VirtualBox and Win7 problems

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1

Hello all,

I have been through now three installs of Windows 7 in VirtualBox, and every single one of them has crashed on me, giving me the ‘VirtualBox - Guru Meditation Window’ which talks about the “critical error that has occurred while running the virtual machine and the machine execution has been stopped” windows 7 bluescreens on me.

I don’t have any critical information on the VM, which is obvious from the fact that I have reinstalled multiple times.

I am just looking for something that will help me get a stable install. The first two crashed while I was trying to install software off of a passed through the CD drive, and the last time it crashed on me while I had it searching for audio drivers.

To give details on the VM: I am installing a 64-bit copy of Win7 Home Premium, and the specs on my VM are in this screenshot:

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w107/xcr2010/Screenshot.png

If anyone can help me it would be most appreciated.

2

It shouldn’t, but do you think it might matter that in ‘General’ you have the OS as win xp? Not win 7

3

Thanks for thinking of it, but when I changed it to Windows 7 (64 bit) I still get a crash moments after startup, without doing anything in the VM

4

Have you tried making a .iso of the win 7 dvd and mounting that as the install media rather than using the dvd?

5

Would that really make the install less stable?

Another thing that I thought of… would it matter that the disc that I am using is an OEM Disk?

6

Very possibly. But I have never used a OEM disk in a VM. By OEM, do you mean OEM as in what you can buy a part of a self build or do you mean a disk shipped by say: Dell?

7

I mean that I am using a OEM disc from Dell that came with another computer

8

I’m certain that will not work.

9

Alright, thanks for your help, I’m installing my 32-bit Microsoft-issued copy right now, sigh, I was hoping to get 64-bit working…

10

No worries. Be happy;)

11

Ok, well all is not well, I did install my MSFT genuine 32 bit copy, and VBox gives me the same error on boot of the machine

12

Do you have other VM’s working OK?

13

Just a question besides.
Assuming you have the choice, is there a benefit of running a 64bit (over a 32bit) OS in Vbox ? Since the 64bit instructions are longer, are you not going to need 2 times more ram for your virtual machine?

14

I’m not sure it helps with your problem but to give you some encouragement: I have W7 running quite well in Virtualbox on my laptop. But as has already been pointed out, there are several versions - not only the MS retail but also the pre-installed with their “recovery disks”, OEM versions, probably enterprise versions too. In my case, it is a DVD coming from Toshiba to “upgrade” from the pre-installed Vista, which coming for free I thought was too good an offer to refuse. It is NOT a mere upgrade but a full DVD for a clean install, nor does it seem to be insisting on Toshiba hardware or it would probably reject the simulated environment of a virtual machine. Certainly, the “Windows XP Recovery disks” that also came with the laptop refused point blank to have anything to do with Virtualbox on the same laptop.
So there’s hope provided you have a “proper” W7 and I suspect the problem lies somewhere in your Virtualbox configuration. And I agree with the comment that there seems little point in running 64bit anyway. My Virtualbox is the 64bit version because it runs in 64bit openSUSE but I chose to install 32bit W7.

15

Thank you all for the suggestions,

@please_try_again:
I guess that there is no real reason to try to virtualize a 64bit os, when I am running a 64 bit version of openSUSE.

@caf4926:
Yes, I have a chrome OS VM working fine, and I had XP running fine in that VM (which is actually why the OS type said XP when you pointed it out)

Can anyone point me in a direction of configuration to fiddle with first?

16

I don’t think you will get a Dell OEM version to work at all. No…I’m sure you wont.

17

I am no longer using an install from a Dell OEM disc, I am using a disc that was bought directly from Microsoft

18

I have had no difficulty using win7 in virtual box.

But try this. Boot a win xp install cd and use it to format the VM HD, once the format finishes, if you are using the installer UI to do it, just power down the machine and switch to try installing Win 7

19

xcrln wrote:

>
> Thank you all for the suggestions,
>
> @please_try_again:
> I guess that there is no real reason to try to virtualize a 64bit os,
> when I am running a 64 bit version of openSUSE.
>
> @caf4926:
> Yes, I have a chrome OS VM working fine, and I had XP running fine in
> that VM (which is actually why the OS type said XP when you pointed it
> out)
>
> Can anyone point me in a direction of configuration to fiddle with
> first?
>
Just a dumb comment but it was not mentioned. Does your system haves the
necessary hardware prereqs to run the 64 bit version of WIN7 on VirtualBox
as a VM. It requires the virtual technology CPU, BIOS and motherboard, at
least that’s what I was told.

I could build the VM, but then when it tried to install Win7 RC1 it keep
coming up with errors that there was no VT technology (Intel) or the AMD
equal (can’t remember its name). Since I downloaded the WIN7 from MS before
release I cannot get the 32 bit version and I do not want to pay them for
it. I was looking to test it for my wife’s system. I personal use Linux 99%,
only use XP for Taxes and to work on problems for wife.

–
Russ
[openSUSE 11.2 (2.6.31.5-0.1-desktop, x86_64] KDE 4.3.3 release 3, Intel
Core 2 Dual E7200, 4 GB DDR III, GeForce 8400 GS, 320GB Disc (2)

20

@upscope: Yes, I am very sure that my machine has the specs to run the 64-bit version of Win7, I have a core i7 quad core, so it shows up in my system profiler as an 8 core processor.