Installation of Microsoft Windows Vista as a Guest OS in Windows Vista is easy. For proof of that, just watch my video where I demonstrate how to install Windows Vista as a Hyper-V Guest. However, once Windows Vista is installed, the first thing that you will want to do is to install the Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Integration services inside that Guest OS. These Hyper-V integration services, once installed, allow you to have your host and guest mouse synchronized such that your mouse does not get “locked” inside that Guest OS Hyper-V virtual console. The integration services also allow you to use the native host OS drives for your guest OS such that you get better performance for guest devices. The most important device is the virtual network interface card driver that is installed as the default NIC in your guest OS. Without the integration services that virtual NIC will not function. (Obviously, you need a working NIC in your guest OS or else you won’t be able to do anything on the network).

Unfortunately, installing the Hyper-V Integration services inside your Vista Guest OS is not as easy as you might think (assuming your Windows Vista installation media has no patches or SP1 slipstreamed into the OS install). Let’s find out what errors you will likely run into and how to solve them to get your Hyper-V virtual Vista Guest OS integration services up and running.