"Invalid system disk. Replace the disk, and then press any key" error message when you start a virtual machine in Virtual PC for Mac (824654)

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. If the virtual machine is in full-screen mode, press COMMAND while you perform the actions in step 2, or switch to Window mode.
   
   For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   839866 How to switch between full-screen mode and window mode in Virtual PC for Mac

2. Use one of the following procedures, depending on the Virtual PC version and the type of the floppy that you have:
   • For Virtual PC for Mac 7, click Eject Floppy Image "image_file_name.vfd" on the Drives menu.
   • For Virtual PC for Mac 5 and 6, click Uncapture Floppy Image "image_file_name.vfd" on the Drives menu.
   Note The virtual machine may still not be able to start if there is no bootable virtual hard drive image attached.

You can now start your virtual machine from the drive image.

Note For Virtual PC version 3.x and earlier, the floppy icon on the toolbar at the lower left of the Virtual Machine window may appear slightly different from the way that it is described in step 2.