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Hardware virtualization or CPU virtualization is a vital feature of a modern CPU for hardware-assisted virtualization. The hardware virtualization CPU feature enhances the efficiency and performance of virtualization hypervisors (i.e. KVM, VMware, VirtualBox). Hardware virtualization allows hypervisor programs to directly access and manage the virtualization-related tasks on the CPU, reducing the overhead of software emulation. This improves the virtual machine performance and reduces resource contention. Hardware virtualization also provides memory isolation, I/O virtualization, nested virtualization, and many other features to the hypervisor which allow the hypervisor to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine with near-native performance.
To get the best performance on server ( type-I) and desktop (type-II) virtualization, you must enable the hardware virtualization feature from the BIOS/UEFI firmware of the motherboard of your computer/server.
The hardware virtualization CPU feature is called VT-x/VT-d for Intel processors and AMD-v for AMD processors.
In this article, we will show you how to enable the VT-x/VT-d/AMD-v hardware virtualization CPU feature from the BIOS/UEFI firmware of some of the most popular desktop motherboards (i.e. ASUS, ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte).
Topic of Contents:
- Enable the Hardware Virtualization in ASUS Motherboard
- Enable the Hardware Virtualization in ASRock Motherboard
- Enable the Hardware Virtualization in MSI Motherboard
- Enable the Hardware Virtualization in Gigabyte Motherboard
- Verifying Whether the Hardware Virtualization Is Enabled from Windows 10/11
- Verifying Whether the Hardware Virtualization Is Enabled from Linux
- Conclusion
- References
Enable the Hardware Virtualization in ASUS Motherboard
You can enable the hardware virtualization for AMD and Intel processors from the “Advanced Mode” of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard.
To enter the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard, press <Delete> right after pressing the power button of your computer.
The BIOS/UEFI Firmware of ASUS motherboards has two modes: “EZ Mode” and “Advanced Mode”.
Once you entered the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard, you will be in “EZ Mode” by default. To enable the virtualization on your ASUS motherboard, you have to enter the “Advanced Mode”.
To enter the “Advanced Mode”, press <F7> while you’re in “EZ Mode”.
Then, navigate to the “Advanced” tab (by pressing the arrow keys), select “CPU Configuration”, and press <Enter>.
If you have an Intel processor, enable the “Intel (VMX) Virtualization Technology” from the “CPU Configuration” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard.
If you have an AMD processor, enable the “SVM Mode” from the “CPU Configuration” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard.
To save the changes, press <F10>, select OK, and press <Enter>.
The hardware virtualization should be enabled for your processor. For more information on enabling the hardware virtualization feature from the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASUS motherboard, check the official FAQ/Support page of ASUS.
Enable the Hardware Virtualization in ASRock Motherboard
You can enable the hardware virtualization for AMD and Intel processors from the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard.
To enter the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard, press <F2> or <Delete> right after pressing the power button of your computer.
If you’re using a high-end ASRock motherboard, you may find yourself in “Easy Mode” once you enter the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard. In that case, press <F6> to switch to “Advanced Mode”.
If you’re using a cheap/mid-range ASRock motherboard, you may not have an “Easy Mode”. You will be taken to “Advanced Mode” directly. In that case, you won’t have to press <F6> to switch to “Advanced Mode”.
You will be in the “Main” tab by default. Press the <Right> arrow key to navigate to the “Advanced” tab of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard.
From the “Advanced” tab, select the “CPU Configuration” and press <Enter>.
If you have an AMD processor, enable the “SVM Mode” from the “CPU Configuration” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard.
If you have an Intel processor, enable the “Intel Virtualization Technology” from the “CPU Configuration” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your ASRock motherboard.
To save the changes, press <F10>, select Yes, and press <Enter>.
The hardware virtualization should be enabled for your processor. For more information on enabling the hardware virtualization feature on your ASRock motherboard, we recommend you to read the “User Manual” of your ASRock motherboard.
Enable the Hardware Virtualization in MSI Motherboard
You can enable the hardware virtualization for AMD and Intel processors from the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your MSI motherboard.
To enter the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your MSI motherboard, press <Delete> right after pressing the power button of your computer.
The BIOS/UEFI Firmware of MSI motherboards has two modes: “EZ Mode” and “Advanced Mode”.
Once you entered the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your MSI motherboard, you will be in “EZ Mode” by default. To enable the virtualization on your MSI motherboard, you have to enter the “Advanced Mode”.
To enter the “Advanced Mode”, press <F7> while you’re in “EZ Mode”.
Navigate to “OC settings”. Scroll down to “CPU Features” and press <Enter>.
If you have an AMD processor, enable the “SVM Mode” from the “CPU Features” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your MSI motherboard.
If you have an Intel processor, enable the “Intel Virtualization Technology” from the “CPU Features” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your MSI motherboard.
To save the changes, press <F10>, select Yes, and press <Enter>.
The hardware virtualization should be enabled for your processor. For more information on enabling the hardware virtualization feature on your MSI motherboard, we recommend you to read the “User Manual” of your MSI motherboard.
Enable the Hardware Virtualization in Gigabyte Motherboard
You can enable the hardware virtualization for AMD and Intel processors from the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard.
To enter the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard, press <Delete> right after pressing the power button of your computer.
The BIOS/UEFI Firmware of Gigabyte motherboards has two modes: “Easy Mode” and “Advanced Mode”.
To enable the hardware virtualization, you have to switch to the “Advanced Mode” of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard. If you’re in “Easy Mode”, you can press <F2> to switch to “Advanced Mode” on the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard.
If you have an AMD processor, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Tweaker tab of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard.
Enable the “SVM Mode” from the “Tweaker” tab of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of the BIOS of your Gigabyte motherboard.
If you have an Intel processor, use the arrow keys to navigate to the “Settings” tab of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard.
From the “Settings” tab, select “Miscellaneous” and press <Enter>.
Enable “VT-d” from the “Miscellaneous” section of the BIOS/UEFI Firmware of your Gigabyte motherboard.
To save the changes, press <F10>, select Yes, and press <Enter>.
The hardware virtualization should be enabled for your processor. For more information on enabling the hardware virtualization feature on your Gigabyte motherboard, we recommend you to read the “User Manual” or “BIOS Setup Manual” of your Gigabyte motherboard.
Verifying Whether the Hardware Virtualization Is Enabled from Windows 10/11
You can verify whether the hardware virtualization is enabled from the Windows 10/11 operating system. If you need any assistance in that, read this article.
Verifying Whether the Hardware Virtualization Is Enabled from Linux
You can verify whether the hardware virtualization is enabled from Linux. If you need any assistance with that, read the article on How to Check If the Hardware Virtualization Is Enabled in Linux.
Conclusion
We showed you how to enable the VT-x/VT-d/AMD-v hardware virtualization CPU feature from the BIOS/UEFI firmware of some of the most popular desktop motherboards (i.e. ASUS, ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte).
References:
- ASUS FAQ
- ASRock X570 Pro4 Manaual
- ASRock Z590 Pro4 Manual
- MSI MEG X570 ACE Manual
- MSI MEG Z590 ACE Manual
- Gigabyte BIOS Setup Manual for Intel 600 Series
- Gigabyte BIOS Setup Manual for AMD X670/B650 Series
