How to enable virtualization in BIOS in the simplest way

Today, more and more modern computer systems are turning their attention to virtualization technologies. True, not everyone clearly understands exactly what it is, why it is necessary and how to solve the problems of its inclusion or practical use. Now it will be considered how to incorporate virtualization in BIOS using the simplest method. Just note that this technique is applicable absolutely to all existing systems, in particular, to the BIOS and the UEFI system that replaced it.

What is virtualization and why is it needed?

Before we begin to solve the problem directly, as in BIOS I include virtualization, let's see what this technology represents and why it is needed.

The technology itself is intended for use in any operating system of so-called virtual machines that can emulate real computers with all their "iron" and software components. In other words, in the main system, you can create a virtual computer with the selection of a processor, RAM, video and sound card, network adapter, hard drive, optical media and God knows what else, including installing a guest (child) "operating system" Will not differ from the real computer terminal.

Varieties of technology

If anyone does not know, the virtualization technologies were created by the leading processors manufacturers - Intel and AMD corporations, which today can not divide the palm tree in this field. At the dawn of the era, the created hypervisor (software for managing virtual machines) from Intel did not meet all the performance requirements, so development of support for virtual systems began, which should have been "wired up" in the CPU chips themselves.

Intel has this technology called Intel-VT-x, and AMD has AMD-V. Thus, the support optimized the CPU performance without affecting the main system.

It goes without saying that you must enable this option in the BIOS pre-settings only if you intend to use a virtual machine on a physical machine, for example, to test programs or predict the behavior of a computer system with various "iron" components after installing an operating system . Otherwise, this support can not be used. In addition, by default, it is generally off and, as already mentioned, the performance of the main system has absolutely no effect.

Log in to BIOS

As for the BIOS or UEFI systems, in any computer or laptop they are, regardless of the complexity of the installed equipment. The BIOS itself on the computer is a small chip on the motherboard, which is responsible for testing the "iron" when the terminal is turned on. In it, in spite of the memory of only about 1 MB, the basic settings and characteristics of the equipment remain.

Depending on the version of the BIOS or the manufacturer, the input can be done in several different ways. The most common is to use the Del key immediately after turning on the computer or laptop. However, there are other methods, for example, keys F2, F12, etc.

How in the BIOS to enable virtualization in the simplest way?

Now let's define some basic parameters and menus. We start from the fact that the input to the BIOS on the computer has already been made. There are several main sections here, but in this case we are interested in everything that relates to the processor chip.

Typically, these options are contained in the advanced settings menu (Advanced) or in the Security section (Security). They can also be called differently, but, as a rule, it is something like Processor or BIOS Chipset (although there may be other names).

So, now the question of how to include virtualization in BIOS can be considered closely. In the above sections there is a special line Virtualization Technology (in the case of Intel, the name of the corporation is added to the main name). When you enter the corresponding menu, two options are displayed: Enabled and Disabled. As is already clear, the first is the virtualization mode that is enabled, the second is a complete shutdown.

The same goes for the UEFI system, in which the option is enabled in a completely similar way.

Now, when the BIOS setup is applied to the parameter of the enabled mode, it only remains to save the changes (F10 or the Save & Exit Setup command), press the confirmation key Y corresponding to the English word Yes. Reboot the system with the newly saved parameters starts automatically.

What should I know other than this?

As you can see, the procedure for enabling virtualization in the BIOS is quite simple. However, here you should take into account some of the subtleties associated with the possible disabling of this function. The fact is that when using virtual machines like WMware Virtual Machine, Virtual PC, VirtualBox or even the "native" Microsoft module called Hyper-V, this option must be activated without fail even with the support of Windows components directly in the system settings.

For the most part, this applies to newer versions of Windows, starting with the "seven". In the "ekspishek" or "Vista" this is not an obligatory condition. Although if such "operating systems" are installed on the latest hardware, inclusion of support may also be required. However, it is unlikely that the user will install a morally obsolete "operating system" on such a machine, which will not allow "squeezing" out of the computer "hardware" the maximum of what it is capable of. So it is better to use the latest "iron" components in combination not only with the latest versions of operating systems, but even with the diagnostic systems and controls UEFI, which replaced the long-serving BIOS.