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I have successfully installed Windows Vista 32-bit in a VM with VirtualBox. Now I'm trying to do the same with Windows Vista 64-bit and it just isn't working. I have created the VM but it seems that it won't boot off of the 64-bit Vista ISO image. It spits out this boot manager error.
The host OS is Windows 7 64-bit on a 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Now, I have done the same thing and installed the same VirtualBox version on another computer, also running Windows 7 64-bit, created the VM, and then... during the VM setup process I noticed that it had additional options to choose from when I pick the guest Os. Here's a screenshot.
You can see those options in-between where it says 64-bit, I don't have those options on that other computer. Now, this one runs an Intel Core 2 Quad, a higher end model. It supports Intel virtualization technology, while the other one does not.
This is what the same dialog looks like on the Core 2 Duo computer. Here's a screenshot.
Could this be the reason why? Does that mean that you can't emulate a 64-bit Windows guest OS at all with VirtualBox, unless your processor supports Intel virtualization technology? I understand that this technology makes things much faster, but not letting you emulate that OS at all... that's a bit extreme, no?
If so, what do you suggest I use instead?
@Ramhound Did you just ask if I'm sure I'm running a 64-bit operating system and then changed your mind? I got the comment in my inbox. Well, for whatever it's worth, yes, I'm sure both computers are running 64-bit version of Windows 7. – Samir – 2014-05-03T16:14:13.940
@Ramhound Limitation of the hardware? So you concur, this has to do with VT-x support, or rather the lack thereof? – Samir – 2014-05-03T16:15:53.403
Regardless of hardware limitations, you should always be able to do things in software. That's one of the benefits of virtualization, because it allows you to completely replace physical hardware in software. I know Intel VT-x is good to have, but why should you not be able to emulate 64-bit OS in VirtualBox all in software, even if it's extremely slow? Why don't they allow you to do that? This is rather a limitation in VirtualBox. – Samir – 2014-05-03T16:25:35.960
Emm... don't you mean "you can't do something in software if the hardware does not support it"? – Samir – 2014-05-03T16:51:40.720