[Solved] VirtualBox install only has 32-bit options?

[eiger3970]

Hello, I downloaded VirtualBox 5.1.22 r115126 (Qt5.5.1) onto Linux Mint 18.1 Serena 64-bit, Kernel Linux 4.8.0-52-generic x86_64, MATE 1.16.1.
When adding an OS, the only options are 32-bit Windows systems, but I need 64-bit. What is wrong?

[socratis]

Please go thoroughly through the FAQ: I have a 64bit host, but can't install 64bit guests.

[Lucius]

Hi, There's a lot of postings on a lot of boards about this subject and they all run along the lines of...

Make sure vitualisation is enabled in your BIOS and that Hyper-V is disabled in your Windows OS

That's good advice but it didn't fix my problem....what DID fix my problem was to change the AntiVirus settings!

Let me describe my system:

• Intel CoreI5 2320
  Windows 10 Home (patched up to 25th May 2017)
  Avast Anti Virus version 17.4.2294
  Virtualbox 5.1.22

I checked that Virtualisation was enabled in the BIOS and I couldn't see Hyper-V listed in the Windows "Turn Programs and Features On or Off" display from Control Panel...but even so, VirtualBox would not show the option to create 64-bit VMs.
I dual-boot with anothercopy of Windows 10but a DIFFERENT AV installed and VirtualBox was working correctly there, so...


...What I did to fix the problem was to:

• - launch Avast
  - go into Settings
  - go into Troubleshooting
  - Disable the Enable hardware-assisted virtualization option

Now there is a secondary option under "Enable hardware-assisted virtualization" titled "use nested virtualization where available" which holds out the promise of "allow other installed hypervisors (likeVmware, Virtualbox) to cooperate with Avast virtualization..." but this option didn't work for me - the only thing that did was disabling Avast virtualisation altogether.

I hope this helps.

[socratis]

Thank you Lucius for the feedback. A couple of points:

1. Your post is about a Windows host. This however is the "Linux Hosts" section of the forums and I'm not sure
2. Your solution is already covered in the FAQ:

   make sure that no other host apps are already using VT-x/AMD-v. The usual culprits are system level debuggers, other VM platforms, and some resident anti-virus applications.

[eiger3970]

Thanks Socratis. After much searching, I was able to confirm the HP has Virtualisation capbility and enabled it.
Also, I had to reduce the Windows 10 guest RAM from 2 GB to 1 GB to fit on the HP laptop's 2GB RAM.

[socratis]

Glad you were able to track it down. Marking as [Solved].