How to enable Virtualization Support on your machine

To configure a Salad Container Environment on your PC, you may first be required to enable virtualization support within the BIOS of your central processing unit (CPU). This process varies widely between different hardware configurations, and may require additional steps depending on the manufacturer of your CPU and/or motherboard.

Machine Eligibility

Chopping container workloads requires active virtualization support and the latest Windows compatibility layers. To configure a container environment on your machine, you must be running Windows 11 or a recent Windows 10 distribution (Version 1903, Build 18362 or later).

About BIOS Settings

The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is the core processing software that controls communications between local hardware such as input devices, display adaptors, and disk drives, and also manages the memory resource allotments for any related processes.

Enabling CPU virtualization in your BIOS settings allows virtual machines to interface with your physical hardware across a virtual communications layer and make use of machine resources.

Enabling Virtualization

Many commercially available PCs allow users to manage their BIOS settings directly from the startup screen. This step-by-step guide will help you access most BIOS configuration utilities:

Restart or boot your computer.
BIOS Setup Utility access varies by machine, refer to the Additional Methods sections for more information.
Using the arrow keys (or mouse if available), look for a tab called Advanced, Chipset, or Virtualization.
Browse these pages to find submenus called CPU Configuration, Advanced CPU Configuration, Virtualization Settings, or similar.
Enable virtualization features (See “Platform Terminology” below).
Follow the instructions on your screen to save configuration changes and exit.

Platform Terminology

In BIOS settings menus, hardware virtualization features are referred to by different names, depending on the manufacturer of your CPU. Please consult the glossary terms below to find the appropriate features on your machine.

Intel CPU: Look for “Intel Virtualization Technology (VT),” “Intel (R) Virtualization Technology,” “VT-X,” “VTx”, or “VT-d.”
AMD CPU: Look for “AMD Virtualization,” “AMD-V,” or “IOMMU.”

Virtualization features may also be identified with generic terms such as “Virtual,” “Virtualization,” “Secure Virtual Machine,” or simply “SVM.”

Additional Methods

The guides below outline detailed setup processes for popular prebuilt PCs and motherboards.

If you still need help and your manufacturer is not listed here, you may wish to consult online documentation to enable virtualization support on your machine. Here are some handy resources to aid you in that process: