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I have a CLEVO w150erm, with a i7-3610QM processor, which supports Intel VT-x. However in order to use it I have to activate that option in the BIOS (or so that's what I believe) but I simply can't find it.

  • Is there a way to let me know if I have the Intel VT-x option enabled?
  • Where am I supposed to activate it in the BIOS? I simply can't find it :S
  • Do I have to use the EFI Shell to activate Intel VT-x? If yes how?

Images of the bios: enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

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  • 2
    Be aware that even if your CPU supports VT-x, your motherboard might not.
    – Kitsune
    May 8, 2013 at 0:31
  • No way ... how do I check that? May 8, 2013 at 0:42

3 Answers 3

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I did a quick search and found nothing definitive. The CPU supports it but the motherboard or BIOS may not.

You can download CPU-Z to at least confirm the CPU supports it

enter image description here

My guess is if there is not an option in the BIOS you are out of luck. Your best bet might be to contact the vendors tech support and see what they say.

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  • After many hours of search I realized you were right ... Thanks. May 8, 2013 at 1:40
  • Glad to be of help. Sorry the answer wasn't different. May 8, 2013 at 2:27
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Alright, so after many hours of search, I think I know the answer. I will post what I know here in case some one else needs it one day.

To enable Intel VT technologies there are 3 things needed:

  • Processor that supports VT-x
  • Motherboard with chipset that supports VT-d
  • Bios that supports VT-d as well

Turns out, the reason I can't enable VT, it's because my motherboard doesn't support VT-d, and although my processor supports VT-x, that doesn't matter. It's all or nothing.

How to know if a motherboard supports VT-d? That greatly depends on the chipset it has. In the case for Intel these posts were helpful:

So after hours of searching for the Clevo W150ER motherboard specs (Review Clevo W150ER Barebone Notebook), I found that it holds the Intel's Panther Point Model HM76 which does not support Intel VT-d.

Please notice that supporting VT-d is not enough to support Intel VT. The processor must support Intel VT-x, and the Bios must also support it. If you require special network use, a special VT flag is also required, though I cannot remember it.

Hope it helps you all.

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    Note that VT-d is not dependent on VT-x. That is, a VT-x enabled system can operate without VT-d, or without VT-d enabled or configured. You simply miss the benefits of the feature. Many people have asked about this point. software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2009/06/25/…
    – A.D.
    Nov 6, 2013 at 17:35
  • I don't think this answer is correct. Yes, VT-d is an enhancement to virtualisation, not a requirement. It basically allows VMs to gain access to certain host devices as though they were connected directly. I'm not sure how widely used this is. It is not required to run a VM under normal parameters. Sep 30, 2015 at 15:11
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I was looking into this to know whether a machine would support pass-through or not before I lose time reinstalling it. It was really hard to find how exactly to know that before trying to pass PCI devices.

dmesg | grep -e IOMMU -e DMAR -e PCI-DMA

Depending on your kernel version you need to see

DMAR: Intel(R) Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O

or

PCI-DMA: Intel(R) Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O

Mere Intel-IOMMU: enabled or DMAR: IOMMU enabled is not enough to know everything is fine.

Sources:

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