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4 Replies Last post: Oct 9, 2008 12:57 PM by MDeanCTS
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Can't start VMWare Server 2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 VM at same time? Error message: "VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2"

Oct 9, 2008 9:23 AM

Click to view MDeanCTS's profile Novice MDeanCTS 4 posts since
May 15, 2008
I have a VMWare Server 2.0 virtual machine that works just fine on its own and a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 virtual machine that also works just fine on its own. However, if I have the MS machine up and running I cannot start the VMWare machine or if the VMWare machine is up and running and I start the MS machine it will start up successfully, but the VMWare machine crashes immediately.


The following is the error reported in the VMWare log file right before the crash dump when I attempt to start the VMWare machine with the MS machine already running:

Oct 09 11:01:31.052: vcpu-0| VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2.
Oct 09 11:01:31.052: vcpu-0| Panic: can't get userlevel lock.
Oct 09 11:01:31.052: vcpu-0| Win32 object usage: GDI 4, USER 5

I am running Vista 64 and I have checked that I have the latest drivers, BIOS, etc. for my machine. I appreciate any help or suggestions that anyone might be able to provide.

Thanks,
Matt

Tags: 64bit, microsoft, virtual_server, vcpu, runvm, vista, vista_64, 64_bit, server_2, vmware_server
Reply Re: Can't start VMWare Server 2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 VM at same time? Error message: "VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2" Oct 9, 2008 9:31 AM
Click to view RDPetruska's profile Guru RDPetruska 15,853 posts since
Jan 11, 2005 Moderator
You are correct. You cannot run different hypervisors at the same time. You can have both products installed on the same PC, but you cannot run them both (powered on guests) at the same time.
Reply Re: Can't start VMWare Server 2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 VM at same time? Error message: "VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2" Oct 9, 2008 10:28 AM
in response to: RDPetruska
Click to view MDeanCTS's profile Novice MDeanCTS 4 posts since
May 15, 2008
I used to do this on my previous laptop that was running Windows XP, non 64 bit version. Is there not a way around this when running Vista 64?

Is my only option to convert one of the VMs over to the other? For example: convert the MS machine to VMWare and run them both under the VMWare hypervisor? If so, I have never attempted to convert a VM from one to the other before, but I know it can be done. Can anyone provide a link?


~~~ UPDATE ~~~

I downloaded the VMWare Importer Utility 2.0 and it fails to install on Vista 64. So instead of converting my MS machines to VMWare, I am going the other direction. I have downloaded the VMDK to VHD converter and I am in the process of converting my VMDK files right now. Although, I am still interested to know why this worked on XP non 64 bit and doesn't work on Vista 64 because I would prefer to not have to convert my VM files.


Thanks!

Reply Re: Can't start VMWare Server 2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 VM at same time? Error message: "VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2" Oct 9, 2008 12:26 PM
in response to: MDeanCTS
Click to view jmattson's profile Master jmattson 1,185 posts since
Mar 29, 2006 VMware
Current VMware products comprise two hypervisors: a 32-bit hypervisor for handling legacy 32-bit code and compatibility mode code, and a 64-bit hypervisor for handling 64-bit code. The latter is only relevant for 64-bit VMs. Switching between a 64-bit host OS and the 32-bit hypervisor requires that the processor transition briefly through non-paged mode. (The same also applies for switching between a 32-bit host OS and the 64-bit hypervisor, but that is not relevant to your problem.)

I suspect that you are running on Intel hardware and that MS Virtual Server is configured to use VT. VT introduces a new operating mode, known as "VMX operation," which places some constraints on the processor. In particular, the processor cannot be in non-paged mode while it is in VMX operation. It is likely that MS Virtual Server is leaving the host in VMX operation, which means that VMware Server cannot make the transition from the 64-bit host OS to the 32-bit hypervisor.

To make a long story short, you should be able to run these hypervisors simultaneously if you configure MS Virtual Server not to use VT.
Reply Re: Can't start VMWare Server 2.0 and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 VM at same time? Error message: "VCPU 0 RunVM failed: -2" Oct 9, 2008 12:57 PM
in response to: jmattson
Click to view MDeanCTS's profile Novice MDeanCTS 4 posts since
May 15, 2008
Ah ha! That did the trick, thanks jmattson.


To disable VT in Virtual Server 2005 SP2, edit the configuration for the VM and uncheck the box that says "Enable hardware-assisted virtualization if available", see the attached screenshot.

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