Haven't checked the specifics but I posted a series of Vista Beta 1 and VMware install articles over on my blog. The hard disk issue you mention is probably the same as back in beta 1. Beta 1 didn't like raw disks and this may be true as well for pre-B2.

Oh, and you're right... VMware rocks! Still my #1 choice. Oh, and if you haven't heard Workstation v5.5 beta has been released.

Thanks Eric. Your Vista Beta 1 & VM Ware steps did the trick! I had to go through Vista setup far enough to partition the raw drive... then reboot the VM, then make sure the CD-Rom was set as the first boot device (which is actually the DVD-Image) then proceed with setup. Vista is now running in a VM.

I think VPC Users are still SOL.

Excellent, I'm glad you are up and running.

I've tried to build a basic set of readme notes for the PDC builds of Windows Vista and Visual Studio at the above location - don't know if this might help others.