Another way could be to connect the unformatted Tiger (or Leopard) client image to an Ubuntu Desktop or GParted live CD, thus starting it up from the CD and formatting the image with the included GParted partitioning tool: IIRC, it can create HFS+ Journaled volumes (but I'm not completely sure...).

(Of course, with this method it isn't necessary to hack the Leopard or Tiger install DVD with the ServerVersion.plist trick, in order to start up from it and format the drive image from there with Disk Utility.)

BTW, strange that Parallels 4, with all its features, still doesn't preformat Mac OS X server VMs (à la VMware Fusion)...

(^^^ My post above of course should have been a nested reply to the previous ones...)

Anyway, I tried to create a Mac OS X Server VM in Parallels 4, changed the OS type to Ubuntu Linux and finally started it up with the Intrepid Desktop CD: well, from the partitioning tool it is clear that the image is indeed preformatted with HFS+ (Journaled); and, at least in the Ubuntu version, it also seems that GParted cannot create HFS partitions (they are greyed out in the formatting options).

So, theoretically there should be no problems mounting the image: but it isn't possibile for some reason, as Parallels Mounter fails to activate it on the desktop.

Strange...