unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Linux hosts.
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akosmaroy
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. May 2011, 15:36
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows7, MacOS X

unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by akosmaroy »

Hi,

I seem to have encountered an odd / unexpected problem here. I have a WIndows 7 64 bit virtual machine prepared on my desktop system, which an ubuntu 11.10 64 bit box, running on an iCore 7 CPU. I'm trying to move this virtual machine to my server, which is an ubuntu 10.04.3 LTS 64 bit box, running on a Xeon CPU. I'm running the same version of virtualbox on both systems.

But, on the Xeon box, the Windows 7 64 bit VM just won't boot up.

I tried to have it repaired by booting the windows install DVD, but it won't repair it. I tried to re-install Windows 7 64 bit into a new VM on the Xeon box, but during the install, at the first reboot it says the computer is not compatible. Finally, I tried and succeeded in installing Windows 7 32 bit into t a new VM on the Xeon box.

But, I'd really like to get the 64 bit version running there. Are there any known issues with running 64 bit guest OSs, particularly Windows 7, on a Linux-based 64 bit Xeon host?


Akos

PS: some additional information

first, about the iCore 7 machine, where the 64 bit Windows 7 guest runs fine:

Code: Select all


$ VBoxManage --version
4.1.8r75467
$ dpkg-query -l virtualbox-4.1
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name           Version        Description
+++-==============-==============-============================================
ii  virtualbox-4.1 4.1.8-75467~Ub Oracle VM VirtualBox
$ uname -a
Linux rakku 3.0.0-15-generic #25-Ubuntu SMP Mon Jan 2 17:44:42 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo 
processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 26
model name	: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU         960  @ 3.20GHz
stepping	: 5
cpu MHz		: 4000.133
cache size	: 8192 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 8
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 4
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 11
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt lahf_lm dts tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid
bogomips	: 8000.26
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:
...
second, the Xeon box:

Code: Select all

$ VBoxManage  --version
4.1.8r75467
$ dpkg-query -l virtualbox-4.1
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Cfg-files/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name           Version        Description
+++-==============-==============-============================================
ii  virtualbox-4.1 4.1.8-75467~Ub Oracle VM VirtualBox
$ uname -a
Linux perec 2.6.32-37-server #81-Ubuntu SMP Fri Dec 2 20:49:12 UTC 2011 x86_64 GNU/Linux
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo 
processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 30
model name	: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           X3470  @ 2.93GHz
stepping	: 5
cpu MHz		: 2925.939
cache size	: 8192 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 8
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 4
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 11
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 popcnt lahf_lm ida tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid
bogomips	: 5851.87
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:
allpoints
Posts: 28
Joined: 27. Dec 2011, 10:26
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linuxes, Win8

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by allpoints »

how did you move the VM? Teleport? Clone? FTP?

'VBoxManage showvminfo' on both old and new guest might show up any differences, if they exist
akosmaroy
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. May 2011, 15:36
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows7, MacOS X

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by akosmaroy »

allpoints wrote:how did you move the VM? Teleport? Clone? FTP?
I rsync'd the .vdi and .vbox files over, then imported the .vbox file. as I had 3D acceleration enabled on the desktop machine, which resulted in the VirtualBox error 0x800706BE when trying to start, the only change I made was to remove the 3D acceleration option from the .vbox file.

later, I also tried to create a new VM, and then add the .vdi image to it - I got the same results

what is intriguing is that I can't even install a new 64 bit windows guest, which suggests that the issues are not with the method of transferring the image.
allpoints wrote:'VBoxManage showvminfo' on both old and new guest might show up any differences, if they exist
sure, here's a diff of the results of showvminfo on the two machines. the differences are limited to absolute paths, timestamps and VRDE settings:

Code: Select all

$ diff /tmp/vminfo* 
4,6c4,6
< Config file:     /home/akos/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vbox
< Snapshot folder: /home/akos/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Snapshots
< Log folder:      /home/akos/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Logs
---
> Config file:     /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vbox
> Snapshot folder: /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Snapshots
> Log folder:      /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Logs
33c33
< State:           powered off (since 2012-01-22T11:24:11.000000000)
---
> State:           powered off (since 2012-01-22T12:34:35.203000000)
35c35
< 3D Acceleration: on
---
> 3D Acceleration: off
54c54
< SATA Controller (0, 0): /home/akos/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vdi (UUID: f3a4910f-a1ff-45d0-a0f2-13b8cd17c80b)
---
> SATA Controller (0, 0): /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vdi (UUID: f3a4910f-a1ff-45d0-a0f2-13b8cd17c80b)
71a72,87
> VRDE property: TCP/Ports  = "5000"
> VRDE property: TCP/Address = <not set>
> VRDE property: VideoChannel/Enabled = <not set>
> VRDE property: VideoChannel/Quality = <not set>
> VRDE property: VideoChannel/DownscaleProtection = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableDisplay = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableInput = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableAudio = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableUSB = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableClipboard = <not set>
> VRDE property: Client/DisableUpstreamAudio = <not set>
> VRDE property: H3DRedirect/Enabled = <not set>
> VRDE property: Security/Method = <not set>
> VRDE property: Security/ServerCertificate = <not set>
> VRDE property: Security/ServerPrivateKey = <not set>
> VRDE property: Security/CACertificate = <not set>
and here is the output of showvminfo on the Xeon machine:

Code: Select all


Name:            Windows7
Guest OS:        Windows 7 (64 bit)
UUID:            193ae3aa-85fa-43ed-a955-9ebab12b9c21
Config file:     /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vbox
Snapshot folder: /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Snapshots
Log folder:      /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Logs
Hardware UUID:   193ae3aa-85fa-43ed-a955-9ebab12b9c21
Memory size:     1024MB
Page Fusion:     off
VRAM size:       128MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
HPET:            off
Chipset:         piix3
Firmware:        BIOS
Number of CPUs:  1
Synthetic Cpu:   off
CPUID overrides: None
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): Floppy
Boot Device (2): DVD
Boot Device (3): HardDisk
Boot Device (4): Not Assigned
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          on
PAE:             on
Time offset:     0 ms
RTC:             UTC
Hardw. virt.ext: on
Hardw. virt.ext exclusive: on
Nested Paging:   on
Large Pages:     off
VT-x VPID:       on
State:           powered off (since 2012-01-22T12:34:35.203000000)
Monitor count:   1
3D Acceleration: off
2D Video Acceleration: on
Teleporter Enabled: off
Teleporter Port: 0
Teleporter Address: 
Teleporter Password: 
Storage Controller Name (0):            IDE Controller
Storage Controller Type (0):            PIIX4
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  2
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
Storage Controller Name (1):            SATA Controller
Storage Controller Type (1):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (1): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (1):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (1):      1
Storage Controller Bootable (1):        on
IDE Controller (1, 1): Empty
SATA Controller (0, 0): /home/vbox/var/virtualbox/Windows7/Windows7.vdi (UUID: f3a4910f-a1ff-45d0-a0f2-13b8cd17c80b)
NIC 1:           MAC: 080027AA3BD8, Attachment: none, Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny
NIC 2:           MAC: 080027A2170B, Attachment: NAT, Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny
NIC 2 Settings:  MTU: 0, Socket (send: 64, receive: 64), TCP Window (send:64, receive: 64)
NIC 3:           disabled
NIC 4:           disabled
NIC 5:           disabled
NIC 6:           disabled
NIC 7:           disabled
NIC 8:           disabled
Pointing Device: PS/2 Mouse
Keyboard Device: PS/2 Keyboard
UART 1:          disabled
UART 2:          disabled
Audio:           enabled (Driver: PulseAudio, Controller: HDA)
Clipboard Mode:  Bidirectional
VRDE:            enabled (Address 0.0.0.0, Ports 5000, MultiConn: off, ReuseSingleConn: off, Authentication type: null)
Video redirection: disabled
VRDE property: TCP/Ports  = "5000"
VRDE property: TCP/Address = <not set>
VRDE property: VideoChannel/Enabled = <not set>
VRDE property: VideoChannel/Quality = <not set>
VRDE property: VideoChannel/DownscaleProtection = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableDisplay = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableInput = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableAudio = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableUSB = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableClipboard = <not set>
VRDE property: Client/DisableUpstreamAudio = <not set>
VRDE property: H3DRedirect/Enabled = <not set>
VRDE property: Security/Method = <not set>
VRDE property: Security/ServerCertificate = <not set>
VRDE property: Security/ServerPrivateKey = <not set>
VRDE property: Security/CACertificate = <not set>
USB:             enabled

USB Device Filters:

<none>

Available remote USB devices:

<none>

Currently Attached USB Devices:

<none>

Shared folders:  

Name: 'root', Host path: '/' (machine mapping), writable

VRDE Connection:    not active
Clients so far:     0

Guest:

Configured memory balloon size:      0 MB
OS type:                             Windows7_64
Additions run level:                 0

Guest Facilities:

No active facilities.
allpoints
Posts: 28
Joined: 27. Dec 2011, 10:26
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linuxes, Win8

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by allpoints »

looks like the .vdi is still owned (UUID) by the original host, and the new instance can't modify paths, etc

did you unregister the VM before you moved it? this looks like a job for Teleporting, Cloning, or Exporting...
akosmaroy
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. May 2011, 15:36
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows7, MacOS X

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by akosmaroy »

allpoints wrote:looks like the .vdi is still owned (UUID) by the original host, and the new instance can't modify paths, etc

did you unregister the VM before you moved it? this looks like a job for Teleporting, Cloning, or Exporting...
no, I didn't unregister it. but then again, the new host wouldn't know if the machine is still registered on the old.

can you elaborate on teleporting, cloning or exporting? is there anything special to be done, other then moving the images and the VM definition around?
allpoints
Posts: 28
Joined: 27. Dec 2011, 10:26
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linuxes, Win8

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by allpoints »

akosmaroy wrote:
allpoints wrote:looks like the .vdi is still owned (UUID) by the original host, and the new instance can't modify paths, etc

did you unregister the VM before you moved it? this looks like a job for Teleporting, Cloning, or Exporting...
no, I didn't unregister it. but then again, the new host wouldn't know if the machine is still registered on the old.
UUIDs, yo?... :wink:




can you elaborate on teleporting, cloning or exporting? is there anything special to be done, other then moving the images and the VM definition around?
Teleport=Move a running VM to new location/hardware across a network - slickest, but has prerequisites
Clone=Create a full or linked copy of a VM
Export=Create a disk image in .ovf/.vmdk from an existing VM.


chapters 7 & 8 in the Manual explain it much better than I can... :oops:
don't want to sound like some RTFM clown, but you'll want to read it anyway. :mrgreen:

I think you should Teleport it, since you're already set up.
With your skillz, you'll pick it right up in VBoxManage.
akosmaroy
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. May 2011, 15:36
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows7, MacOS X

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by akosmaroy »

I'll give it a shot.

but, the fact that I can't install 64 windows an a newly created VM on the Xeon box suggests that the issue is not with method of moving a disk image around...
akosmaroy
Posts: 10
Joined: 3. May 2011, 15:36
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows7, MacOS X

Re: unable to run 64 bit windows 7 guest on Xeon

Post by akosmaroy »

FYI, the issue was that VT-x was not enabled on this system's BIOS, see this thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=47563&p=214876
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