Troubleshooting the installation of an 64-bit guest operating system on an ESX/ESXi host

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article guides you through troubleshooting the installation of 64-bit guest operating systems.

Certain requirements must be met before you can install a 64-bit guest operating system in a virtual machine.

Symptoms:

Installing a 64-bit guest operating system on an ESX/ESXi host fails
You cannot install a 64-bit guest operating system.
The installation of a 64-bit operation system does not complete.
The installation of 64-bit guest operating system stops responding at the Setup is starting Windows screen.
You see the error:

File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe
Status: 0xc000035a
Info: Attempting to load a 64-bit application, however this CPU is not compatible with 64-bit mode

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x

Resolution

Validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step provides instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Do not skip a step.

Verify that that the guest operating system you are attempting to install is fully certified by VMware. The Guest Operating System Installation Guide outlines which guest operating systems are certified for each version of ESX.

Note: The following steps may help resolve the issue if your guest operating system is not listed, but be aware that problems may be encountered in an uncertified guest operating system.
Verify that your ESX host meets the hardware and firmware requirements for running 64-bit virtual machines. For more information, see Hardware and firmware requirements for 64-bit guest operating systems (1003945) and ESXi 5.x support for 64-bit guest operating systems (2005085).
If your ESX host is using Intel processors, verify that virtualization technology (VT) is enabled in the BIOS. For more information, see Ensuring Virtualization Technology (VT) is enabled on your VMware host (1003944).
Verify that the correct guest operating system is selected. For more information, see Ensuring the correct Guest Operating System is selected (1003912).

Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, please:

Gather the VMware Support Script Data. For more information, see Collecting Diagnostic Information in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure Environment (1003689).
File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID (1003938) in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

Additional Information

Collecting diagnostic information in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure Environment
Ensuring the correct Guest Operating System is selected
Ensuring Virtualization Technology is enabled on your VMware host
System requirements to install a 64-bit guest operating system on a 32-bit host
ESXi 5.x support for 64-bit guest operating systems
对 ESX/ESXi 主机上的 64 位客户机操作系统的安装进行故障排除
ESX/ESXi ホスト上の 64 ビットゲスト OS のインストールのトラブルシューティング