New Mac Pro EFI Firmware / VTI-x fixed?

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop for Mac' started by demenas, Nov 13, 2006.

  1. demenas

    demenas Junior Member

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    13
    Apple released new EFI firmware for most (or all?) of their Intel Macs this evening.

    I applied the update to my Mac Pro with 6GB of RAM, shut down, and when I started up again and ran Paralels I did not get the VTI-x warning message. (And I had not done the "Sleep" trick either).

    So maybe this new EFI update has resolved the problem.:)

    This is just one experience but I wanted to get the word out about the new EFI updates.

    They are here:
    http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/

    But you should be able to get them via "Software Update" also.

    Steve
     
  2. auratus

    auratus Member

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    I just tried on mine and the error was still there after the firmware update. I then did the sleep trick and the error went away. So, it doesn't look like it fixed it on my machine at least.
     
  3. demenas

    demenas Junior Member

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    Try shutting the system down completely and restarting.

    I had finished the EFI update and OS X started up and it told me the EFI update was done, and then the EFI updater left the dock. I ran Parallels and still got the message. Then I actually shut down the Mac Pro completely and restarted and did not get the message.

    Steve
     
  4. bitjunky

    bitjunky Junior Member

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    I have never been able to get the VT-x support to work on my Mac Pro. I just updated the firmware to v1.1 hoping that it would resolve the issue, but no luck. I've tried shutting down the machine, as well as trying the 'sleep trick', and neither helps. I believe that there are some drivers that I have loaded that are keeping the machine from sleeping fully, as the small light on front does not blink ...

    I'm using build 1970 on a 2x3GHz Mac Pro with 8Gb RAM.

    Either the bug that Parallels filed with Apple wasn't a priority, or it isn't an easy fix... as Parallels says they informed Apple about this problem months ago. I hope this problem can be resolved soon so that those of us who have the hardware can benefit from the technology. I'm otherwise very pleased so far with the progress that Parallels has made...
     
  5. firebird2k

    firebird2k Bit poster

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    9
    Wow.. worked for me.

    Originally did not seem like it worked. I installed the EFI and it rebooted. I went into parallels and no joy. It was late.. so I shutdown for the night. Booted up this morning, went straight into parallels and VT-x was ON :) .. hope it keeps working..
     
  6. Spunkmeyer

    Spunkmeyer Junior Member

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    12
    Worked for me

    but I had to entirely turn off the computer and turn it back on again for it to be enabled. Just trying to use Parallels after the firmware update without turning it off didn't work for me.
     
  7. jcbeckman

    jcbeckman Junior Member

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    Working for me too. Used to fail every boot, now it seems to be working OK.
     
  8. AlanH

    AlanH Pro

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    316
    Worked here after a reboot *after* the update (the update reboot itself didn't do it). I've only rebooted once, though, so it's not a statistically significant test.
     
  9. Snowing

    Snowing Bit poster

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    VT-x issue seems to have disappeared for me too. Let's hope it sticks!
     
  10. Simbarchi

    Simbarchi Bit poster

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    Same here can confirm fixed on 3.0Ghz, 8GB Ram Mac Pro
     
  11. mbarsoom

    mbarsoom Bit poster

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    Actually on my MacPro, I did not get the error, however if you check the about parallels it is running in software mode 0 not VT-x.

    Mike
     
  12. arnoud

    arnoud Junior Member

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    After the firmware update the first restart still yielded the VT-x error, shutting down and trying again prevented the error... Don't know if it is coincidence, but for now I am satisfied...
     
  13. ralphrmartin

    ralphrmartin Member

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    Doesn't work for me - even after a couple of reboots of my Mac Pro, after successfully doing the upgrade, I still get the VT-x message.
     
  14. Mersault

    Mersault Bit poster

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    Worked for me. After installing the update via Software Update, then rebooting according to the instructions and getting the message about the update being applied, I shut the computer down completely and then turned it back on and no error message when loading a VM without putting the computer to sleep. The machine is a Mac Pro with 2 gigs of ram.
     
  15. BlueSkyISdotCOM

    BlueSkyISdotCOM Member

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    68
    I also had to shut down my Mac Pro, 2.66 Ghz, 4GB RAM to get rid of the VT-X error message after the firmware update. The restart after the update didn't do it.
     
  16. Mark Reddick

    Mark Reddick Bit poster

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    6
    Worked for me too

    I'm no longer getting the error after applying the update and shutting down. I checked the About->More Info in Parallels and it indeed says "Intel VT-x".

    I'm running a 3Ghz Mac Pro with 12GB of RAM.
     
  17. AlanH

    AlanH Pro

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    316
    From my one-off experience, the reboots (one manual with the power button held down, the other one automatic) that happen during the update don't do it. I think the update is still happening at that point, and you have to reboot again to get the benefit.

    FWIW, I've had to reboot once more since my EFI update and VT-x was enabled at startup again.
     
  18. auratus

    auratus Member

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    Just to give more feedback after my initial post of it not working. I did a full shutdown and then start and now it seems to have solved the problem.

    So, the initial firmware load/reboot didn't fix it but after a full shutdown then it did.
     
  19. buzzdat

    buzzdat Member

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    Interesting. Clean boot after firmware load, VT-x issue working properly without sleep. Excellent!
     
  20. sydbarrett74

    sydbarrett74 Member

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    The secret is not to use the reFIT solution provided elsewhere in this forum -- that will only scramble your firmware settings, causing you to have to restore factory defaults and re-download the firmware patch. However, once I restored defaults (Command-Option-P-R on bootup) and reapplied the update, VT-x is now permanently turned on for me...

    In fact, I think that reFIT message should be deleted, because it's dangerous. I talked to an Apple engineer and he said that not only is that not endorced by Apple, but it's grounds for voiding your warranty because Apple considers it to be 'hacking' the firmware (much like 'modding' an Xbox to be able to boot Linux on it)....
     

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