[3.0.4]Can't increase to the number of host CPU cores?

[fans vbox]

Vbox 3.0.4 installed on Windows Vista host with the CPU Pentium Dual-Core T2330, for Ubuntu 9.04 guest.

On "System->Processor" tab, "1 virtual CPU" is fixed.

i expected to increase it to "2 virtual CPUs" according to the manual,

3.7.2.2. "Processor" tab

On the "Processor" tab, you can set how many virtual CPU cores the guest operating systems should see. Starting with version 3.0, VirtualBox supports symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) and can present up to 32 virtual CPU cores to each virtual machine.

You should not, however, configure virtual machines to use more CPU cores than you have available physically.

[dmcgraw]

Does your system support VT-X?

Is VT-X enabled?

[fans vbox]

Yes, VBox has enabled VT-x by default. And i also enabled I/O APIC on "System->Motherboard" tab according to the manual,

Enabling the I/O APIC is required for 64-bit guest operating systems, especially Windows Vista; it is also required if you want to use more than one virtual CPU in a virtual machine.

[fans vbox]

Unfortunately the CPU T2330 is 64-bit capable but doesn't support VT-x according to the reference,

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=32432

What is lacking H/W VT-x meant to VBox Virtual-CPU support? Any official reference? thx!

[fans vbox]

i found out something according to the manual

1.2. Software vs. hardware virtualization (VT-x and AMD-V)
.......
Even though VirtualBox does not always require hardware virtualization, enabling it is required in the following three scenarios:

.................
VirtualBox's 64-bit guest support (added with version 2.0) and multiprocessing (SMP, added with version 3.0) both require hardware virtualization to be enabled. (This is not much of a limitation since the vast majority of today's 64-bit and multicore CPUs ship with hardware virtualization anyway; the exceptions to this rule are e.g. older Intel Celeron and AMD Opteron CPUs.)

Is that saying: from VBox 3.0 upwards NO H/W VT-x/AMD-V, NO Virtual CPUs support? Using only one out of dual cores really slow down the guest VM.

Any workaround except fall back to < 3.0 even if the older versions had used fully dual cores to run the guest VM? thx!

[Perryg]

If your CPU supports 64 bit it surely supports hyper threading.
I know my MB bios does not have hardware V but I see that VBox will use both cores.
Does it not work that way for you?

[fans vbox]

No, it's marked "Intel 64" but doesn't support Hyper-threading according to the reference,

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=32432

[Perryg]

Sorry,
As I was told to get the new features I would need to update to a newer architecture, and so would you.

[jim.hitch]

Hi I'm having the same problem but with a different processor.

According to

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=36697

the chips in my laptop support virtualisation.

Shouldn't VirtualBox therefore support 2 processors on my Acer 4810t? I'm writing this on my linux partition so can't check the error right now. But I checked all the right boxes and still came up with the Vt-x error.

There was a post here somewhere that said I needed to change some setting in my BIOS. I take that means in the laptops BIOS (where there is no mention of Vt-x) and not some setting in VBox that I'm missing.

Any suggestions?

Jim

[baf]

If you don't find it in the laptops bios then it doesn't support vt-x. It might be possible to upgrade the bios and then it might work.
P.S. after changing this SHUTDOWN and restart the computer. Not only reboot.

[jim.hitch]

Thanks for the quick response. I was afraid that was the answer I was going to get!

I'll have a look at the BIOS.

Jim