SUSE Support

Here When You Need Us

Not able to install 64bit guest inside of VMware on SLE

This document (7003767) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
VMware ESX Server
VMware Workstation
VMware Server


Situation

Trying to install a guest inside a VMware product running on SLE10 or SLE11 results in the message
 
Cool computer...but this is a 32-bit system. You cannot install 64-bit software.
 
This happens even if the host OS was already installed in 64-bit mode. 

Resolution

Please check the hardware and BIOS requirements for VMware Guest Operating systems:
An AMD64"revision D" CPU or Intel EM64T CPU with VT support is required. In case a Intel CPU is used, additionally the CPU virtualization support in the BIOS has to be enabled. 

Additional Information

To check whether the CPU supports virtualization please run the command

     cat /proc/cpuinfo 

and check if the flags 'lm' (identifies the CPU as 64-bit) and 'vmx' (Intel virtualization) are present.
 
Please note: The output will show the flags anyway. It is no indicator whether CPU virtualization is enabled in the BIOS. It is just a proof that the CPU supports those features.

Please find more information in the VMware Knowledge Base under http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1901.


Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

  • Document ID:7003767
  • Creation Date: 06-Jul-2009
  • Modified Date:04-Oct-2022
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

< Back to Support Search

For questions or concerns with the SUSE Knowledgebase please contact: tidfeedback[at]suse.com

tick icon

SUSE Support Forums

Get your questions answered by experienced Sys Ops or interact with other SUSE community experts.

tick icon

Support Resources

Learn how to get the most from the technical support you receive with your SUSE Subscription, Premium Support, Academic Program, or Partner Program.

tick icon

Open an Incident

Open an incident with SUSE Technical Support, manage your subscriptions, download patches, or manage user access.