How to avoid CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION errors with VirtualBox inside VMWare

According to VMWare's site this is the answer:

This issue is resolved in vSphere 5.0 Update 3.

To work around this issue, manually create a CPUID mask for the affected virtual machines:

To manually create a CPUID mask for the affected virtual machines:

  • Power down the virtual machine.
  • Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
  • Click the Options tab. Select CPUID Mask under Advanced.
  • Click Advanced.

For Intel:

Under the Register column, locate the edx register under Level 80000001. Paste this into the value field:

----:0---:----:----:----:----:----:----

For example, cpuid.80000001.edx = ----:0---:----:----:----:----:----:----

For AMD:

  • Select the AMD Override tab.
  • Change cpuid.80000001.edx.amd = -----------H--------------------
    to cpuid.80000001.edx.amd = ----0---------------------------

Click OK to close the virtual machine properties.


I now found a workaround. Reducing the CPUs to one makes the blue screens disappear. While this isn't the perfect solution, it works and Ubuntu + Vagrant still run fast enough in the VM.