It's NOT Starting the virtual machine...

Slimbone · 17 Oct 2010

Yesterday, I had another one of those infamous random kernel power reboots. Unfortunately, it happened while I had Virtual XP running. Since then, whenever I try to start XP Mode, the "Starting the virtual machine..." window never goes away. The Status bar makes it about 1/3 of the way, then restarts. This happens again and again, and never brings up XP.

If there isn't an easy fix for this, that's okay. I only have two programs on there, and starting over from scratch would be fairly painless. In the Programs and Features uninstall option, all I see is Windows XP Mode... I don't see Windows Virtual PC listed. Is there anything I need to look out for when uninstalling?

Zidane24 · 17 Oct 2010

Slimbone said:

Yesterday, I had another one of those infamous random kernel power reboots. Unfortunately, it happened while I had Virtual XP running. Since then, whenever I try to start XP Mode, the "Starting the virtual machine..." window never goes away. The Status bar makes it about 1/3 of the way, then restarts. This happens again and again, and never brings up XP.

If there isn't an easy fix for this, that's okay. I only have two programs on there, and starting over from scratch would be fairly painless. In the Programs and Features uninstall option, all I see is Windows XP Mode... I don't see Windows Virtual PC listed. Is there anything I need to look out for when uninstalling?

Uninstalling XP Mode and reinstalling will probably be your best bet

Just uninstall it from Add/Remove and you will be fine

madtownidiot · 17 Oct 2010

If the virtual HD hasn't been corrupted because of the power failure, the above suggestion should work.. however you may have a bigger problem with an inadequate power supply.. based on the hardware in your specs, I wouldn't use anything with less than a 60A 12v rail for running games or virtual machines.. simply because running a VM will max out the power consumption on your entire system for extended periods. That may be the cause of your problems

Slimbone · 17 Oct 2010

madtownidiot said:

...based on the hardware in your specs, I wouldn't use anything with less than a 60A 12v rail for running games or virtual machines.. simply because running a VM will max out the power consumption on your entire system for extended periods.

Maybe I need to learn a thing or two about power supplies. I've been focused primarily on the wattage, and mine is a 750W Antec. If I'm looking at my specs right, my power supply is only 25A.

Slimbone · 17 Oct 2010

If anyone can post a link to a power supply that is within the specs madtownidiot recommends, I'd appreciate it.

Lemur · 17 Oct 2010

I wonder if a system restore would bring it back? I always clone my virtual drives.

Madtownidiot is spot on with your bigger problem.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

madtownidiot · 17 Oct 2010

Here... one with a bit of leeway for a couple years down the road, mainly because computers tend to draw more power as they get older, even if you don't add anything to them. I made the mistake of going with a recommendation lower than what I initially planned with the system in my build and fried my PSU when I started overclocking my system.. You might even want to look at something in the 1000w range.. just in case you decide to upgrade your graphics card sometime in the next couple years.. or go with dual graphics cards

Slimbone · 18 Oct 2010

So, I'm assuming this should be adequate?
Amazon.com: Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5: Electronics

And for the record, I'm not a gamer... although, I do play solitaire every couple of months.

madtownidiot · 18 Oct 2010

Slimbone said:

So, I'm assuming this should be adequate?
Amazon.com: Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5: Electronics

And for the record, I'm not a gamer... although, I do play solitaire every couple of months.

Looks like a good one.. But I don't think there's anything wrong with being a gamer at any age.. I built my machine primarily for running multiple VMs in order to provide remote desktop assistance, but it also makes a h*ll of a good gaming system.. and it doesn't hurt to have an idea of what what's going on with current games when part of my business is building custom systems

zzz2496 · 18 Oct 2010

I think I know what happen... The memory file is somehow corrupted, go to "C:\Users\[your_user_name]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines" (or any other path where you placed your VM), see if you can find a .vsv (Virtual machine Saved State) file. If you do find it, delete it. Once it's deleted your virtual machine will "restart" as if it was turned off.

zzz2496

Edit: do shut the VM down prior deleting the file...