Installing ubuntu 12.04 on a virtual pc

hey ive been wanting to check out ubuntu for awhile now, ive got a compaq presario cq43-102au laptop with an amd cpu running windows 7. I download oracle vm virtualbox, and created a virtual machine to install it on, when i boot it up to install ubuntu it comes up with an error about the CPU ive attached a picture of it, any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks.

 

This appears to be an issue for 32 vs 64 bit installation, or virtualization issue in BIOS. I've googled your machine, but can't determine if its 32 or 64 bit. If its 32 bit, you can't install a 64-bit OS. If it's 32 bit, you MUST install a 32 bit version of Ubuntu.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/1286...ly-detects-i686-cpu-how-can-i-install-lubuntu

Conversely, if your machine is 64 bit, then your error must be related to
a virtualization issue in your BIOS. Check your BIOS settings and enable virtualization. Kind of an old thread, but this may be of help:

https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10344&start=0

Lastly, FWIW, your machine is kinda weak for VM. IMO, 2 GB is not enough RAM to enjoy your VM, as you MUST allocate AT LEAST half of RAM to your host machine (1GB+) and whatever is left over to the guest VM. IMO, 2GB of RAM is "light" to run Win7, and Ubuntu will require another 1GB+ in order to enjoy the experience. With only 2GB to allocate, I'm afraid you'll either be disappointed in the Ubuntu VM, or the host will become buggy and crash.

If you cannot bump your RAM to 4GB, may I suggest you consider Lubuntu or Xubuntu as alternatives? They should run sufficiently on 512MB RAM or less, leaving 1.5GB RAM for your host; that's slicing your Win7 resources even thinner, but it would probably be okay. If you're dead-set on Ubuntu, may I suggest you create a LiveCD or LiveStick to try it out? If you like it, you can just install Ubuntu on your machine, in a dual-boot configuration or wiping Win7 in the process. Ubuntu would run well on a 2GB RAM system!!!

 

Hey that was a wealth of information, thanks yeah its a pretty weak laptop i got it for nothing and just replaced the ram and hdd, a client didnt want it fixed and gave it to me I up'd the ram to 6gbs in the hopes of it making the gaming a wee better haha & I 320gb hdd in. its running 64bit win 7 home premium. I checked the bios and virtualization was disabled, i enabled it and now everythings workin great thanks! Do you think the laptop would run ubuntu server and windows server 08 r2 as virtual pc's?

 

Well, that 6GB changes EVERYTHING!!!

Servers typically don't run GUI desktops, so yeah, they should run fine. But, FWIW, that 6GB RAM you're running now should make ALL the difference. If you're running Linux in a VM on a Windows host, I'd allocate 2GB to Linux and make sure you expose BOTH of your dual-cores to the VM (it's on the "processor" tab of "system settings"). If you do that, I think you can install ANY Linux distro you want and have an enjoyable experience!

I was focused on the 2GB that the specs indicated, as that just isn't enough for Win7, let alone to share with a VM! IMO, Win7 needs a MINIMUM of 3-4GB to run smoothly; with an additional 2GB to allocate to a VM on a dual core machine, you can probably install ANY Linux distro that interests you! 4GB to the Win7 host; 2GB to the Linux/Mac/other guest is a good ratio that should work with nearly everything you might want to try. You MUST allocate at least half to your host, so you could go as little as 3GB/3GB, but that will make the host a little "buggy" and will probably crash. 4GB/2GB is a sweet spot for a Win/Lin virtualization combination!

Good job, friend, and enjoy the knowledge you're about to acquire from the path you're traveling! Enjoy!!!

P.S. Who wants to give the odds for the over/under when he'll install a Linux distro in a dual-boot config on that machine OR just wipe the Win install completely?!

 

thanks alot man, you where a great help! What do you mean when you say distro?

 

generic term for any linux distribution. ubuntu, fedora, opensuse, mint, etc... are all distros. ubuntu 10.04, 10.10, 11.04, 11.10, 12.04 etc... are all Ubuntu distros.

here's a link to the linux geek's playground...inasmuch as alny of these can be installed in a virtual machine, this will keep you busy for a LONG time! :-D

www.distrowatch.com