Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Discussions about using non Windows and Linux guests such as FreeBSD, DOS, OS/2, OpenBSD, etc.
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FrodoHobbits
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Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by FrodoHobbits »

Since upgrading to 2.2.4, even though I have had no problems as such and this being my first forum post (I don't want to appear as a total newby).
I'm running an image of a very old version of QNX (4.25 to be precise), all was fine in previous versions of VBox but now when I run this image I get an error box stating that VT-x/AMD-V hardware has been enabled but not operational and to ensure that I have enabled it properly in the BIOS.
If I click continue all seems fine.
This had me thinking and so I ran one of my XP images and looked at the Session Information/Runtime and it states that VT-x/AMD-V is disabled even though it is enabled in the settings section.
I have been through my PC's BIOS and can't find any reference to VT-x (my PC being an Intel 2.8 Hyper-threading thingy)
I'm just after a little guidance and sorry to be of bother.
vbox4me2
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by vbox4me2 »

This whole vt-x amd-v thing it getting not so funny anymore, I will change the topic line and add the following:
Under previous versions you will find in the machine logfile(.VirtualBox\Machines\VM\Logs\VBox.log) the following entries:

-> 00:00:00.233 Package type: WINDOWS_64BITS_GENERIC

Indicates the 64bit version of VBox is installed.

-> 00:00:02.388 Mnemonic - Description = guest (host)
-> 00:00:02.388 VMX - Virtual Machine Technology = 0 (1)
-> 00:00:01.027 HWACCM: VMX enabled!


I consider these entries (host section set to 1) as vt-x/amd-v being active for VBox. (in above example a w2k server is running with vt-x enabled and active but the Guest is 32bit.)

-> 00:00:03.210 HWACCM: No VMX or SVM CPU extension found. Reason VERR_VMX_NO_VMX

Indicates no vt-x/amd-v CPU found ! (or the BIOS does not support it)

-> 00:00:01.072 HWACCM: No VT-x or AMD-V CPU extension found. Reason VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED

Indicates the BIOS hasn't turned it on and locked the method to change the setting.

I am looking now for dev's responces weither or not this is the case, or in any other way the correct parameters of verification. (but I think this is it)
sofla
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by sofla »

Hi there, not sure if this helps (and sorry to resurrect a dead post), but...

I can confirm that the message "No VT-x or AMD-V CPU extension found. Reason VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED" was, at least in my case, a problem where the BIOS setting needed to be changed from its factory default (off). I know when my machine was provisioned I was very specific in stating that the BIOS had to be changed, but my IT guys still failed to do it.

I came across this post (via Google) while also trying to figure out why my 64-bit VMs weren't booting. In my case it was a Linux 64-bit kernel complaining about not finding an x86_64 processor. I got the IT guys to correct the BIOS setting and now my 64-bit VMs work.

Best I can tell, you can grep your logs for HWACCM to see if you've got the hardware extensions or not. If you don't, you'll get 1-2 lines with error messages... if you do have it you'll get lots of messages showing all the interesting details of your CPU being discovered, one of which is "HWACCM: VMX enabled!"
vbox4me2
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by vbox4me2 »

Small update: when a Guest is running you have an iconbar below the Guest screen, there is a icon with a V in it telling you if vt-x is successfully used or not. Hover the mouse above it.
vishquest@yahoo.com
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by vishquest@yahoo.com »

I recently bought Dell Inspiron 1545 with Windows 7 64. While installing RHEL 5.3 x86_64 I am getting an error that my CPU does not support VT-x. I have updated latest BIOS however I do not see any opetion to set VT-X mode. I am using VirtualBox 3.2.6r63112. I certainly appreciate your amicable solution to this isue.

Thanking you anticipating your reply.

Vishal
FrodoHobbits
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by FrodoHobbits »

You will need to go into the Bios and hunt for virtualization (Dell might call it something else) and then ensure it is turned on. Most Bios's I've come across seem to have this feature defaulted to off.
Sasquatch
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by Sasquatch »

Quite a few OEM brands don't give you hardware assisted virtualisation. Dell is one of them to not include support for it in their BIOS for some or most systems. Only thing I can think of, is call their tech support (or mail them) and complain about this, hoping they might give you a solution.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
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Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
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See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
mttommy
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by mttommy »

For my problem (VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED in log files) I found the solution on this web site:
h t t p:// news.metaparadigma.de/win-oracle-virtualbox-workaround-for-initialization-issue-3395/
- the last workaround: "Shutdown your host machine, unplug (!) from electricity for say 30 secs, reboot then"
My mainboard is ABIT IP35 and CPU is Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300.
mpack
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Re: Question to the Guru's, vt-x or not, thats the question

Post by mpack »

Don't wake the dead.
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