SPJeff

We continue the build by installing Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition with GUI.  The default install choice is server code (no GUI) but we will want the GUI to work with SharePoint and BI features interactively.   For security, I am using “pass@word1” on all areas including local Administrator.

NOTE – There are some helpful tricks at http://www.win2012workstation.com/ if you plan to use this server with RDP for demos to get a more robust desktop like experience.  Otherwise, you can always browse over HTTP from the VM host.   Sometimes that’s a good way to show cross browser compatibility (IE, FireFox, Chrome, etc.)

I like to run Windows Update before doing anything else just to make sure I’m current and hopefully avoid errors.

I modified the computer name to be “DEMO2013A” for matching the Content Pack scripts from CodePlex documented requirements.

I modified the user “Administrator” to be just “Admin” for easier typing.  This name will have to be typed into all sorts of places, easier to save a few keystrokes.

Next, it’s a good idea to load the VM guest additions.  This might be different for other VM products (VMWare, Hyper-V, etc.)

Then we can modify PowerShell to have unrestricted execution policy.   This will allow for running any PS1 script file without security prompt.  I am using this for DEV, but in practice it is better to keep “RemoteSigned” for production.

Next, we run the Microsoft Content Pack Installer so that we can deploy package files downloaded from https://sharepointdemobuilds.codeplex.com/