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[Fix] Can’t Install Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2 in Oracle Virtual Box

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Whenever a testing version of Windows or any other operating system is released, its always advised to install it in a virtualization software such as Oracle VirtualBox or VMware Workstation. It helps in testing new features of the OS without actually installing it on your hard disk. With the help of these virtualization software you install these OS virtually.

After release of Windows 8.1 Preview, we also advised you to install it on a separate partition or in virtualization software:

[FAQ] Things to Know Before Downloading or Installing Windows 8.1 Preview

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But there is some problem in installing Windows 8.1 Preview or Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview in Oracle VirtualBox software. When you try to install the Preview OS in VirtualBox, you get an error message “Your PC needs to restart” with the error code “0x000000C4” as shown in following screenshot:

Windows_8_1_VirtualBox_Install_Error.png

Even if you try to change a few settings here and there, the issue doesn’t get fixed. Thanks to “birdie” @ VirtualBox forum for sharing a working solution to solve this problem.

You just need to run a simple command in Command Prompt and the error message will disappear forever.

If you also want to install Windows 8.1 Preview or Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview in Oracle VirtualBox software but getting the above mentioned error message, check out following simple steps to fix the issue:

1. Open Command Prompt by using a way mentioned here.

2. Now copy following command:

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“%programfiles%\oracle\virtualbox\vboxmanage.exe” setextradata “Image Name” VBoxInternal/CPUM/CMPXCHG16B 1

Replace “Image Name” text with the correct image name which you provided to the virtual machine name at the time of VM creation. It might be “Windows 8.1” or anything else.

Fix_Windows_8_1_VirtualBox_Install_Error.png

For example:

“%programfiles%\oracle\virtualbox\vboxmanage.exe” setextradata “Windows 8.1” VBoxInternal/CPUM/CMPXCHG16B 1

3. Now paste the command in Command Prompt window and press Enter.

4. Close Command Prompt window and try to start the virtual machine again and now it’ll work fine without any problem.

Windows_8_1_VirtualBox_Installation.png

Thanks to our reader “Frustrated” for sharing the solution…

Also Check:

[Tip] Install and Test Operating Systems Virtually in Windows Using Hyper-V

Published in: Troubleshooting Guides, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

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Comments

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  1. I have the same error trying to install on VMware Player. Any fix for that? Thanks.

  2. VG you must have Hardwre Virtual;ization Support for installing Weindows 8 both 32 bit and 64 bit with a 64 bit capable pc. VMare does not require it. In parallel Worksation it works too.

  3. @Gary Biasini : I gave up to install Win 8.1 on VMware workstation 8, no internet connection. Then VG offered me to use Oracle Virtual Box, it is very good, no problem at all. My PC is Win 7 x64, Home Premium.

  4. This not work for me:

    VBoxManage.exe: error: Failed to create the VirtualBox object!
    VBoxManage.exe: error: Code CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE (0x80080005) – Server execution failed (extended info not available)
    VBoxManage.exe: error: Most likely, the VirtualBox COM server is not running or failed to start.

    Any idias??

  5. I also got this error message but when I shut down the VirtualBox console and ran the command again it seemed to wrok.. The problem does anyway reamin… 🙁

  6. So, windows 8.1 preview requires processors that supports prefetchw, cmpxchg16b, and LAHF/SAHF?
    How i can check that my processor supports that?
    My processor is Intel Core 2 Duo T7300..

  7. For whoever gets this error:

    VBoxManage.exe: error: Failed to create the VirtualBox object!
    VBoxManage.exe: error: Code CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE (0x80080005) – Server execution failed (extended info not available)
    VBoxManage.exe: error: Most likely, the VirtualBox COM server is not running or failed to start.

    I had this too, and it turns out that VirtualBox doesn’t like running as administrator. All I had to do was make sure that I had a plain, non-admin command prompt, and it worked.

  8. Brilliant stuff, thanks so much!
    I was also curious of waht this command actually does but you’ve already explained that above.
    Awesome!

  9. What option can I use in order to work without the issue on Ubuntu Linux 12.04? I only see a fix for Windows.

    Thanks in advance for any help!

    Mark

  10. Thanks, Tips helped me.
    On Linux:
    vboxmanage setextradata “Image Name” VBoxInternal/CPUM/CMPXCHG16B 1

  12. I’m getting the following error each time I tried to run my R2 guest os:

    NtCreateFile(\Device\VBoxDrvStub) failed:0x0000034
    STATUS_OBJECT_NAME_NOT_FOUND (0 retries)

    Driver is probably stuck stopping/starting. Try ‘sc.exe query vboxdrv’ to get more information about its state. Rebooting may actually help. (rc=-101)

    Make sure the kernel module has been loaded successfully.

    And the button says, “Abort”. Also, I tried running the vBox by my admin and regular user account by still doesn’t work.

  15. descargue el windows server 20012 R2 DE 64 BITS, pero mi ordenador es de 32 bits y aparece una falla en mi virtual box al quererlo instalar

  16. The solution (“%programfiles%\oracle\virtualbox\vboxmanage.exe” setextradata “Windows 2012” VBoxInternal/CPUM/CMPXCHG16B 1) isn’t work to me
    it still appear,..
    error code 0x000000C4
    why??
    any other solution??

    my computer’s specifications is :
    Machine name: PPTDM-PC
    Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.151230-0600)
    Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
    System Manufacturer: HP
    System Model: ProLiant ML350e Gen8
    BIOS: Default System BIOS
    Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2403 0 @ 1.80GHz (4 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
    Memory: 8192MB RAM
    Available OS Memory: 8158MB RAM
    Page File: 2455MB used, 13857MB available
    Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
    DX Setup Parameters: Not found
    User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
    System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
    DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

  17. Hello,

    I am used above mentioned commands but it’s not works for me.

    Windows server 2008 R2 x64 installed successfully. but when installing Windows server 2012 R2 standard edition gives 0x000000C4 error.
    Please help us.

  19. thank very much for this post,it help me and the solution work for me so well,for there it doesnt work the rule is that first create your VM in virtual box,secondly run the command line as an administrator with the command show up,and third run your VM it work very well

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