When you change the guest operating system type in the virtual machine settings, you change the setting for the guest operating system in the virtual machine's configuration file. To change the guest operating system itself, you must install the new operating system in the virtual machine.

You might change the guest operating system, for example, if you are upgrading the guest operating system installed in the virtual machine.

When you set the guest operating system type for a new virtual machine, vCenter Server chooses configuration defaults based on the guest type. Changing the guest operating system type after the virtual machine is created does not retroactively change those settings. It affects the recommendations and setting ranges offered after the change.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
  2. Click the VM Options tab and expand General Options.
  3. From the Guest OS drop-down menu, select the guest operating system family.
  4. From the Guest OS Version drop-down menu, select the guest operating system version.
  5. If you select Other for the guest operating system family and Other (32-bit) or Other (64-bit) for the version, in the vSphere Web Client you are prompted to type a name for the operating system in the text box.
  6. Click OK.