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I'm attempting to start a Linux virtual machine on a different physical system than the one where the Linux guest was installed. This second system has a different processor than the original system (an AMD Opteron to Intel Pentium, for example). The guest operating system panics during boot. Why?
The installed Linux kernel may include features that are optimized for a specific processor and may attempt to execute instructions that are available only on that processor.
VMware virtual hardware doesn't change when you move a virtual machine between physical systems. However, the CPU instructions are executed natively on the underlying physical hardware. If the underlying processor doesn't support those instructions, a kernel panic may result.
Since Intel-compatible processors are typically capable of executing the full Intel instruction-set, if you install the Linux guest on an Intel-based system, the installed kernel should continue to function when moved to an Intel-compatible system.
If you already have a Linux guest that was originally installed on an Intel-compatible system (such as AMD Opteron), you can install another kernel on the Linux guest (one that is compatible with your new hardware), then use LILO or GRUB to choose to boot from the new kernel.