How to Enable Virtualization in BIOS (Intel VT-x and AMD-V)

Illustration of a motherboard with a switch turning on CPU virtualization support in the firmware settings

Here is how to enable virtualization. First, check if it is already on: open Task Manager on Windows, or run lscpu on Linux. If it is off, restart into the BIOS or UEFI setup and turn on "Intel Virtualization Technology" (VT-x) or "SVM Mode" (AMD-V). Save, reboot and check again. If a VM app still fails on Windows, Hyper-V or Memory Integrity may hold the hardware.

Updated October 2026. This guide replaces the 2009 version with current tools and a home lab focus.

Who this is for: you want to run VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, Hyper-V, WSL 2 or Proxmox, and your PC says virtualization is not available.

What "virtualization" means in your BIOS

Your CPU has special instructions that let a hypervisor run virtual machines fast and safely. Intel calls this Intel Virtualization Technology, or VT-x. AMD calls it AMD-V, and the firmware switch is often named "SVM Mode". Without it, most modern hypervisors refuse to start a VM, or they run very slowly.

There are two related features you will meet too:

Second-level address translation (SLAT). Intel calls it Extended Page Tables (EPT). AMD calls it Nested Page Tables (NPT). It lets the CPU handle guest memory mapping in hardware. Hyper-V requires it.
IOMMU (Intel VT-d, AMD-Vi). This lets you pass a real device, such as a GPU or a disk controller, straight into one VM. You need it only for passthrough.

If you want to know what the hypervisor does with these features, read what a hypervisor is, type 1 vs type 2. For the history of how VMs worked before these CPU features existed, see full virtualization vs paravirtualization.

Virtualization requirements

Check these points before you change any settings. Requirements differ by product, so confirm them in the docs for the tool you plan to use.

Item	What you need	Notes
CPU	64-bit Intel or AMD CPU with VT-x or AMD-V	Look up your exact model on the vendor's spec page
SLAT (EPT or NPT)	Required for Hyper-V	Other hypervisors use it when present
DEP (XD or NX bit)	Required for Hyper-V	Usually on by default in the firmware
Firmware	The virtualization switch set to Enabled	Often off by default on consumer boards
RAM	Enough for the host plus every running VM	Microsoft says plan for at least 4 GB for Hyper-V
Disk	Free space for each VM disk	An SSD makes VMs feel much faster
Host OS	An OS your hypervisor supports	Hyper-V needs Windows 10 or 11 Pro or Enterprise, or Windows Server
IOMMU (optional)	VT-d or AMD-Vi, enabled in firmware	Only for device passthrough

The Hyper-V figures come from Microsoft's system requirements for Hyper-V, as of October 2026. Verify them there before you buy hardware.

To check if your Intel CPU supports VT-x at all, Intel points you to the product specification page for your processor number. See Intel's support article on VT-x. AMD lists the same information on each processor's product page.

Step 1: check if virtualization is already enabled

Do this first. Many PCs already have it on, and the real problem is something else.

On Windows: Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Select the Performance tab.
Select CPU.
Look for the line Virtualization under the graph. It says Enabled or Disabled.

On Windows: systeminfo

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run this command:

systeminfo

Scroll to the Hyper-V Requirements section at the end. If every line says Yes, your PC can run Hyper-V. A "No" next to "Virtualization Enabled In Firmware" means you must turn it on in the BIOS or UEFI.

You may see this line instead:

Hyper-V Requirements: A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.

That means the Windows hypervisor is already running. Virtualization is on. Keep this in mind for the troubleshooting section below.

On Linux: lscpu, cpuinfo and kvm-ok

Run this command to see the CPU's virtualization type:

lscpu | grep -i virtualization

On Intel you should see VT-x. On AMD you should see AMD-V. You can also count the CPU flags directly. A result above zero means the vmx (Intel) or svm (AMD) flag is present:

grep -E -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

On Ubuntu and Debian, the kvm-ok tool gives a clearer answer. It checks the CPU flags, checks that /dev/kvm exists, and, when you run it as root, checks if the firmware has disabled the feature:

sudo apt install cpu-checker
sudo kvm-ok

A good result ends with "KVM acceleration can be used".

A result of zero does not always mean your CPU lacks the feature. Recent Linux kernels hide the vmx or svm flag when the firmware has turned it off. Check your CPU model on the vendor's spec page. If it supports VT-x or AMD-V, go to Step 2 and turn it on.

On a Mac

There is no BIOS switch. On Apple silicon, VM apps use Apple's own hypervisor support, through the Hypervisor framework or the higher-level Virtualization framework. UTM, Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion each build on one or both. On Intel Macs, VT-x is already on. Install the app and follow its own setup steps.

Step 2: how to enable virtualization in BIOS or UEFI

Every vendor uses its own menus and labels. The steps below are the general pattern. Your motherboard or laptop manual is the final word.

Save your work and restart the PC.
Enter the firmware setup. Press the setup key as soon as the PC powers on. It is usually F2, F10, F12 or Del. Check your motherboard or laptop manual for the right key.
Find the CPU settings. Look under menus such as Advanced, CPU Configuration, Chipset or Security. Names vary.
Turn on the virtualization setting. On Intel, look for "Intel Virtualization Technology", "VT-x" or "Intel VT". On AMD, look for "SVM Mode" or "AMD-V".
Turn on the IOMMU if you need passthrough. Look for "VT-d" on Intel or "IOMMU" on AMD. Skip this if you only run normal VMs.
Save and exit. Then do a full shutdown and power on again. Some boards apply CPU changes only after a cold start.
Check again with Task Manager, systeminfo or kvm-ok.

Can you not find the setting? Update the firmware from the vendor's support site and look again. Some business laptops hide the option under a security or virtualization menu. Some locked-down OEM systems do not show it at all.

Step 3: fix the Windows Hyper-V conflict

This is the most common reason a VM still fails after you enable virtualization. Microsoft explains it in the support article virtualization applications can't run alongside Hyper-V. As of October 2026, it says only one software component at a time can use VT-x or AMD-V. When the Windows hypervisor runs, third-party tools such as VMware and VirtualBox might not start VMs, or might fall back to a slower, emulated mode.

Hyper-V is not the only thing that starts the Windows hypervisor. Microsoft names two Windows security features that depend on it:

Memory Integrity (also called hypervisor-protected code integrity, or HVCI). You find it in Windows Security, under Device security, then Core isolation details.
Credential Guard. This is common on work PCs managed by an IT team.

Option A: let your app run on top of Hyper-V

Newer desktop hypervisors can use the Windows Hypervisor Platform instead of taking the CPU feature for themselves. Broadcom's documentation on running Workstation on a Hyper-V enabled host says Workstation Pro 15.5.5 and later can do this. It needs Windows 10 20H1 (build 19041.264) or newer. VirtualBox 6 and later can also run on Hyper-V. This keeps Memory Integrity, WSL 2 and Windows Sandbox working, which is the safer choice. Some features differ and VMs can run slower, so check your tool's release notes. Update your VM app and try this first.

Option B: turn off the Windows hypervisor

Do this only if Option A does not work for you. It lowers the security of the PC. It also stops other Windows features that need the hypervisor: WSL 2, Windows Sandbox and Docker Desktop's WSL 2 backend. On a work PC, IT policy may control these settings, so ask your IT team first.

Microsoft gives this PowerShell command. Run it as administrator:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-Hypervisor

That command removes only one part. The Windows hypervisor still starts if any of these stay on:

Memory Integrity. Turn it off in Windows Security, under Device security, then Core isolation details.
Credential Guard. This is usually set by Group Policy or Intune. You may not be able to change it yourself.
Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Sandbox. Clear them in "Turn Windows features on or off". Virtual Machine Platform is a subset of Hyper-V, so it keeps the hypervisor loaded. Clearing it turns off WSL 2.

Restart, then open msinfo32. The line "A hypervisor has been detected" should be gone. To undo the change, turn Hyper-V Hypervisor and the features above on again, then restart.

Nested virtualization: a hypervisor inside a VM

A common home lab trick is to run Proxmox or Hyper-V inside a VM, so you can learn without spare hardware. This is nested virtualization. The outer hypervisor must pass VT-x or AMD-V through to the guest. Enabling it in your BIOS is not enough on its own.

Hyper-V host. Turn the VM off, then run Set-VMProcessor -VMName "NameOfVM" -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true in an admin PowerShell window.
KVM or Proxmox host. Check the kernel setting, then set the guest's CPU type to "host".

cat /sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/nested
cat /sys/module/kvm_amd/parameters/nested
qm set <vmid> --cpu host

A "Y" or "1" means nesting is on. The Linux kernel docs say it is on by default from kernel 4.20, though your distribution can change that. For the Proxmox steps, see the Proxmox nested virtualization guide. Expect nested VMs to run slower than VMs on bare metal. They suit learning, not production.

Common mistakes

Turning on VT-d but not VT-x. VT-d is for device passthrough. The setting you need first is VT-x or SVM.
Skipping the cold boot. A warm restart may not apply the change on some boards. Shut down fully.
Blaming the BIOS when Hyper-V is the cause. If Task Manager says Enabled but VirtualBox or VMware still fails, look at Hyper-V and Memory Integrity first.
Turning off Memory Integrity without a reason. Try running your app on the Windows Hypervisor Platform first.
Reading a missing CPU flag as "not supported". On recent kernels, a missing vmx or svm flag often means the feature is off in the firmware. Check the CPU spec page, then the BIOS.
Forgetting the CPU type in a nested VM. A generic virtual CPU model hides VT-x from the guest.

Where to go next

With virtualization on, you can pick a tool. For a desktop lab on Windows, macOS or Linux, compare the options in VMware vs VirtualBox vs Proxmox for a desktop lab. If you want a machine that runs services all day, read what a home lab is and how to start one.

FAQ

How do I know if virtualization is enabled on Windows?

Open Task Manager, select the Performance tab, then select CPU. The Virtualization line says Enabled or Disabled. You can also run systeminfo and read the Hyper-V Requirements section.

Is it safe to enable virtualization in BIOS?

Yes, for normal use. It only lets software use a CPU feature that is already there. Windows security features such as Memory Integrity actually depend on it.

Why does VirtualBox or VMware say VT-x is not available when it is enabled?

The Windows hypervisor is probably running. Hyper-V, Memory Integrity or Credential Guard can hold the feature. Update your VM app so it can run on the Windows Hypervisor Platform, or turn those features off as Microsoft describes.

What is SVM Mode in BIOS?

SVM Mode is the firmware switch for AMD's virtualization feature, AMD-V. Set it to Enabled to run VMs on an AMD CPU. It is the AMD equivalent of Intel VT-x.

Do I need VT-d or IOMMU to run virtual machines?

No. You need VT-x or AMD-V to run VMs. VT-d and AMD-Vi are only needed when you pass a physical device, such as a GPU, into a VM.

Do I need to enable virtualization on a Mac?

No. Macs have no BIOS switch for it. On Apple silicon, VM apps use Apple's built-in hypervisor frameworks, so you install the app and start. On Intel Macs, VT-x is already on.

VirtualEdge