Setting up XP Mode in Windows 7 guest causes Guru Error

[rhughes]

Hello

I am running VBox 5.0.0 r 101573

I have successfully installed Windows 7 x64 Pro as a guest, and am now trying to setup XP Mode on that guest.

After clicking 'Start Setup' during the setup wizard, I get the 'Guru' error.

I have assigned 4GB of RAM to the guest, so there is not a lack of memory which I have read here causes a lot of these issues.

My host basic settings are:

Windows 10 Pro x64
16GB RAM
Intel i5-2520M

Please find attached the VBox.log, VBoxStartup.log and VBox.png. Let me know if there is any other information you need.

Thank you for your help!

[loukingjr]

I may remember this incorrectly but XP mode uses Virtual PC, a hypervisor. VirtualBox doesn't support nested hypervisors so VT-x/AMD-D would not be passed in order to run XP Mode. I could be remembering that incorrectly however.

[mpack]

XP mode doesn't use VT-x, so in that sense it isn't a problem, but the performance will be awful. Unusable.

@rhughes: why would you want to do this? Why not create an XP VM on the host? I guess the answer is that you're trying to get around the lack of a license to run the XP VM on new hosts. You should IMHO just do the honest thing and go get yourself a legit XP license. They go pretty cheaply on eBay these days: but make sure it's a genuine hologrammed CD, and avoid name brands (HP, Dell), avoid system repair CDs, service pack only CDs, and upgrade editions.

[loukingjr]

Thanks for the clarification Don. I wasn't sure I remembered it correctly. Apparently I didn't.

[mpack]

Of course the guru meditation still isn't explained. It isn't one I recognize.

Incidentally, the attachment size (at ~330K) was excessive IMHO, so I've eliminated the redundant screenshot and VBoxStartup log.

[rhughes]

XP mode doesn't use VT-x, so in that sense it isn't a problem, but the performance will be awful. Unusable.

@rhughes: why would you want to do this? Why not create an XP VM on the host?

This is a legacy system which requires running in XP Mode (not something I agree with by the way...). I'm only testing a setup, so isn't for long term use. I don't really care about performance for this test.

I don't have any Windows 7 machines around so thought it would be easier just to setup a Windows 7 VM.

Of course the guru meditation still isn't explained. It isn't one I recognize.

Do you think there is a fix/workaround available? If not, I'll just pick up another physical machine.

Incidentally, the attachment size (at ~330K) was excessive IMHO, so I've eliminated the redundant screenshot and VBoxStartup log.

No problem.

[mpack]

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a legacy app that needs to run in XP mode. Nobody targetted XP mode as an app platform. I assume what the app needs is XP, in which case in practice you need an XP VM. Any full XP you have lying around will do. If it's only for a test then you don't need to activate it.

[loukingjr]

Just to add, you can download a trial of Windows XP from dev.modern.ie for that matter.

[rhughes]

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a legacy app that needs to run in XP mode. Nobody targetted XP mode as an app platform. I assume what the app needs is XP, in which case in practice you need an XP VM. Any full XP you have lying around will do. If it's only for a test then you don't need to activate it.

Indeed, it is strange. This is what the manufacturer requires and these are the files that we have to set the system up I would change it but this is how the system is being run on other machines, so I need to keep it the same.

Is there a solution to the guru error do you think? If not, should I file it as a bug?

[mpack]

Then the instructions you were given were wrong. Nobody requires XP mode. There isn't even a way for a guest app to tell that it's XP mode, so how could it be required?

What you have there is a garbled original communication that it requires XP, probably given at the time when Win7 was first acquired.

Actually, while we're on the subject - I find that "it requires XP" is usually wrong too (everything from my XP days continues to run just fine on Win 8.x - it doesn't even need a compatibility mode. It's virtually the same OS kernel after all). However, that discussion can be left for another time.

[rhughes]

Then the instructions you were given were wrong. Nobody requires XP mode. There isn't even a way for a guest app to tell that it's XP mode, so how could it be required?

I do agree, and you are probably correct.

Either way, I'm not currently in a position to change the way the company runs this system. I just need to test a configuration.

Any ideas on the Virtual Box guru error?

[mpack]

It's a error with paged memory management on the host. Perhaps the Windows 10 host is doing something unexpected. Teething problems like that are to be expected in an (as yet) unsupported host.

I would try cutting the guests RAM allocation to 2GB. And are you absolutely certain that it's an x64 guest?

[rhughes]

Teething problems like that are to be expected in an (as yet) unsupported host.

Indeed.

I would try cutting the guests RAM allocation to 2GB. And are you absolutely certain that it's an x64 guest?

I have just done so, but the error re-occurred. I have attached the log again. Yes, I have attached a screen shot: