Microsoft offers a CRM 2011 virtual machine (VM) demo that is designed to be run on a 64bit Hyper-V server. The VM image contains all the essential CRM server components, two separate CRM deployments with sample data, multiple user profiles, CRM Email Router, Visual Studio, SharePoint integration, and even Outlook with the CRM plugin installed and configured. This VM could be useful for client demos, testing something for a client in a safe environment, or just for becoming more familiar with CRM. I was able to set it up on my laptop and wanted to share the steps I took to get it working.
Enable Virtualization in your laptop BIOS:
Virtualization is a CPU feature that allows multiple operating systems to use the CPU simultaneously
- I have a Lenovo T430 with an Intel Core i7 CPU but this should work on all Intel i7/i5/i3 CPUs or any AMD CPU that supports virtualization.
- Virtualization was disabled by default on my laptop, I had to reboot, enter the BIOS and enable Virtualization(If you at unsure how to do this, please look it up and be very careful when making changes to the BIOS
Download:
The VM demo is available for download on PartnerSource(requires login) from the following link:Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Virtual Machine
There are 10 parts for the CRM server. Download them all and then run “Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM-01.part01.exe” to extract the files for the VM into a folder.(Make note of where the files are extracted to)
- There is an optional Exchange server VM available for download that allows sending emails from one user to another but it is not required for the CRM server to function.
- There is a file called “Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM Overview.docx” that I highly recommend downloading. It contains an overview of the VM environment, user account & passwords, and details regarding the functionality of the CRM demo environment.
Next, download and install Oracle VirtualBox from the following link: VirtualBox-4.2.16-86992-Win.exe
Configure the VM:
Run VirtualBox
Click New > give the VM a name: CRM > change the version to Windows 2008 (64bit) > click Next
Increase the Memory size to 2048 MB (or larger) > click Next
Click “Use an existing virtual hard drive file” and then select “CRM2011.vhd” from the Virtual Hard Disks folder of the extracted VM files > click Create
Select the VM > click Settings > click Storage > right click the CRM2011.vhd (under the SATA controller) > click “Remove Attachment”
Select “Controller: IDE” at the top of the Storage Tree and click the “Add Hard Disk” button (it is an Icon with a green + to the right of Controller: IDE)
Select “Choose existing disk” and select the CRM2011.vhd file again and click Open.
- These last steps are to address an issue with the demo VM. It will not run when mounted as a SATA drive and must be mounted as IDE
Now, you just need to select the VM, click Start and wait for it to boot. The usernames and passwords are available in the “CRM 2011 VM Overview.docx” file. Login first with the Administrator account and password (pass@word1). Once you are logged in, some updates will be installed and you may need to reboot the VM a couple times; this will complete the setup and you can launch CRM from the links on the desktop.
That is all it takes to set up your very own Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 VM on Windows 7
