Windows crashing when starting the VM

[Jerry_D]

I am running Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit on a DELL Dimension 9200 with Core 2 Duo @ 2.40 GHz, 4 GB memory, 500 GB hard disk on RAID 1. Installed a Ubuntu VM on the VMware Server. When I try to start the VM, Windows crashes with a BSOD and error 0x0000004D (NO_PAGES_AVAILABLE).

Anyone knows why?

[TomHowarth]

This error usually relates to Phyiscal Memory issues run a mem scan on your host.

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respectfully

Tom

[Jerry_D]

Thanks for your suggestion. Mem scan runs fine, no errors. Also, been running this system since April without a single crash - this happened after VMware installation, so I guess it's reasonable to think that the cause is somewhere in the way VMware interacts with the system.

Message was edited by:

Jerry_D

[faizy999]

First of all 32bit windows has issues using 4 GB of ram Use 64 Bit windows.

Vista or XP your choice i hope it will help u.

[Ken_Cline]

VMware exercises RAM much more stringently than other products. Try downloading memtest86+ from http://www.memtest.org/ and let it run for a while...

[pRiVi]

I have the same problem with VMWare Server 1.0.4, every time I try to start a virtual machine under Vista(32 Bit). I tried some WindowsXP(32 Bit) and also Linux(32 Bit) virtual machines, and both produces the problems under Vista (32 Bit). The same computer runs also under WindowsXP(32 Bit) and has no problem starting the same virtual machines via this operating system; so it must a software issue and NOT something about bad hardware. The machine is a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ with 2 GBs of RAM.

If I have opened a Taskmanager and then try to start the machine on vista, I see immediatly increasing the memory consumption from 720 MB to 2 GBs of RAM. After some seconds the mouse stops responding, after further 20 or 30 seconds the Blue screen of Death appears with "NO_PAGES_AVAILABLE" and 0x0000004D. It is easy reproduceable cause it APPEARS EVERY TIME I start a virtual machine.

I can work with Windows XP(32 Bit) currently, but it would be a great thing if I also would be able to use VMWare on Vista(32 Bit).

Please tell me if I can provide any further informations.

[oreeh]

How many memory did you assign to the VM?

How is VMware Server memory usage configured?

[pRiVi]

The virtual "Windows XP (32Bit)" machine got 388 MBs of RAM, the Linux got 136 MBs. I don't know that I configured anything about VMWare Server memory usage, where can I look for this value?

[oreeh]

In the VMware Server Console what is configured in "Host - Settings - Memory"

You said that with XP everything is working fine:

I suppose this is a dual boot system - do XP and Vista share the same system drive?

[pRiVi]

> In the VMware Server Console what is configured in "Host - Settings - Memory"

On Windows XP(32 Bit) as on Vista Ultimate(32 Bit) is configured 1843 MBs and "Allow some virutal machines to be swapped".

If I try on Vista to change this, I get the attached error message. How can I change this value?

> You said that with XP everything is working fine:

> I suppose this is a dual boot system - do XP and Vista share the same system drive?

Windows XP runs from a 200 GB drive on primary master PATA. Windows Vista runs from a own 22 GB partition of a 2 Terrabyte RAID5 from RaidCore. The vmware virtual machines, which Windows XP and Vista uses, is a further 200 GB drive attached via a PCI IDE Controller as primary master.

[oreeh]

It looks like you've installed all MS patches for Vista - this breaks VMware Server (which isn't supported on Vista anyway)

[pRiVi]

Is VMWare supposed to run under Windows Vista someday, and if yes is there any information when it might going to be supported?

[oreeh]

Vista is (for various reasons) not a supported host OS for VMware Server.

With VMware Server 2.0 (maybe even with Server 1.0.5) Vista should be supported, but don't ask me when Server 2.0 will be available as I simply don't know (and VMware won't tell).

[pRiVi]

Thanks anyway for help!

[Jerry_D]

I don't remember having seen Vista ruled out as a host system. Having read here that it is not supported on Vista, I have just done a lot of surfing on the vmware site, trying to find this piece of information, but was not able to. All I found is, QUOTE: Runs on a wider variety of Windows and Linux host and guest operating systems than any server virtualization product on the market. UNQUOTE. Since there are products out there running on Vista, I would conclude (and actually have done so) that Vmware runs on Vista. Had I been warned that it does not, I might have avoided losing a lot of time trying to get it to work.

[oreeh]

Excerpt from the Admin pdf (also available in the Online Library)

Windows Host Operating System Requirements

You must use a Microsoft Windows server operating system. To use the VMware

Management Interface, Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.0 or 6.0 must be installed.

NOTE Operating systems and service packs that are not listed are not supported for

use as a host operating system for VMware Server.

64‐bit host computers can run the following operating systems for 64‐bit extended

systems:

- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, Standard, and Web Editions, R2

- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, Standard, and Web Editions, Service Pack 1

32‐bit host computers can run the following operating systems:

- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, Standard, and Web Editions, R2

- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, Standard, Web, and Small Business Editions, including Service Pack 1

- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4

- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4

You must use a Microsoft Windows server operating system.

This alone disqualifies XP and Vista!

[Jerry_D]

Appreciate your clarification. I would still expect to see this info in a more prominent place. :smileyangry: Somewhere up front. Anyway, that's only me perhaps. Well then, now to clean the mess! I have some uninstalling to do....

[oreeh]

I would still expect to see this info in a more prominent place. :smileyangry: Somewhere up front.

I agree

Again: I'm talking about supported host OS.

Since Server is designed for Server virtualization the requirement for a server class OS is legitimate, but this doesn't mean that it won't work on a Desktop OS (2000 Pro, XP).