Error: VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for all CPU mo

Question

This question already has an answer here:

• VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for both all CPU modes (VERR_VMX_MSR_ALL_VMX_DISABLED) 11 answers

I have installed Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0.12, and now trying to start it up.

But shortly after trying to power it up, I get an error message saying:

VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for all CPU modes (VERR_VMX_MSR_ALL_VMX_DISABLED)

Have other readers experienced the same issue and resolved it successfully? Please let me know. I have checked out other threads on Stackoverflow which report the same error message, and tried out the suggestions mentioned there, but none of them is working for me.

If it would help, I am running Windows 7 Enterprise edition SP1 64 bit.

Does anyone have an idea what the problem could be?

Answer 1

You may have virtualization disabled on the host computer. To enable:

• Go to your host computer's BIOS (during reboot, press F12, or Delete, or F2, ... depends on computer).
• Find some options regarding virtualization. E.g. recent Lenovo's have it under Security / Virtualization.
• Enable what's there to enable. E.g. VT-d technology [Enable].

This made it work for me.

Answer 2

First, you should check if virtualization is enabled. You can use the free tool provided by SAS Support: http://support.sas.com/kb/46/250.html If virtualization is not enabled, then you have to enable VT-D function in BIOS (for my Asus Motherboard it was in Advanced-->System Agent Configuration settings). I also had to enable Intel Virtualization Technology in CPU settings. Now everything works seamlessly.

Answer 3

When I opened Settings->System->Motherboard, suggested by the answer above, I realized that the .ova file I had downloaded into VirtualBox had settings that exceeded my old computer's RAM size (as suggested by the warning message at the bottom of the screen). Once I was within the capabilities of my machine, the system started adequately.

Answer 4

I ran into this issue with both of my ThinkPads (T450s and X1 Carbon), but this probably applies to other machines with Intel hardware.

One solution is to enable virtualization options in the BIOS of the host machine (not the guest VM).

1. Reboot and enter the BIOS (F12 usually)
2. Navigate to the virtualization settings. The exact menu navigation may vary based on your particular BIOS and version. For me it was Security -> Virtualization.
3. In my case there were two options, both of which were disabled:
   • Intel (R) Virtualization Technology
   • Intel (R) VT-d Feature
4. Enable both options
5. Save and exit (reboot)

This resolved the issue for me.

Answer 5

In my case, I had 4GB of ram for the Virtual Machine (my host machine has 8GB of ram, and I was getting that error. I've change the ram amount to 2GB ram and my Virtual Machine booted perfectly. However, I had already enabled virtualisation on my BIOS settings.

Answer 6

Try going to Settings -> System -> Motherboard on VirtualBox and change the RAM size.

Increase the RAM size and try to start it up again. It worked for me, hope it works for you as well!