Like many people, I do a lot of systems testing using virtual machines. One of the more frustrating features of the web based VMWare Server 2.0 is the separation between the machine console, and the administrative interface.
With this separation I find there's a notable delay in starting the virtual machine, and being able to access the console. As a result I will alway miss the opportunity to hit F12 for a one off option to choose my boot device.
Thankfully a tweak to the virtual machines VMX file can help.
bios.bootDelay = "nnnn"
Where nnnn specifies a BIOS boot delay in milliseconds.
So bios.bootDelay = "6000" should give you six extra seconds to get that console open and hit F12!
bios.forceSetupOnce = "True"
This is a little less useful in my way of thinking. Adding this entry to the VMX file forces the next reboot into the BIOS.
As with all VMX file tweaks make sure the virtual machine is shutdown first! Also you may need to restart VMWare services to pick up this change.
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