64bit host running 32bit guest without virtualization

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IDILIO49
Posts: 5
Joined: 10. Sep 2020, 21:47

64bit host running 32bit guest without virtualization

Post by IDILIO49 »

Hi,

I have virtualbox 6.1 running in Win10 64bit (host) in a pc with virtualization disabled at BIOS.
I created a virtual machine (guest) of WinXP 32bit (only 32 bit versions available).
But now I'm not able to run the virtual machine, and when I go to settings I have the following warning:
"The hardware virtualization is enabled in the acceleration section of the system page although it is not supported by the host system. It should be disabled in order to start the virtual system."
But I go to the acceleration section of the system page and change Paravirtualization Interface to "None" and unchecked "Enable nested paging" and the warning is still there and the Ok button is still disabled not allowing me to save settings.
Note that there is no more option on acceleration section of the system page.

What Am I missing here?
Cannot run 32bit guest in 64bit host withtout HW virtualization? I think this is possible with virtualbox...
BillG
Volunteer
Posts: 5106
Joined: 19. Sep 2009, 04:44
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows 10,7 and earlier
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: 64bit host running 32bit guest without virtualization

Post by BillG »

That message is unfortunately still there but is no longer relevant, just misleading. The real problem is that the fallback to emulated mode is no longer available. You will need to fall back to an earlier version of VirtualBox to run that vm with hardware virtualization turned off in the host.
Bill
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39134
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: 64bit host running 32bit guest without virtualization

Post by mpack »

And incidentally I see quite a bit of confusion:
  • the paravirtualization setting is a different feature entirely, not wrong so much as totally irrelevant! That setting is about what software support interface to offer to a modern "VM aware" OS. Anything older than Windows 8 need not apply!
  • It's possible you were actually referring to the "Enable Nested VT-x/AMD-v" setting (which is not nested paging) but is likewise an unrelated feature: you aren't creating a nested VM, and anyway you can't reflect VT-x into the guest when it doesn't exist on the host.
Best long term solution: fix the availability of VT-x/AMD-v in the host BIOS. FAQ: I have a 64bit host, but can't install 64bit guests.
IDILIO49
Posts: 5
Joined: 10. Sep 2020, 21:47

Re: 64bit host running 32bit guest without virtualization

Post by IDILIO49 »

BillG wrote:That message is unfortunately still there but is no longer relevant, just misleading. The real problem is that the fallback to emulated mode is no longer available. You will need to fall back to an earlier version of VirtualBox to run that vm with hardware virtualization turned off in the host.
Exactly, the problem is the misleading message that says to disable a setting in the acceleration section of the system page that doesn't exist anymore for this version of virtualbox.
This should be corrected to avoid this confusion...
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