Windows Server versions. So I will be selecting Windows Server 2019.

Enter your desired Virtual machine name. Note: At this point, you can choose a different location to have your Virtual Machine files saved.

Enter your desired Maximum disk size and select how you would like your virtual disks to be saved. I selected the first option “Store virtual disk as a single file”.

See the following guides on how to perform Post OS Installation configuration of Windows Server 2019 Properties, how to install Windows Server 2016 Operating System, and how to install and configure Ubuntu Linux.

Specify the Disk capacity and the Virtual Disk Type

When you are done, click on Finish as shown in the figure below.

You may also want to see how to Install Windows 10 on VMware Workstation, The security database on the server does not have a computer account for this workstation trust relation [Part 1], How to extend a VM Hard Disk on VMware Workstation, and Taking ownership of a VM: How to fix this error.

Server Installation Activation

To proceed with the server installation, click on “Power on this Virtual Machine”. At this step, if you run into any issues relating to boot failure “EFI network timeout“.

This will launch the following windows below. In the Windows setup, select your desired input method, language to install and time format. When you are done, click on Next to continue.

Click on “Install now” to continue with the installation of Windows Server 2022.

Below, I entered I do not have a product key. Please refer to this link if you prefer unlimited activations

Below are the available Operation systems. Please select the one you would like to install. I will be installing Windows Server 2020 Datacenter (Desktop Experience) as shown in the figure below.

Accept the license Terms and click on next to continue

I will be selecting the Custom installation as I do not want to keep any existing settings.

You may also want to see how to fix VMware and HyperV are not compatible, and What Is the NTUSER.DAT File in Windows?

Format or create a new partition

I do not need to format or create a new partition. Therefore I will be selecting Next to continue.

Furthermore, As you can see below, Windows is currently being installed.

Enter your Password and click on Finish to complete your installation.

As you can see, the installation is complete. Now enter the newly created password

Note: Ensure you have VMware Tools installed after the setup of Windows server 2022 on VMware Workstation.

Let’s access Windows Server 2022 About (Properties). Launch the Windows Settings and click on Systems and then click on About as shown below.

Windows Server 2022 ISO can be downloaded as a preview. This requires a Microsoft account that is registered as a Windows Insider member. Refer to this guide for the Post OS Installation and configuration of Windows Server 2019 Properties (Configure TCP/IP Parameters). This hyperlink will guide you on configuring the Windows Server 2022 Properties such as TCP/IP.

I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.