Virtualbox only 32 bit windows

This tutorial will show you step by step what to do when VirtualBox is only showing 32-bit and no 64-bit versions of operating systems as options while creating a new virtual machine.

Note: This may be obvious for most of you, but your host operating system should be 64-bit to run 64-bit guest operating systems in VirtualBox.

If VirtualBox has no 64-bit option on Windows 10, then you can try the solutions on this page to fix the problem.

My experience with this problem

I experienced the same problem while trying to install a 64-bit version of Linux Mint inside VirtualBox.

I opened VirtualBox, clicked on NEW, entered a name for the virtual machine, choose the type of operating system, but when I wanted to choose a version, I only saw 32-bit versions and NO 64-bit versions as an option.

But:

Fortunately, I found a simple solution online and on this page, I will share that solution with you.

Note! Your host operating system (OS installed on your PC) must be 64-bit.

I was using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro while creating this tutorial.

Make sure that “Intel Virtualization Technology” and “VT-d” are enabled

Enter BIOS settings and check if “Intel Virtualization Technology” and “VT-d” are enabled.

The following steps may be slightly different on your computer.

1. Start (or restart) your PC.

2. Press the right keyboard key to enter the BIOS setup. This must be done before Windows starts, so it’s best to press the key a few times directly after you start your PC.

The exact key or key combination depends on your computer manufacturer and model.

Common keys to enter the BIOS are F1, F2, F10, DEL (Delete), and ESC (Escape).

3. Look for the following settings Intel Virtualization Technology and VT-d.

4. Make sure that they’re both enabled.

5. If you made changes, then you must save the settings.

Windows 10 (host) must be a 64-bit operating system

To check if your Windows 10 is a 64-bit operating system, press the Windows + Pause keyboard keys.

At System type (located under System), you should see something like 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor.

Hyper-V must be disabled

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s hardware virtualization product.

It lets you create and run virtual machines (like VirtualBox).

But:

Many third-party virtualization applications (including VirtualBox) do not work together with Hyper-V.

That’s why you must make sure that Hyper-V is disabled.

To check if Hyper-V is disabled, follow the following steps:

1. Right-click on the Windows start menu button.

2. Click on Run.

3. Enter optionalfeatures.exe in the Run window.

4. Click on OK or press Enter.

The Windows Features window will appear.

5. Check if the Hyper-V option is unchecked.

6. If the Hyper-V option unchecked (like in the screenshot above), then you can close the Windows Features window.

But:

If the option is checked, then you will need to uncheck it and then click on OK.

If you want to be 100% sure that Hyper-v is disabled then follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the Windows start menu button.

2. Click on Command Prompt (Admin).

3. Enter the following command:

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

4. Press Enter.

5. After the command is finished, you will need to power down and reboot your PC.

Solution 1: Repair VirtualBox installation

1. Right-click on the installer file (the one you used to install VirtualBox) and choose Run as administrator.

If you don’t have the installer file anymore, then you will need to download it from the VirtualBox website (www.virtualbox.org). The installer file must be the same version as the version of VirtualBox that’s installed on your computer.

2. When the Windows User Account Control window appears, you click Yes.

Note: You might need to enter an administrator password in the User Account Control window and then click Yes.

A setup window will appear.

3. Click on Next.

4. Click on the Repair icon.

5. Click on Repair located at the bottom right.

VirtualBox will now start the repairing process. This will only take a few seconds.

6. After the repair process is finished, you click on Finish.

VirtualBox may ask you to restart your PC.

Hopefully, this simple solution will solve your problem.

Solution 2: Disable “Memory integrity” in Windows 10

1. Open Windows Security.

2. Click on Device security.

3. Under Core isolation, you click on Core isolation details.

4. Make sure that Memory integrity is turned off.

If Memory integrity was enabled and you just disabled it, then you may need to restart your PC.

Hopefully, this simple solution will solve your problem.

Windows