Do I need VT-x and VT-d both to run Microsoft Hyper-V?

Joshua_Texas

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I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T540p with QM87 chipset (VT-d capable) and Haswell Dual-Core i5-4200M (VT-x only, no VT-d) running Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit. The BIOS page shows Intel Virtualization Technology (means VT-x only) enabled. No VT-d mentioned anywhere. So this laptop has VT-x only without VT-d capability. Can I run Microsoft Hyper-V with VT-x only without VT-d?
 
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Yes the 4300U has VT-d, which means I can configure wireless for virtual machines, but my i5 3570K workstation doesn't, and that's my primary virtualization station. You ONLY need VT-x with SLAT, which all chips in the last 5 years support, for Client Hyper-V.

You won't be able to use certain features like TPM or VM dedicated network cards, but you don't need them outside Server systems anyway.
You need VT-x to run Hyper-V, and it works great on my i5 4300M SP3. Just enable Hyper-V in the options and have fun. I would however highly recommend upgrading to 10 if you plan on using Hyper-V, they added some awesome features like 10 Pro being able to have remoteFX for local connections (only enterprise and Server before)
 

Joshua_Texas

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Do you mean that I need VT-x only and don't need VT-d to run Hyper-V? Your CPU i5-4300M has VT-x and VT-d both. My CPU i5-4200M has VT-x only, no VT-d. I heard that type 1 hypervisor Hyper-V needs VT-x and VT-d both to be enabled to run. I just need confirmation. See this link: http://ark.intel.com/products/76347/Intel-Core-i5-4300M....
 

Joshua_Texas

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What if you go into your BIOS/UEFI page and disable the VT-d, just leave the VT-x enabled, can you still run Hyper-V without any issues?
 


Yes the 4300U has VT-d, which means I can configure wireless for virtual machines, but my i5 3570K workstation doesn't, and that's my primary virtualization station. You ONLY need VT-x with SLAT, which all chips in the last 5 years support, for Client Hyper-V.

You won't be able to use certain features like TPM or VM dedicated network cards, but you don't need them outside Server systems anyway.
 
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Joshua_Texas

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Thanks for your clarification on this. I am currently running Linux as guest on the Virtualbox. But I cannot get wireless on the guest to do update or install apps on my Linux. I am thinking of switching from Virtualbox to Hyper-V to get around this. I mean to run Linux guest on Hyper-V instead of Virtualbox. Would I be able to get wireless to passthrough so I can see the wireless connection on my Linux guest? Thanks.
 


Not without VT-d, but you don't need to. All you have to do is set up a virtual switch and then your VM will have a network connection. You might have to play around with settings, but you can certainly use linux as if it was connected to an ethernet port. You should probably install the VM integration software in linux though, it makes management a bit easier.

Only thing to know is that it's impossible to use Connected Standby on Windows 8 with Hyper-V enabled. Works just fine on Win 10 though.