Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
JohnrC123
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Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

I'm running Windows 10 32-bit on a 64-bit capable CPU.

I'd love to install Windows 7 64-bit using VirtualBox. Am I correct in assuming that there's no chance in hades of doing this?

TIA for any help.

Cheers.
Last edited by socratis on 22. Jun 2017, 23:01, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Changed title to something more appropriate.
Martin
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Re: Bits

Post by Martin »

socratis
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by socratis »

Please pick an appropriate title when posting. "Bits" will bring no attention to your post.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
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JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

Thank you for your time.

For anyone else experiencing same, here's a succinct solution in another thread:
I have a 64bit host, but can't install 64bit guests
Last edited by socratis on 27. Jun 2017, 01:37, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Modified URL.
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

Oracle VB is great software and has always worked extremely well for me on several machines.

A new twist this time is that the Host is 32 bit Windows 10, and the Guest would be 64 bit Windows 7. In this config, the Guest is very, very, very slow. As I increase allocated system RAM to the Guest it gets better, but getting close to 3 of 4 GB causes instability with the Host usually crashing the entire system.

I believe the obstacle here is the 32 bit OS RAM limitation (of 3.25 GB). Am I correct in assuming that there's no sense increasing the RAM since the Host won't see it thereby not letting the additional RAM be available to the Guest?

Or is there some kind of chance that I can assign more RAM to the 64 bit Guest while sitting in that 32 bit OS?

Thank you.

Cheers.
socratis
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by socratis »

JohnrC123 wrote:Am I correct in assuming that there's no sense increasing the RAM since the Host won't see it thereby not letting the additional RAM be available to the Guest?
Absolutely correct. Your host, since it's 32-bit, can only see up to 3.5-4 GB. If you assign most of it to your guest, your host is going to starve.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
erdeslawe
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by erdeslawe »

@JohnrC123,

If your Host PC (Hardware) is fully capable of running a 64-bit OS, why not install (migrate to) Windows 10 64-bit? It's a no cost option from the software point of view; and there are plenty of step-by-step guides available on the internet on how to implement the change. You could then add more memory.

See: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... ab312caf74
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

socratis wrote:[Absolutely correct. Your host, since it's 32-bit, can only see up to 3.5-4 GB. If you assign most of it to your guest, your host is going to starve.
So to be clear, once I run 64-bit VB and I'm in that OS, it doesn't suddenly become aware of additional RAM?

I'm probably overthinking this. Just comes down to who has the RAM constraints... VB in the 32 bit OS, or the guest 64-bit OS, or both :)
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

erdeslawe wrote:@JohnrC123,

...why not install (migrate to) Windows 10 64-bit?
Unfortunately, I absolutely have to run some critically important legacy software that won't even launch in 64-bit.
socratis
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by socratis »

JohnrC123 wrote:Just comes down to who has the RAM constraints... VB in the 32 bit OS, or the guest 64-bit OS, or both :)
Neither VirtualBox, nor your guest. It's your host. That's what's limiting what applications (like VirtualBox) can or can't see.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

PS: things work well the other way around. 64-bit computers run the dinosaur stuff in 32-bit VB, but results in a in a lot duplication (uses DDE (remember that?) with MS Office apps and outputs to peripherals etc.)

Everything would be so much simpler, faster and lighter with a 32 bit Host.
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

socratis wrote: It's your host. That's what's limiting what applications (like VirtualBox) can or can't see.
Thanks, socratis. I appreciate your time.
BillG
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by BillG »

Yes, I see your point about being faster and lighter. The other side of the equation is the 32-bit word length. That is what limits its address space to 4GB (less the odds and ends for internal use). That is the main reason things moved to 64-bit - to get a larger address space. Its a bit more inefficient (like using a 64-bit word to store a one-bit flag) but it lets you address lots of RAM, which has become much cheaper.
Bill
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by mpack »

JohnrC123 wrote: Unfortunately, I absolutely have to run some critically important legacy software that won't even launch in 64-bit.
It must be very odd software. I have 32bit software from the Win9x era that runs just fine on Win64 hosts. Win64 has very elaborate support for Win32 apps. Only apps that need special drivers should fail to run - and those would almost certainly fail in a VM as well.

I also have really ancient 16bit software from the Win3 era. That no longer runs on 64bit hosts, but I'm told that even Win10-32bit retains support for the Win16 compatibility subsystem, though it's disabled by default.

Many Win32 apps came with Win16 installers for legacy reasons (i.e. they already had the installer app written, and it still worked on Win32). These will not install on Win64. You'd have to install in a VM, then copy the folders (and maybe some registry keys) to the host.
JohnrC123
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Re: Installing Win7 64-bit on a Win10 32-bit host

Post by JohnrC123 »

mpack wrote:It must be very odd software.
You have no idea :-) The origins are even pre-Windows. It's a programmable, relational database called Superbase first seen on the Atari ST then ported to the very first version Windows.

You open a window and 'code' (just a form of BASIC) while you're using it. Which is what I've been doing since the 1980's and I basically built my business around it. Regularly, quickly modifying whenever I wanted it to something new. By now it's mammoth... the Wooly kind i guess. I'd hate to think of reconstructing it in a different app.

Problem is, it still works really well. Notwithstanding the 8-character file name limitation :lol: Lightning fast and the entire app and thousands of records/files and programs fit on a floppy. If you remember those.

Anyway, I think I've tested every Compatibily mode Win 10 has to offer to no avail.

It's also completely self-contained. Aside from an INI file in the Windows directory, it's all in one directory. Doesn't touch the registry.

Thanks mpack and BillG.
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