How to Enable Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT-X) For Use in Virtualbox in Ubuntu?
Tags: ubuntu
Published: 2021-11-30 05:47:21

---
title: How to Enable Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT-X) For Use in Virtualbox in Ubuntu?
published: true
date: 2021-11-25 09:34:24 UTC
tags: Ubuntu
canonical_url: https://stackallflow.com/ubuntu/how-to-enable-hardware-virtualization-technology-vt-x-for-use-in-virtualbox-in-ubuntu/
---

<header>
<p><span style="font-size: 1.2em; color: initial;">system-installation</span><span style="font-size: 1.2em; color: initial;">virtualbox</span><span style="font-size: 1.2em; color: initial;">virtualization</span></p>
</header>

So I am trying to run Ubuntu in a virtualbox but on installing 12.10 from the .iso I was greeted by a warning telling me that audio wouldn’t work then I pressed next and this popped up:

```
Failed to open a session for the virtual machine Tux 3
VT-x features locked or unavailable in MSR
(VERR_VMX_MSR_LOCKED_OR_DISABLED)
Details

Result Code: 
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component: 
Console
Interface: 
IConsole {db7ab4ca-2a3f-4183-9243-c1208da92392}

```

And then it doesn’t work.

I assigned 4GB of my 8GB to Ubuntu, 100 dynamically allocated GB of space, and 12MB of graphics memory. I’m running an Asus p8z77 V LX mobo with an Intel i5 3550 processor.

Downloaded 12.04.2 on my PC and tried again. Still getting the same message.

#### Accepted Answer

Before changing BIOS settings we may want to see if hardware virtualization (VT-x for Intel, AMD-V for AMD processors) is supported by our CPU.

From a terminal issue

```
grep --color vmx /proc/cpuinfo ## for an Intel processor
grep --color svm /proc/cpuinfo ## for an AMD processor

```

If virtualization was supported the flag `vmx` (for Intel CPUs) or `svm` (for AMD CPUs) will be colored.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XpUq9.png)

In case the CPU supports hardware virtualization, we need to enable it in the computer BIOS to be able to use it.

Also read [How to determine if CPU VT extensions are enabled in bios?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/103965/how-to-determine-if-cpu-vt-extensions-enabled-in-bios/103966#103966) for other approaches.

Enter the BIOS (often pressing <kbd>Del</kbd> or <kbd>F12</kbd> while booting) and see with the manual how it is named there. Each BIOS appears to have a different name fror this. Search for `Virtualization`, `Virtualization Technology (VT-x), SVM, VMX`, or similar, here shown for an Award BIOS:

![Award BIOS Virtualization Flag](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5x3YW.png)

For an example screenshot of an Asus EFI-BIOS [see this answer on SU](https://superuser.com/a/375351).

Set this entry to `Enabled` in case it was not done yet. Some BIOS need a **cold boot** (i.e. boot from power off state) to be able to use hardware virtualization.

Hardware virtualization can then be chosen in the virtual machine’s _System -> Acceleration_ settings:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2mP9F.png)

By this the VM uses hardware virtualization for optimal performance. We would even be able to run a 64-bit guest OS on a 32-bit host for testing.

The post [How to Enable Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT-X) For Use in Virtualbox in Ubuntu?](https://stackallflow.com/ubuntu/how-to-enable-hardware-virtualization-technology-vt-x-for-use-in-virtualbox-in-ubuntu/) appeared first on [Stack All Flow](https://stackallflow.com).