Let ’ s take a expect at checking for condition of Virtualization ( VT-x ) support, and enabling it so you can use Hyper-V and other virtualization within your Windows VMs running on macOS. This is something that may be necessary for running things like the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 ( WSL2 ) successfully within your Windows VM on top of macOS .
Check if VT-x is supported on macOS
To see if the CPU within your macOS computer ( Macbook Pro, Mac Pro, or other Apple machines ) subscribe nested virtualization via the VT-x feature of the CPU, you will need to open the macOS Terminal and execute a instruction .
Run the pursue dominate :
sysctl -a | grep machdep.cpu.features
This instruction will output the instruction sets supported by your machines CPU. When running this command, look for the VMX feature in the list. If this is listed, then your central processing unit does in fact support VT-x virtualization .
Terminal output looking for VMX cpu feature support
You can run the follow command to check for hardware virtualization support on macOS as well :
sysctl kern.hv_support
The command end product will look as follows when turned on showing the kern.hv_support value returning 1 :
chris@Chriss-MBP ~ % sysctl kern.hv_support kern.hv_support: 1
just because the VMX feature of the CPU is listed, doesn ’ thymine mean it ’ randomness enabled within macOS, indeed lashkar-e-taiba ’ s count at that following.
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Enable VT-x Virtualization on macOS
All macOS computers that have an Intel i7 or i9 central processing unit should have VT-x virtualization support enabled by default. It is possible that if it ’ s not turned on for your computer, then you will need to update your computer to the latest software / firmware. This can be done through the Software Update feature of macOS, or by downloading Apple ’ s Firmware Update utilities .
It is besides possible that for some reason it was disabled, and to re-enable the VT-x virtualization support, you will need to Reset the NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac. This can be done with the Option + Command + P + R keyboard combination at inauguration of your Mac .
unfortunately, if you distillery don ’ t have the VT-x virtualization support enabled, even though your central processing unit does support it, then you may need to wait for a new update from Apple to enable it if the above methods do not work. There ’ sulfur no BIOS update setting you can access on Mac computers like other traditional desktop computer hardware .
FYI, If you are using Parallels Desktop for Mac Home Edition, this edition of Parallels does not support Nested Virtualization. To get nest Virtualization patronize you will need to upgrade to the Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro edition to get this feature .
happy running Windows or Linux in virtualization on macOS !
About the Author
Chris Pietschmann
Chris is the Founder of Build5Nines.com and a Microsoft MVP in Azure & IoT with 20 years of experience design and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He is besides a Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, developer, Microsoft Certified Trainer ( MCT ), and Cloud Advocate. He has a love for engineering and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive .