HOW TO: Install ReactOS Networking on Virtual PC
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:08 am
This post describes how to install ReactOS within Windows 7 Virtual PC and how to enable Networking.
1. Create a new virtual machine by clicking "Create virtual machine" in your "Virtual Machines" folder.
2. The wizard will ask you to specify memory and networking options. I used 1024 MB of RAM and checked the "Use computer network connections" checkbox.
3. On the next screen, select the default option: Create a dynamically expanding virtual hard disk. Then click Create. Your new virtual machine can then be found in the "Virtual Machines" folder.
4. Right-click on it and open the Settings dialog box. Be sure that a network adapter is selected. It will be bound to one of the "real" network adapters on your Windows 7 machine. Be sure that the DVD drive is bound to a "real" DVD drive on your system.
5. Now start the virtual machine and let it boot from a ReactOS DVD (or CD). ReactOS will then install on the VM.
6. At some point during the install, you will be prompted for a Network Adapter installation disk. The needed driver IS NOT the driver for the real adapter, but the driver for the Network Adapter that Virtual PC emulates.
7. To obtain this driver, open a Windows XP virtual machine and copy these two files to a folder of your choice on the Windows 7 system:
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\dc21x4.sys and C:\Windows\Inf\net21x4.inf
8. Then write those two files to a blank CD.
9. Back in ReactOS, select the CD drive and install the network adapter from there.
10. That's it. All you now need to do is reboot the VM and ReactOS will initialize the networking adapter via DHCP. If you don't have a DHCP server on the physical network, then simply click Start, Settings, Network Connections and right-click on the Network Connection to view its Properties. Select TCP/IP and then click Properties to assign an IP address, Mask, Gateway and DNS address as needed.
NOTE: If you already have a ReactOS VM up and running and just want to get networking to work, click Start, Settings, Administrative Tools, Device Manager. Open the Properties of the crossed out networking adapter and then install the driver from the CD you created above.
1. Create a new virtual machine by clicking "Create virtual machine" in your "Virtual Machines" folder.
2. The wizard will ask you to specify memory and networking options. I used 1024 MB of RAM and checked the "Use computer network connections" checkbox.
3. On the next screen, select the default option: Create a dynamically expanding virtual hard disk. Then click Create. Your new virtual machine can then be found in the "Virtual Machines" folder.
4. Right-click on it and open the Settings dialog box. Be sure that a network adapter is selected. It will be bound to one of the "real" network adapters on your Windows 7 machine. Be sure that the DVD drive is bound to a "real" DVD drive on your system.
5. Now start the virtual machine and let it boot from a ReactOS DVD (or CD). ReactOS will then install on the VM.
6. At some point during the install, you will be prompted for a Network Adapter installation disk. The needed driver IS NOT the driver for the real adapter, but the driver for the Network Adapter that Virtual PC emulates.
7. To obtain this driver, open a Windows XP virtual machine and copy these two files to a folder of your choice on the Windows 7 system:
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\dc21x4.sys and C:\Windows\Inf\net21x4.inf
8. Then write those two files to a blank CD.
9. Back in ReactOS, select the CD drive and install the network adapter from there.
10. That's it. All you now need to do is reboot the VM and ReactOS will initialize the networking adapter via DHCP. If you don't have a DHCP server on the physical network, then simply click Start, Settings, Network Connections and right-click on the Network Connection to view its Properties. Select TCP/IP and then click Properties to assign an IP address, Mask, Gateway and DNS address as needed.
NOTE: If you already have a ReactOS VM up and running and just want to get networking to work, click Start, Settings, Administrative Tools, Device Manager. Open the Properties of the crossed out networking adapter and then install the driver from the CD you created above.