Virtualization on older computer

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  1. Posts : 126
    Windows 7and Windows 10 on 2 part.
       #1

    Virtualization on older computer


    I'm on Windows10 Home on an older Pc ( intel-Core i3 2120 CPU 3.30 GHZ_ RAM 4.00

    I tried to install VMWare Virtual Box on my PC which is about 8 years old, but it won't work. I believe it is because the system is too old. Is there anyway to get around this, may be by installing more RAM or other technology wizardry, without having to buy a new computer or another Motherboard, which would come up to the same, cost-wise?

    Thanks

    Ittiandro
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 31,504
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #2

    ittiandro said:
    I'm on Windows10 Home on an older Pc ( intel-Core i3 2120 CPU 3.30 GHZ_ RAM 4.00
    I tried to install VMWare Virtual Box on my PC which is about 8 years old, but it won't work....
    Virtualisation requires VT-x, which your CPU supports....

    Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) - Yes

    Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms.
    Intel(R) Core™ i3-2120 Processor (3M Cache, 3.30 GHz)


    But that is not enough on its own, it also needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This is probably where your problem lies. Go into you BIOS setting and see if you can enable it there, then try Virtualbox or VMWare again.
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  3. Posts : 2,800
    Windows 7 Pro
       #3

    You can use older version that where supported when your PC was released.

    Download_Old_Builds – Oracle VM VirtualBox

    Older versions of VMware Player (Windows) | Uptodown

    And as previously stated you must enable all virtualisation support in Bios.
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  4. Posts : 126
    Windows 7and Windows 10 on 2 part.
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Bree said:
    Virtualisation requires VT-x, which your CPU supports....

    Intel(R) Core™ i3-2120 Processor (3M Cache, 3.30 GHz)


    But that is not enough on its own, it also needs to be enabled in the BIOS. This is probably where your problem lies. Go into you BIOS setting and see if you can enable it there, then try Virtualbox or VMWare again.
    Thanks Bree

    I went into the BIOS but I couldn't find anything about Intel Virtualization Technology Vt-x, unless it is hidden under some sub-menus. My Bios is v. E7680 IMS v.17.1 date 04/11/2011. Can you tell me where to look for it? I went through all the tabs. I thought the problem was only 4 GB Ram memory. I hope I can work it out the way you said.

    Thanks

    Ittiandro
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 15,453
    Windows10
       #5

    ittiandro said:
    Thanks Bree

    I went into the BIOS but I couldn't find anything about Intel Virtualization Technology Vt-x, unless it is hidden under some sub-menus. My Bios is v. E7680 IMS v.17.1 date 04/11/2011. Can you tell me where to look for it? I went through all the tabs. I thought the problem was only 4 GB Ram memory. I hope I can work it out the way you said.

    Thanks

    Ittiandro
    It is virtually impossible to run a virtual machine with only 4GB of RAM on host. It would be so slow as it would have to do excessive paging if it did work at all


    The bare minimum RAM needed is at least 8GB and really 12+GB.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 31,504
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #6

    ittiandro said:
    I went into the BIOS but I couldn't find anything about Intel Virtualization Technology Vt-x, unless it is hidden under some sub-menus. My Bios is v. E7680 IMS v.17.1 date 04/11/2011. Can you tell me where to look for it?
    I don't recognise that Bios, nor does Google find anything. Did you mean 'MSI' rather than 'IMS'? If so, you may find it described as 'Hyperthreading Technology'.

    Cereberus is correct, 4GB is barely enough to run a VM, but lack of RAM on its own is not going to prevent installing something like VirtualBox or running a VM, which was the OP's initial issue. It can work (just) with 4GB RAM, though it may only be practical to create a 32-bit VM.

    Virtualization on older computer-virtualbox-vm-4gb-host.png

    Both the VM and the Host machine are going to run like a snail with all the swapfile activity that would be needed though. 8GB should be regarded as the bare minimum installed RAM to be of practical use as a Host machine. An SSD rather than an HDD for the Host machine would also be a huge benefit.
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  7. Posts : 2,178
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit v22H2
       #7

    I don't remember you saying what motherboard you have. I found your BIOS with this motherboard:

    MSI H61M-P23 (B3)
    MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

    BIOS Version: 17.1, Release Date: 2011-04-11, Download: 7680vH1.zip, File: E7680IMS.H10

    I also found this reference:

    When i try to install VMware player on windows 7 32bit, system shows warning message that Intel VT-X was disable. Where can i find the option and enable it?

    Please enter BIOS setup and go to OC => CPU Features => Intel Virtualization Tech => Enable. Then you can install VMware Player successfully.
    MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

    Don't assume that your computer is too old to support virtualization. My 12 year old computer with these specs supports it:
    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 960T
    MBD: ASUS M4N82 Deluxe
    Last edited by MisterEd; 16 Jan 2022 at 20:12.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 126
    Windows 7and Windows 10 on 2 part.
    Thread Starter
       #8

    MisterEd said:
    I don't remember you saying what motherboard you have. I found your BIOS with this motherboard:

    MSI H61M-P23 (B3)
    MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

    BIOS Version: 17.1, Release Date: 2011-04-11, Download: 7680vH1.zip, File: E7680IMS.H10

    I also found this reference:


    MSI Global - The Leading Brand in High-end Gaming & Professional Creation

    Don't assume that your computer is too old to support virtualization. My 12 year old computer with these specs supports it:
    CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 960T
    MBD: ASUS M4N82 Deluxe
    Thanks MrEd

    I think I'm on to something. In the BIOS/Overclocking I did find Intel Virtualization Tech and Intel VT-D tech under Hyper-Threading. . Both are disabled. I guess I have to enable . Which one? Both?

    My Motherboard is MSI, Product H61M-P21 ( MS-7680 Version 3.0

    My plan was to install a 2nd virtual OS on my computer. I was able to install VM Ware VM box, but, if I recall correctly, I was unable to proceed with the virtual OS installation. This was quite sometime ago and I don't recall the details. Was it because the Intel Virtualization was not enabled? If so, I'll enable the Intel Virtualization in the Bios and see how it goes. I do not have great expectations with only 4 GB RAM, but I'll give it a try. If you have any hints or comments please let me know.

    Thank you for your help

    Ittiandro
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 31,504
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #9

    ittiandro said:
    I think I'm on to something. In the BIOS/Overclocking I did find Intel Virtualization Tech and Intel VT-D tech under Hyper-Threading. . Both are disabled. I guess I have to enable . Which one? Both?
    Virtualization Technology allows you to run a VM. VT-D Technology adds direct access to hardware. You must enable the first, the second is optional, but you might as well enable it.

    My plan was to install a 2nd virtual OS on my computer. I was able to install VM Ware VM box, but, if I recall correctly, I was unable to proceed with the virtual OS installation. This was quite sometime ago and I don't recall the details. Was it because the Intel Virtualization was not enabled? If so, I'll enable the Intel Virtualization in the Bios and see how it goes. I do not have great expectations with only 4 GB RAM, but I'll give it a try. If you have any hints or comments please let me know.

    My experiment with a 4GB RAM Host and a VirtualBox VM, screenshot above, has completed installing. With just 4GB RAM you really don't have enough available RAM to allow setting up a 64-bit VM, but a 32-bit VM with 1GB RAM allocated to it is do-able. Just don't expect it to run fast, its more like it's walking with a limp. This is the installed 32-bit W10 VM I made. It's struggling with just 1GB, and the host machine is slow because of heavy swapfile use, both by the host OS and the VM. You really need to upgrade your RAM if you intend to do any serious work - to 8GB at a minimum.

    Virtualization on older computer-image.png
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  10. Posts : 15,453
    Windows10
       #10

    Bree said:
    Virtualization Technology allows you to run a VM. VT-D Technology adds direct access to hardware. You must enable the first, the second is optional, but you might as well enable it.




    My experiment with a 4GB RAM Host and a VirtualBox VM, screenshot above, has completed installing. With just 4GB RAM you really don't have enough available RAM to allow setting up a 64-bit VM, but a 32-bit VM with 1GB RAM allocated to it is do-able. Just don't expect it to run fast, its more like it's walking with a limp. This is the installed 32-bit W10 VM I made. It's struggling with just 1GB, and the host machine is slow because of heavy swapfile use, both by the host OS and the VM. You really need to upgrade your RAM if you intend to do any serious work - to 8GB at a minimum.

    Virtualization on older computer-image.png

    I did some tests on minimum RAM to run Windows a while back, and it was able to run in 0.5 GB RAM but it was impossibly slow even in simple text editing - hit a key, wait 10 seconds, hit next key, wait 10 seconds etc.

    To run VMs, RAM is most important, 8GB ABSOLUTE minimum, moderately decent CPU (not absolutely essential but helps a lot), SSD is also beneficial.


    My 32 GB emmc travel laptop is capable of virtualisation but only has 4 GB which cannot be upgraded. I tried doing a Hyper-V VM once out of interest but decided hitting my face with a wet kipper would be less painful/messy (not that I want to talk about that in public LOL). I had to have the vhd on a usb drive which further reduced performance.

    My older house laptop, AMD10, 12 GB RAM, 2xSSD (sata) would run 1 Hyper-V VM but struggled with 2 @4GB each. It was not the fastest but ok for testing Insider builds etc.

    My main laptop i7, 16 GB RAM, 2x1TB NVME drives (1 having Optane memory) - now that runs Hyper-V vms really well. I can run 2 VMs simultaneously if both are allocated 4GB, but I find allocating a VM 6GB is better, and even this device struggles with 2x6 GB VMs as that leaves only 4GB for host (some of which is used for graphics).

    Of course, all these figures are for Windows VMs. Despite popular belief, I have found full Linux distros like Ubuntu also need 4+GB in a vm to really run well.
      My Computer


 

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