Stage 1 — Pre-Installation Checks (VirtualBox on Windows)
Before downloading VirtualBox, I need to confirm the system is suitable for running 64-bit virtual machines. This is important because modern Linux server environments require 64-bit support, and VirtualBox depends on hardware virtualisation features provided by the CPU and BIOS/UEFI.
🧪 1. Check Windows system type
First, I verify that the operating system is 64-bit:
Go to: Settings → System → About
Check System type
Expected result:
“64-bit operating system”
If this is not 64-bit, VirtualBox cannot run modern server VMs properly.
🧠 2. Check CPU virtualisation support
Next, confirm the processor supports hardware virtualisation:
Intel: VT-x
AMD: AMD-V (SVM mode)
This is required for running 64-bit virtual machines efficiently.
🔧 3. Check if virtualisation is enabled in Windows
Even if the CPU supports it, it must be enabled:
Check in Task Manager → Performance → CPU
Look for:
“Virtualisation: Enabled”
If it says disabled, it must be turned on in BIOS/UEFI.
🧬 4. Check Hyper-V / Windows hypervisor state
Windows can interfere with VirtualBox if Hyper-V is active.
Check:
Windows Features:
Hyper-V
Virtual Machine Platform
Windows Hypervisor Platform
These may need to be disabled depending on configuration to ensure VirtualBox runs correctly.
💡 5. Confirm 64-bit VM availability (final check)
Once VirtualBox is installed (later step), I will confirm:
Whether 64-bit Linux options appear when creating a VM
If they do, the system is correctly configured.