virtualbox.org

Hi !

I had Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit) which installed and ran AutoCAD 2004 perfectly fine for several years.

Then my computer started developing hardware faults, so I decided to give VM a go for the first time in my life. I have to say that I am impressed with it. It is installed on a Windows 10 computer.

I then installed AutoCAD 2004 (no hitches in doing that whatsoever).

Then it came to launch time. Failed. I googled about the situation and can see that I am not alone with this problem. There is this resource (forum will not yet allow me to include the link - will do so tomorrow).

But it is not free. Is there no other way that I can get my copy of AutoCAD 2004 up and running inside VM?

Thank you for your help.

Andrew

Chuckie72 wrote:I googled about the situation and can see that I am not alone with this problem.

You don't actually describe the problem, you're letting us guess. And you don't have to include a link; most people won't go there. Simply describe the problem as if you were describing it to a person that is not sitting in front of your computer.

Please read the following: Minimum information needed for assistance. As far as the "VBox.log.zip" goes, here's what you do:

1. Start the VM. Not from a saved or suspended start. Clean start.
2. Take the steps required to generate the error.
3. Record the error message. EXACTLY. Post a screenshot if you have to.
4. Shut down the VM. Not suspend, not pause. Shut down.
5. Right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager.
6. Select "Show Log..."
7. Save it, ZIP it and attach it in your response (see the "Upload attachment" at the bottom of the form).

Chuckie72 wrote:But it is not free. Is there no other way that I can get my copy of AutoCAD 2004 up and running inside VM?

No. Not here. We can't been seeing condoning piracy.

Who spoke about piracy? (Sorry if that sounded rude!)

Anyway, to clarify ...

I start autocad and nothing happens. That is it. No more to say. No errors, no anything. Just does run.

When I said about something free, I mean a free solution to get autocad running in vm. Sorry for any confusion.

Thank you.

OK, thanks for clarifying that. What about the rest of my answer? And the logs...

Oops. Attached.

512MB seems a little light for a Win7 OS in which you intend to run AutoCAD. You have plenty of host RAM, so I'd assign 2GB to this VM.

Also, it appears you haven't installed the Guest Additions, so AutoCAD would run poorly at best (select Device|Insert Guest Additions CD, then browse to virtual CD and run VBoxGuestAdditions installer. Remember to eject CD when you're done).

Likewise, you have a 4 core host, so I would have assigned 2 cores to this VM. Be aware however that it can be problematic to change the fundamentals of virtual motherboard after a Windows guest is already installed. It can be done, but you may need to look up how to change the HAL, and it may affect activation (of Win7 and AutoCAD if applicable).

VRAM is low at 27MB. Increase to 128MB.

25GB is marginal for the disk, but best live with this for now.

I am sorry, but this is my first time using vm software. I used defaults. What setting needs to be changed? And to what kind of value?

Thank you!

Defaults are good, but they are more conservative than necessary for your specific host and your intentions.

mpack wrote:512MB seems a little light for a Win7 OS in which you intend to run AutoCAD. You have plenty of host RAM, so I'd assign 2GB to this VM.

Also, it appears you haven't installed the Guest Additions, so AutoCAD would run poorly at best (select Device|Insert Guest Additions CD, then browse to virtual CD and run VBoxGuestAdditions installer. Remember to eject CD when you're done).

Likewise, you have a 4 core host, so I would have assigned 2 cores to this VM. Be aware however that it can be problematic to change the fundamentals of virtual motherboard after a Windows guest is already installed. It can be done, but you may need to look up how to change the HAL, and it may affect activation (of Win7 and AutoCAD if applicable).

VRAM is low at 27MB. Increase to 128MB.

25GB is marginal for the disk, but best live with this for now.

I have now set the RAM to 2048MB.

I have set the VRAM to 128MB and also switched on 3D graphics acceleration.

I have not changed the core processor count from 1 at the moment because of your warnings.

I can't work out where this "Device|Insert Guest Additions CD" is on the interface. Please help!

But it still will not run. No warnings despite the changes. But maybe it will be better after the Guest Additions is done.

Chuckie72 wrote:I can't work out where this "Device|Insert Guest Additions CD" is on the interface. Please help!

The Devices menu item is available at the top of the VM window when the VM is running (obviously you can't install anything in the guest OS when it isn't running).

Note that 3D acceleration etc only applies once the GAs are installed.

Chapter 4 of the user manual also tells you how to install the GAs. It's a good idea to look over this manual when you have time.

Thanks, I will look over the manual. I was looking in the wrong place for the Devices menu. Sorry.

I now have the extras installed and it rebooted the VM. I immediately see that it automatically expands the VM to fit my screen now. Nice.

However, AutoCAD still doesn't display. I just get the little circle mouse cursor for a couple of seconds and then nothing.

These are the requirements for AutoCAD 2004:

• Intel Pentium III or later, with 800 MHz or faster processor, or compatible
• Microsoft Windows XP (Professional, Home Edition, or Tablet PC Edition)
• Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0 (SP6a or later)
• 256 MB RAM
• 300 MB free disk space for installation
• 1024x768 VGA with true colour (minimum)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
• Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
• CD-ROM drive

So my settings should be adequate. I must be missing something.

How about posting an updated log file? (remember to zip).

mpack wrote:How about posting an updated log file? (remember to zip).

Please find attached.

Thanks.

Thanks. Ok, you still have the GAs ISO mounted in the VM, otherwise it's all looking good to me. I am slightly puzzled by this :-

VBox.log wrote: 00:00:21.335536 OHCI#0: Lagging too far behind, not trying to catch up anymore. Expect glitches with USB devices

Have you mounted a USB device in the guest. I can't think of any reason why you would need to do that at this stage, so I would disable any USB filters you have created.

These are nitpicks. Nothing critical. If AutoCAD doesn't want to run on this then I think you'd need to ask why on an Autodesk forum. Expensive software sometimes specifically tests for VMs and won't install, but IMHO it would require significant foresight to do that in 2004.

mpack wrote:Thanks. Ok, you still have the GAs ISO mounted in the VM

I think I now have this removed via the Devices menu. Thanks.

mpack wrote:Have you mounted a USB device in the guest. I can't think of any reason why you would need to do that at this stage, so I would disable any USB filters you have created.

I did on Friday. I had to mount a USB drive to copy a data file so I could use it in another software application. But I have not knowing mounted anything. Unless, clicking the symbol at the bottom right and selecting one of the USB devices is considered mounting. But nothing is mounted today.

mpack wrote:If AutoCAD doesn't want to run on this then I think you'd need to ask why on an Autodesk forum. Expensive software sometimes specifically tests for VMs and won't install, but IMHO it would require significant foresight to do that in 2004.

OK. Thanks.