Oracle VM server Install - Media Test on bootable CD fails

Question

I have made 3 cd's on 2 different machines and when I run them to install the VM Server on a machine with a clean hard drive (ok irrelevant) I get an error when I try to run the Media Test. I have verified the checksums on the original ZIP files I downloaded and even downloaded a second copy of the zip to check it - I still get the error. I verified the CD as a part of the Burn process. (Note: I did do this on a different machine than I used to boot/read/install VM Server from.
Before you continue to read below - I guess my primary question is how safe was it to ignore the failure of the media test?
I created the cd with NERO 9 using Nero Burning ROM and selecting CD-ROM (ISO) when I drag the ISO file to Nero I get a message:
"You have added a single image file to an empty compilation. To burn the content of this type of image to a disc, please use the 'Burn Compilation'
function from the main menu.
Would you like to close the current compilation and burn the image instead?"
When I say yes and take the option I get a disc that has the contents of the ISO broken into many files (as I would expect to make a bootable disk). When I say no and then subsequently Burn the disc (without adding any extra files) it creates a disc with one file (the original ISO) on the disc.
It seems like it is trying to verify the the checksum of the original iso file? Or am I missing something. I got frustrated and used the disc without running the media test and it seems to run fine and the VM Server that was installed on my hard drive boots up fine as far as I can see.
Please feel free to point me to a link that explains UNIX (I have used UNIX but have not installed a UNIX system since the early 1980's) boot disk setup - I feel that there is something I am not understanding.
On a similar note I have created the Oracle VM Manager disk with the same process as above to make it a bootable disk. The documentation says that I do not have a bootable version of the Manager disc. Should I have created a disc with the ISO file intact on it instead?
OK I just did some research and now I understand that ISO type files are an archive type (like zip or tar.gz??) that can have boot records on it. Hmm. OK after all of this long dissertation I understand the ISO now but why would NERO have me build a CDROM(ISO) that did not make the ISO bootable?

Answer 1

I have exactly the same problem with VM Server 2.2.0. I have downloaded the zip file a couple of times, burnt the cd using different computers and different cd-burning software, I have a pile of spoilt cd by my side, but the media check always fails.
The only difference is that, if I go on with the installation despite the media check failure, the software apparently is not properly installed. When I boot, I get the message "time went backwards", surrounded by a bunch of numbers, and then it all gets stuck.
It is the second time in a year that I try and fail to get started with Oracle VM. Maybe Oracle VM is only for experts. Well, I give up. I will go back to running Oracle on VMWare or Microsoft Virtual Server, which have always worked flawlessly for me.
Regards
Juan Algaba Colera