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I am trying to setup a VM Server on my old desktop hardware, the specs are:

System

MB: gigabyte 970A-D3P

CPU: AMD 8320

GPU to pass through: Sapphire HD7870 Ghz Edition

OS: Ubuntu Server 14.04.2 amd64

Kernel

I have already set the grub boot option "amd_iommu=on" I have done checks that my Hardware supports virtualization, and from what I can see all is good.

IOMMU Support

When I check dmesg for anything with IOMMU I get the following error: http://puu.sh/mTON8/47d4433c33.png

dmesg | grep -e DMAR -e IOMMU

[ 0.973504] PCI-DMA: using GART IOMMU.

[ 0.973508] PCI-DMA: Reserving 64MB of IOMMU area in the AGP aperture

[ 12.724054] AMD IOMMUv2 driver by Joerg Roedel

[ 12.724057] AMD IOMMUv2 functionality not available on this system

Booting VM Errors

When I try to boot the VM, I get the following error: http://puu.sh/mTOKK/32a4aeddd0.png


Am I missing any steps in enabling the pci passthrough? Or does my hardware simply not support PCI Passthrough? Thanks for any help subserver

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  • Have you made sure that virtualization was enabled in the BIOS?
    – Daniel
    Feb 3, 2016 at 2:36
  • Hi, thanks just realised that I had not enabled it in the BIOS. It is now enabled, however oddly enough it still gives the same error in dmesg. But I am able to successfully pass a Wifi Adapter through.Thanks!
    – sub_server
    Feb 3, 2016 at 2:55
  • Still can't pass through the GPU however, console spits out a very long error message. Will do a bit of googling and see If I can solve myself before asking another question though. Thanks!
    – sub_server
    Feb 3, 2016 at 2:56

2 Answers 2

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You need to enable IOMMU in your BIOS.

Here's an eHow guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_7705109_enable-iommu-bios.html

Quoted from above page:

IOMMU (I/O Memory Management Unit) is a feature supported by motherboard chipsets that provides enhanced virtual-to-physical memory mapping capabilities, including the ability to map large portions of non-contiguous memory. IOMMU can be enabled in the motherboard's BIOS, in order to resolve issues with virtual machine device drivers.

Reboot the computer and note the key specified to access or enter "Setup" in the initial boot message displayed when the computer first boots.

Reboot the computer and immediately press and hold down the keyboard key or keys specified in the initial boot message. Note the navigation keys specified in the BIOS setup screen that appears. Usually the keys specified are the "Up," "Down," "Left," and "Right" arrow keys to move the cursor, "Page Up" and "Page Down" to highlight a selection in a list, the "Tab" key to move horizontally through settings, and the "Enter" key to select a highlighted setting.

Navigate through each BIOS screen using the "arrow" keys and find the "IOMMU," "I/O Memory Management Unit," or "Intel ® VT-d"setting (usually located under the "Advanced" or "Chipset/Northbridge/Tylersburg IOH/Intel VT for Directed I/O Configuration"settings menu). Move the cursor over the setting selection box using the "arrow" keys and press the "Page Up" or "Page Down" or specified key to select "Enabled."

Press the "F10" key or navigate to the "Exit" menu using the "arrow" keys and move the cursor to the "Save and Exit" item and press the "Enter" key. Move the cursor to the "Yes" selection when confirmation to save settings is presented and press the "Enter" key to save the setting.

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  • It is preferable to copy the relevant sections from that link here with reference rather then posting just a link. See askubuntu.com/help/referencing
    – Panther
    Feb 4, 2016 at 15:01
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The problem is solved, I had forgotten to enable IOMMU in the BIOS.

Thanks Daniel for reminding me. Kind Regards subserver

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  • Not sure how to mark this as solved, tried to accept this answer. But I can't for 2 days.
    – sub_server
    Feb 3, 2016 at 3:00

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