Microsoft Windows NT 4 on VMware vSphere – networking problems
It is correct, that the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 is already “end-of-life” for quite some time, but believe me – there are still some systems on Earth running it. And still, VMware ESX / ESXi 4.0 supports it as a guest operating system. But, the sad part is that the VMware Converter 4.0.1 does not support it as a source…
Despite of that, if you managed to migrate a NT 4.0 from an older ESX version, you will probably face problems with network connectivity. That happens due to virtual machine hardware upgrade from version 4 to 7. Because NT 4.0 lacks some support plug-and-play specifications. A re-install of the network adapter can be a solution.
Here is a step-by-step guide:
- Right-click Network Neighborhood and select Properties.
- Select the Adapters tab.
- Remove the existing adapter.
- Add a new adapter.
- For an AMD PCNet driver, select AMD PCNET Family Ethernet adapter and specify the path as C:winntsystem32. For a vmxnet driver, click Have disk and specify path as C:Program FilesVMwareVMware ToolsDriversvmxnet.
- Reboot the virtual machine.
Windows NT may not recognize NIC after upgrading to ESX 4.x
Symptoms
- Windows NT cannot recognize a NIC as an E1000 compatible device
- You do not see any errors in the virtual machine
- This issue occurs under the following circumstances:
- You have upgraded to ESX 4.x
- You have a legacy Windows NT Guest Operating System
- You have installed VMware Tools
- You upgraded the virtual hardware to version 7.
Resolution
This issue occurs because Windows NT is a legacy operating system and does not supply drivers for the E1000 with VMware Tools.
To workaround this issue and continue to use the E1000 NIC, you can download and install an Intel driver.
To install the Intel driver:
- Ensure that your Virtual Hardware NIC on your virtual machine is set to E1000 and is enabled in your Network Adapters Properties.
- Download the Windows NT driver PRONT4.EXE from Intel at http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/cs-006120.htm.
- Place this driver file on either CDROM or an ISO image. For more information, consult the vendor of your CDROM creation software.
- Attach the ISO or CDROM to the affected virtual machine by right-clicking the virtual machine, then clicking Edit Settings > CDROM/DVD Device, and modifying the appropriate settings.
- Login to the console of your Windows NT system and navigate to My Computer > CD-ROM Drive. Browse the CDROM and double-click the PRONT4.exe.
- Follow the prompts, and take all default settings.
- Reboot the virtual machine after installing the driver. The NIC is now recognized as an E1000 device.
Note: Windows NT is not plug and play. You must reboot the virtual machine after installing the driver to make sure the card is recognized.
