Delaying the boot operation is useful when you change BIOS or EFI settings such as the boot order. For example, you can change the BIOS or EFI settings to force a virtual machine to boot from a CD-ROM.

Prerequisites

  • Verify that vSphere Client is logged in to a vCenter Server.
  • Verify that you have access to at least one virtual machine in the inventory.
  • Verify that you have privileges to edit boot options for the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
  2. Click VM Options tab and expand Boot Options.
  3. In the Boot Delay section, select the time in milliseconds to delay the boot operation.
  4. (Optional) In the Force setup section, select whether to force entry into the BIOS or EFI setup screen the next time the virtual machine boots.
  5. (Optional) In the Failed Boot Recovery section, select whether the virtual machine should reboot after a boot failure and enter the time in seconds.
  6. Click OK.