Installing your Virtual Machine Windows Server 2012 Virtual Machine

This is a multi-part series that starts here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/jeff_stokes/archive/2013/04/15/building-up-a-learning-lab-based-on-windows-8-and-hyper-v.aspx

So in the previous post we modified our virtual machine, now we’re going to start it up and run through the installation process.  So double-click that bad boy in the hyper-v manager and lets roll!

As you can see, the machine is turned off.  So lets fire it up and turn it on.  Click the green button!

 

If you’ve never stood up a Windows Server 2012 before, welcome!  If you have, well, welcome?!

 

Click next!

 

Now click “Install now”.

 

Put in your product key.  (this blog is assuming an audience of MDN/TechNet subscribers with a license for a lab).  Note if your license file is in your clipboard, you cannot paste it into this field.  The reason for this is the WinPE session currently running is not Hyper-Visor enlightened.  So to put your clipboard into the VM click at the top of the window and select “Clipboard” and select “Type clipboard text”.

Now that the licensing is out of the way, what edition and whatnot does your key provide you?  Core or Non-Core install?  Select on the screen and click next.  For the novice/intermediate user I recommend you stand up a non-core host (Server with a GUI).

 

Next we have the EULA / Licensing screen.  Provided you accept, check the box and hit next.

 

And here we have the installation type screen.  Note we want the Custom Option, default is “upgrade”..

Do take note here.  Although in Windows Explorer, the hard drive (vhdx file) for this VM is only 4 MB, here it detects as 127 GB.

 

Click Next here as we want Windows Server 2012 to format the whole volume.  Now let Windows Server 2012 install as below.  Do note that the Hyper-V additions (Integration Components/Enlightenments/etc.) come native with Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.

 

While this runs on your host, pat yourself on the back, you’ve just started a Windows Server 2012 install on your Windows 8 machine.  Yay!

Next, how to configure the Domain Controller!