install from a VMware virtual disk

fatrandy13 · 05-15-2005, 12:37 PM

Hey, I have just installed gentoo linux on a virtual machine using VMware. I usually try out distros on vmware before i install them to a partition... Since the installation took so long (anyone whos installed gentoo knows what i'm talking about) I was wondering if there's anyway to create an ISO out of the virtual disk image that vmware created, and then copy that to a physical drive......chances seem slim....i hope i dont sound to confusing..

Moy Easwaran · 05-15-2005, 07:17 PM

You could try the following:

Just write the file to a CD or DVD as usual (ie. as a regular file) and then dd it onto the partition you want. The trouble with this or your approach is that you'll be installing to a partition, and I think vmware treats the file as a disk.
Alternatively, either inside the vmware gentoo or via ssh/scp, you could write the vmware / to an ISO, then to a CD or DVD, and then just cp -a that onto your new partition (after newfs'ing it appropriately, of course). If you go this route you could also break it up into a set of tarballs. This is basically how Slackware and OpenBSD are distributed, so it's definitely doable.

Hope this helps,

Moy

fatrandy13 · 05-16-2005, 09:47 AM

thanks, i think the only way i am going to get this to work is by trial and error....thanks for the input, your suggestions will be put to good use.