Intel Virtualization, BIOS: Enable/Disable

Bellzemos

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Sep 27, 2014
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Hi!

I have a Sony VAIO laptop with a Intel Core i7 CPU. In the BIOS options I have an option to enable or disable the Virtualization.

I know that Virtualization is for the Virtual Machines, to give hardware support and make the performance better.

My question is: why is there and option to enable or disable this in the BIOS? What is the point?

At the moment I don't have any virtualization software on my computer and I have the setting disabled. What would be the differene if I enabled it? I guess none?

Looking forward to an explanation. :) Thank you!
 

Lightbulbie

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Oct 26, 2012
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You answered your own question.

"I know that Virtualization is for the Virtual Machines, to give hardware support and make the performance better." This is true.

"At the moment I don't have any virtualization software on my computer and I have the setting disabled." Then leave it disabled until you need it.

" What would be the differene if I enabled it? I guess none?" You guessed correctly! A cookie for you.

It's a feature just for VMs to make sure the VM gets the hardware resources it needs or wants, depending how much you want your i7 to run.
 

Bellzemos

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Yes, my question remains though: why does the Intel Virtualization setting even exist in the BIOS? Why isn't it always enabled? That way it would be off if I don't need it and would automatically get used if I installed a virtual machine. What is the point of the On/Off setting in the BIOS?
 

pucgenie

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Dec 28, 2015
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I tried to disable it. It led to a noticeable subjective performance boost. A few months later it caused stress because I wanted to use VirtualBox again and forgot that that option was disabled in BIOS. Today I just disable it on machines that don't have enough resources for virtualization.
(Added my answer to a ~1 year old question because Google found it)
 

davewittig

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Dec 8, 2017
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Hello everyone, I am a fairly newbie to this site I just would like to put my 2 cents in in what I have experienced with this option in BIOS for different model computer. I work for the National Guard in Texas and with our imaging of various models of computer there is almost a guarantee for issue and much troubleshooting. I haven't dug to much in the depth of this option but for on if you un-check (turn off) this option in dell model computers and you dock the laptop then you will not see extra screens that you don't really have plugged in. Also, in certain models, yes again with the dell's lol, when you choose restart, the system goes into a sort of hibernation mode and won't wake unless you hard shutdown and power on. By turning off this option in BIOS theis fixes that issue.