Nowadays, there are a lot of valid reasons to use virtual machines on your computer. Safer browsing, a better software development environment, and the ability to use another operating system without restarting the computer are some of them.
The availability of free virtualization software also helps virtual machines gain mainstream traction. One of the most widely used virtualization software is VirtualBox, which has an easy-to-use interface and wide compatibility with host and guest operating systems.
VirtualBox is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X host systems, and can virtualize most modern operating systems in its hypervisor with ease.
To run VirtualBox, you need a modern computer with Intel VT-d or AMD-V support. The processor-level feature allows 64-bit virtual machines to run without sacrificing features.
The Issue Running VirtualBox Without Hardware Support
Without the hardware support, VirtualBox will simply refuse to run or will only able to run 32-bit virtual machines.
One of the errors that might occur when Intel VT-d or AMD-V is disabled or not present in your current hardware is “not in a hypervisor partition (hvp=0) (verr_nem_not_available)“. This error will come up every time you boot up a virtual machine in VirtualBox.
The Solutions
The first step to fix the error is to check your system compatibility. While most systems released after 2007 has Intel VT-d or AMD-V support, some low-end processors do not have the feature.
To check whether your processor has Intel VT-d or AMD-V, you can look up the processor type in your favorite search engine with the keyword “(processor type) VT-d” or “(processor type) AMD-V”. For example, if you have an Intel Core i7 8700k, you can type “intel core i7 8700k vt-d”.
If your processor supports VT-d but the error still persists, the VT-d support might be disabled in the BIOS/UEFI. You can easily enable VT-d in a few steps, regardless of the operating system you have installed on your computer.
Begin by completely turning off your computer, then power it back on. The second your computer shows its manufacturer logo, it will also show “Press (key) to enter BIOS”. Press the key, which is usually F1, F8, F12, or Esc.
After you entered the BIOS successfully, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate the BIOS. Open “Configuration”, “System Configuration”, “Advanced Configuration”, or a similar tab.
In the tab, you will find various hardware settings. Find the entry “Intel Virtualization Technology”, “AMD-V”, or “Virtualization”, press Enter, and select “Enable”. Afterward, you can exit the BIOS by pressing Esc. The BIOS will ask you whether you want to save your changes; select “Yes” or “Save and Reboot”. Your computer will save the settings and reboot.
The next step is to try opening VirtualBox again, and the error “not in a hypervisor partition (hvp=0) (verr_nem_not_available)” will not appear again in your system.
Then, you can run any supported guest operating system on your computer using VirtualBox, be it 32-bit or 64-bit. If the error persists, you might want to reinstall VirtualBox from scratch on your computer.
