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Do I really have to turn on VT-x in BIOS to make a virtual machine? I keep getting the error about VT-x not being turned on but I feel like turning it on could have a negative impact on my computer. I heard it can be a security risk.

Is there any way I can make a VM without using VT-x?

phuclv
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Yokool
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  • What OS are you trying to install into the VM? – Allen Howard Dec 04 '18 at 16:11
  • Windows 10 32-bit version – Yokool Dec 04 '18 at 16:17
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    VT-x should only be required if you are attempting to run a 64-bit OS within a VM on a 32-bit OS. – Ramhound Dec 04 '18 at 16:20
  • I have a 64bit system. If I attempt to run the 32bit VM I get the error but I can still turn the VM on. I get this screen https://imgur.com/a/SGx6Wn0 I am stuck at this screen even when I wait for about a hour. – Yokool Dec 04 '18 at 16:30
  • Also I can't make a 64bit VM since the option for that isn't there. The only fix I could find for that is turning on vt-x.. – Yokool Dec 04 '18 at 16:37
  • @Yokool - Hardware virtualization is required for the option to appear in your current configuration. – Ramhound Dec 05 '18 at 02:05

1 Answers1

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Is there any way I can make a VM without using vt-x?

Yes. VT-x is not a necessity for running a virtual machine. However without it a software solution is needed, which won't be good in performance

32-bit virtual machines can be run with binary translation, which is not much slower than a hardware-assisted solution, but 64-bit VMs can only be run inside an emulator (like qemu or Bochs) if VT-x is not available, because isolation of the virtual machine would be impossible without it. That's far worse than running native code, maybe even 10 times slower

I feel like turning it on could have a negative impact on my computer

That's just nonsense. If you don't run a VM then nothing is consumed by the VT-x feature. See Does disabling VT-x enhance stability/performance?

phuclv
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  • They are some vulnerabilities that were discovered this year that involves VT-x. The author’s concern isn’t completely unwarranted, but they can’t have hardware virtualization, without enabling it (which is required to run a 64-bit VM within a 32-bit host) – Ramhound Dec 05 '18 at 01:28