Windows Policies and Settings for Virtual Machines

Here are a few useful configuration settings for Windows when installing as virtual machines (VMWare, Virtual PC, Virtual Server, etc.) Some of these settings are inappropriate for production systems; I'll try to clarify in those cases.

Clear Pagefile on Shutdown

This will help reduce the VM's disk space demands. Although many VM hosts may take of this directly, to make sure it's cleared out set the following Group Policy Object (GPO)

Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security
Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Shutdown: Clear virtual memory
pagefile

Allow Shutdown Prior to Logon (Non-Production)

It's valuable for personnel who can't log on to a VM (no access, forgot password, etc.) to be able to shutdown the OS w/o logging in. Enable the following GPO:

Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security
Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Shutdown: Allow system to be shutdown without having to log on

Allow Power Users to Shutdown the OS (Non-Production)

Add the local Power Users group to the following GPO:

Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security
Settings\Local Policies\User Rights Assignment\Shutdown the system