Installing SuSE Linux 9.0 x64 on 64-bit host

[crohan]

Hi all

I have a somewhat serious, somewhat urgent problem. My setup is as follows:

• VMware Workstation 6.0.4 build 93057

• OpenSuSE 11 x64 (host OS)

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU

• 8 GB RAM

The problem is that when I try to install SuSE 9.0 64-bit as a guest, I get the 'CPU does not support long mode' message. I have also tried to boot with the install DVD natively (i.e. as if I was going to install it as the host) but I got the same message. I have checked, Intel VT is enabled in the BIOS, and I have power cycled the machine (i.e. powered off) after turning this on.

I have searched and searched and I could not find any solutions to my problem. I got some hope about CPU bit masking (or something like that) but that seems to only be supported in ESX server, am I correct?

Is there anyone that knows how I can work around this problem? Is it at all possible to solve? I need the distro because our software product has to be compatible with such old distros.

Thanks in advance,

Johan

[Peter_vm]

Did you even try to install SUSE 11 x64 as guest?

Just to see if you can do it?

[crohan]

The installer for OpenSuSE 11 works perfectly (even loads the correct x86_64 kernel) on the above machine in VMware as guest. I then double-checked that it is only for x86_64 by trying to boot my 32-bit P4 laptop with the OpenSuSE 11 installer, and it told me that I cannot install 64-bit software on 32-bit hardware (note that the OpenSuSE boot screen complained looong before I was trying to load the kernel).

Now I am wondering if there is some inherent problem with 2.4.21 kernel check for 64-bit (or long mode, at least) on newer machines because the kernel (and not the SuSE installer, which usually moans first) complains about long mode?

[crohan]

Never mind, I just learned that Intel x64 detection was added to the Linux kernel some time after 2.4.21. Thanks anyway!