virtualbox.org

socratis wrote:Could you do that in a 1-line post so that we all can benefit from your experience?

I wasn't going to reply because I keep inadvertently breaking your rules so I'll be brief but detailed so as to faithfully answer the question.

I don't know what eventually allowed 64-bit selections to be available in the "version" field of the "New > Create Virtual Machine" wizard.

Mod: DELETE THIS BELOW IF IT'S TOO DETAILED FOR YOU BECAUSE IT"S JUST A LIST OF THINGS I TRIED THAT DIDN"T WORK!
In the interim, I ran many Windows diagnostics (e.g., Start > Run > msinfo32.exe) including a new download of the Microsoft Malicious Software Recovery Tool, and I downloaded a plethora of 3rd-party diagnostic tools (e.g., Belarc Advisor, CPUID CPU-Z, GPU-Z, KeyFinder, SiSoft Sandra, etc.) and I ran the AMD-specific exhaustive diagnostic tool (aka AMD-V Technology and Microsoft Hyper-V System Compatibility Check), and I ran a bunch of Windows diagnostic commands to determine such things as the BIOS system-information board status (which HP calls an SSID) and I ran a few HP-related query tools downloaded off of the HP support web site. I also installed ccleaner and deleted EVERYTHING that I didn't recognize as a useful program (I was looking for AV programs but didn't find any other than Avast, which I kept, and Windows Defender, which runs in the background).

I didn't keep a log of the deleted programs because that was an offshoot tangent (since there weren't any programs of the names that the FAQ listed), nor of all the startup programs that I removed using CCleaner (nor of the numerous registry repairs that are typical with Ccleaner runs).

My hail-mary drastic-step goal was to update the BIOS, as the AMD diagnostic tool very clearly reported in bright-red letters "This system is not compatible with Hyper-V", but two things stopped that dead, which were (a) none of you guys thought that pretty obvious indicator from AMD themselves was worth anything, and more show-stoppingly (b) there are no BIOS updates available from HP anyway.

The oddest occurrence was that I finally gave up on using a 64-bit guest OS, so I duly downloaded the 32-bit Ubuntu ISO, and then deleted (for the fourth or fifth time) and re-installed VirtualBox so that it would be a clean install, when... all of a sudden ... inexplicably ... I was shocked to see 64-bit options suddenly show up, for the first time, after days of trying.

What did it?
I don't know.

I'm writing an HP-specific AMD-specific tutorial for other noobs to follow which I intend to post on the Usenet for others to benefit from (since my motto is to both follow and increase the tribal knowledge in every endeavor).

woodrock wrote:I don't know what eventually allowed 64-bit selections to be available

That quoted text was the style of answer I was looking for, but not the one I was hoping for. I had hoped that you would have an idea of what you changed.

Never mind, don't bother, most probably something that's already in the FAQ.

socratis wrote:most probably something that's already in the FAQ.

TOPIC 1: THE FAQ
The FAQ you point to is very nice; but it can be improved.

FAQ items #1 (64-bit CPU), #2 (AMD-v), & #4 (64-bit "template") are easily followed by a noob (where, in my case, #4 was, a priori, the problem to be solved).

However, FAQ items #3 (general host apps) & note #2 (specific host apps) would benefit from actionable pointers for noobs to make efficient headway on effecting a solution.

Ignoring the innumerable HP-specific & Windows-specific & third-party diagnostic tools I ran, an experienced VirtualBox team might wish to consider adding to the FAQ these canonical diagnostic links specifically aimed at identifying and resolving the problem set:

• Intel "Processor Identification Utility – Any OS or Version"
  AMD "Virtualization™ Technology and Microsoft® Hyper-V™ System Compatibility Check Utility"
  Microsoft "Device Guard and Credential Guard hardware readiness (and detection and disabling) tool"

IMHO, simply adding those three canonical links to the FAQ would immensely improve its actionable content.


TOPIC 2: MY SPECIFIC PROBLEM
The fact is that my diagnostics on FAQ item #3 (general hosts apps) & note #2 (specific host apps) were utterly exhaustive (i.e., it's clear to me nothing was ever using the virtualization!); hence, ironically, the cause was almost certainly in the more clearly actionable items FAQ items #2 (AMD-v) & note #1 (Hyper-v) being available for use by the VirtualBox software.

While it may work for others, this very clearly turned out to be the wrong direction in my situation:
- "Find what's using AMD-V on your host!"
Which simply leaves only one item left for Occam's-Razor logic as the actual cause:
- IMHO, given my exhaustive test results, and odd as this may sound, it simply took multiple (differently done) reboots for my BIOS settings to 'take effect' (one of which finally worked).

To improve the resources here ... I suggest another instantly-huge improvement to the oft-quoted FAQ. which would be to simply note that only Enterprise versions of Windows could possibly be running DeviceGuard or CredentialGuard.

REFERENCE:
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/ash ... mystified/

These are enterprise features, and as such are included only in the Windows Enterprise client.

That simple note in the oft-mentioned FAQ would save noobs an immense amount of time and effort, which is otherwise wasted tracking down red herrings brought up ONLY by the FAQ (and yet, which can't possibly be the cause of the problem).

It is not our role to keep you informed as to what features are (or are not) bundled in various editions of Windows. Ask Microsoft about that.

AFAIK this topic has had only two relevant posts: the first two. It doesn't look any of the additional posts will do anything except confuse a future reader, so - locking this before it takes over the whole site.