Windows NT 5.0 Build 1906 installation issue in VMware

[Punio]

I've tried to install Windows NT build 1906 in VMware, but I can't seem to get past the second stage of setup. Here is what I have done up to this point:

1. Disabled ACPI in the virtual machine
2. Used a Windows 98 boot disk to partition and format a 4GB IDE Hard Drive
3. Started Smartdrive from the Windows 98 bootdisk for faster setup
4. Switched to the Build 1906 CD, ran 'winnt /b' from the i386 directory and let it copy its files

After that, I get to the OS loader and another DOS-based portion of setup starts. After the 'loading files' portion finishes, it hangs on 'Setup is starting Windows NT' for a while before displaying this:

I had been following the instructions from this BetaArchive thread where a person was experiencing issues with build 1902, which is very similar to 1906: https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17577

So what I need to know is: what have I done wrong here?

[cantasan99]

That's an error similar 0x7b, which indicates there's a problem with your boot drives, mostly incompatible hardware. Check your configuration.

[BF10]

In other words don't use VirtualBox or VMWare for most Windows beta before XP. PCem and 86Box ran this build without any error for me, so try using that.

It also likely means you didn't set your BIOS date back.

[longhornwhistler]

Is your hard drive set to IDE? Also, did you try setting your OS to Windows NT in the VM settings?

[cantasan99]

I was also using QEMU to install some 2000 betas, especially 15xx era.