VT-X disabled by firmware update?
 

Hi everybody,

I tried Workstation on my Core Duo Mac Mini; apart from what I think are probably beta issues (no full screen possible etc), everything works great - I'm definitely buying licenses when the release is out. If it's priced at 49,95 as the versions for the other host systems, it's a steal ..

But: after my trial I installed Boot Camp and did a native XP install; since the necessary firmware update, launching a VM brings up the message that VT-X is present but disabled.

Is it possible for me to reactivate VT-X in Open Firmware somehow, or is this a matter which must be solved by a new Workstation release?

Cheers,
Jan

It is really interesting question! If we list 3 available Macs in terms of VT-x support we will have following:

1. iMac - VT supported and enabled.
2. MacBook - VT supported and enabled.
3. Mac mini - VT supported but disabled.

Is it intention of Apple to reduce Mac mini functionality or just firmware bug - I don't know...

As Boot Camp, the respective firmware and Workstation for OS X are all brand-spanking new, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet.

I'd say there is probably just a glitch in the combination of these three - at least I really, really hope so. Being able to use Minis in our corporate environment would [B]so[/B] rock :)

This has nothing to do with the firmware update.

VT is not enabled on any Intel-based Mac mini.

The question is it done intentionally or is it just a bug in firmware?

I've just been talking with an engineer at Apple, and the thinking right now is that it is unintentional and is a bug. I have passed his contact information on to the Parallels team.

Thanks Dave, that certainly is good news! So I'm waiting for the things to come from Apple in this regard.

On a different note: I haven't really worked with VMs before, and especially not on the Mac, so please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but: what is the best way to exchange files between VM and host - i.e., make office documents created in the VM available to OS X?

[QUOTE=elektroholunder] but: what is the best way to exchange files between VM and host - i.e., make office documents created in the VM available to OS X?[/QUOTE]

The VM environment grabs its own IP address on the LAN, so you can set up a Windows share on either/both OS X and/or Windows and share files that way.

Thanks! That sounds like a smooth solution my users certainly could accept.

[QUOTE=elektroholunder]Thanks! That sounds like a smooth solution my users certainly could accept.[/QUOTE]

You'll also be able to share a folder/volume from the Mac environment into the Parallels environment using the Parallels tools.

Perfect; that is exactly what I initially hoped for. Exciting times - I'm really looking forward to the next release(s).

[QUOTE=daveschroeder]I've just been talking with an engineer at Apple, and the thinking right now is that it is unintentional and is a bug. I have passed his contact information on to the Parallels team.[/QUOTE]

Dave,

For various reasons I just don't want to fork out the cash for a Core Duo iMac or Mac Book Pro (I'm really holding out for the desktop machines) but with all this bootcamp and even more sexy to me virtulazation (I'm not really a gamer so this is just up my ally) the mini was looking like a real option to bide-my-time. Like I said I'm not a hard core gamer by any stretch so I can pretty much forgive the built in graphics (not happy but I can deal) but when I read that VT was crippled / disabled and or in some way not available stopped me in my tracks.

I hated to think it was done 'just to be nasty' aka a pure and heartless marketing move without any cost savings associated with it but it was the first thing that jumped into my head. Sure save a few bucks not having an ATI chipset (gulp well okay) but no VT when it is working fine everywhere else... That I couldn't forgive Apple for.

Well anyway I'm glad to read what you posted and I and I'm sure many others are quite interested in hearing anything more you might find out.

Thanks for (pretty much) restoring my faith in Apple. :D

Dave

Question for those with core duo minis who installed bootcamp and then found vt-x not working... is the firmware upgrade for bootcamp different than the firmware Update 1.0 that came out on the 6th or so?

The reason I ask is I have not installed bootcamp yet, but I have installed 10.4.6, I have installed firmware update 1.0, and I have installed the parallels workstation trial and I do have VT-x support working.

I was planning on doing bootcamp shortly but now I'm wondering.

[QUOTE=daveschroeder]I've just been talking with an engineer at Apple, and the thinking right now is that it is unintentional and is a bug. I have passed his contact information on to the Parallels team.[/QUOTE]

How did you test if VT was enabled? I wrote a VT test program based on the Xen start-up routines and it indicates VT is not only present, but enabled.

@Scott: good question; my firmware download (MacMiniFirmwareUpdater.dmg) is from Tuesday 4th, size 1.562.706 Bytes, MD5 1404b34a75d591e72e645c41a8af71cf - is yours different?

Hi guys

Just wanted to mention that I bought a mini yesterday (1.66 Duo / 1GB) and all I've done is update to 10.4.6 and installed Parallels - I haven't installed any new firmware for Boot Camp or otherwise.

I get the message from Parallels that VT is disabled in the BIOS.

Cheers
James

James, that can't be true or it wouldn't be working for me. Try updating your firmware with Apple's recent firmware update. Maybe Parallels was working with a pre-updated firmware. This firmware's only been out a few days.

[QUOTE=elektroholunder]@Scott: good question; my firmware download (MacMiniFirmwareUpdater.dmg) is from Tuesday 4th, size 1.562.706 Bytes, MD5 1404b34a75d591e72e645c41a8af71cf - is yours different?[/QUOTE]

Not sure how to check the MD5 hash but the date and file size are right.

[QUOTE=waa]How did you test if VT was enabled? I wrote a VT test program based on the Xen start-up routines and it indicates VT is not only present, but enabled.[/QUOTE]

One of the Parallels programmers has written a simple kext to demonstrate that VT is disabled/inaccessible on the Mac mini in firmware, and is in communication with Apple on the issue.

Dave,

How do you explain when I run parallels that it shows VT-x enabled on my core duo mini, and that xp runs quite fast (faster than expected) under it?

I'm wondering if the Parallels test wasn't against the original mini firmware and not the update that came out on the 4th.

Either that or they haven't tried it on a core duo, only a core solo? I don't know, I'm guessing, but it's working for me.