[SOLVED] Can't get any Ubuntu 14.04 32-bit to run in Virtual Box

[Stevo]

Some stubborn holdouts with that old EOL distro asked for Pale Moon 28 debs, and it only has gcc-4.8 when PM now requires at least 4.9. I wasn't able to build an newer gcc successfully for Trusty in my OBS repo, so I when I found a PPA that had newer gcc versions, I created a 64-bit 14.04 VM, added the PPA, and successfully built and tested PM with gcc-5 from the PPA.

However, when I tried running the Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu, and Mint 17.3 XFCE 32-bit ISOs to do the same in a 32-bit PAE VM, they all fail to boot after the initial screens after some minutes without disk activity by falling back to a busybox CLI and a message about not finding a bootable medium.

This is with Vbox 5.2.18 on 64-bit MX 17.1. 32-bit MX ISOs have no problems with the same VM.

Is there a simple, well known fix for this issue that I'm missing, or can anyone reproduce the issue?

[fehlix]

..
However, when I tried running the Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu, and Mint 17.3 XFCE 32-bit ISOs to do the same in a 32-bit PAE VM, they all fail to boot after the initial screens after some minutes without disk activity by falling back to a busybox CLI and a message about not finding a bootable medium.

This is with Vbox 5.2.18 on 64-bit MX 17.1. 32-bit MX ISOs have no problems with the same VM.

Is there a simple, well known fix for this issue that I'm missing, or can anyone reproduce the issue?

Hmm.., not sure I understand, are you saying you cannot boot at all, the 32bit trusty version ,
or you can not boot just on a 32bit emulated OS in VirtualBox the 32bit trusty iso.
I have just booted ubuntu-14.04.5-desktop-i386.iso
with in these VM's without any issue:
VirtualBox 64bit OS-emulation
VirtualBox 32bit/PAE OS-emulation
KVM/Qemu 32bit/PAE OS-emulation
KVM/Qemu 64bit OS-emulation
--fehlix

[Stevo]

Yes, I'm wondering if it's some kind of bug in Virtual Box 5.2.18. I can't test a boot on my laptop's real hardware because 14.04 is far too old to support it. I set up a 32-bit PAE virtual machine, the same I have done many times before, but now those (and I tested the Elementary OS ISO based on 14.04 since) apparently can see the ISO I've attatched, since I can see the first menu or so, but then they just stop reading it.

[fehlix]

Yes, I'm wondering if it's some kind of bug in Virtual Box 5.2.18. I can't test a boot on my laptop's real hardware because 14.04 is far too old to support it. I set up a 32-bit PAE virtual machine, the same I have done many times before, but now those (and I tested the Elementary OS ISO based on 14.04 since) apparently can see the ISO I've attatched, since I can see the first menu or so, but then they just stop reading it.

Just booted again within VirtualBox 5.2.18 PAE/32bit-emulated
another xubuntu-14.0.5.desktop-i386.iso, without an issue.
Can you turn of splash, (I think press F6 to edit the kernel options within xubuntu based menu),
to see something messages?

[Stevo]

Hey, the F6 got it to boot--installing now!

[fehlix]

Hey, the F6 got it to boot--installing now!

Ahh, a key issue ;=) ... to show the bootmenu, just press arrow-up or arrow-down