Vitrualization

Judd · April 13, 2018

So in my current PC, I have a 1600X with a gtx 1070 and a 1050ti. I have Windows 10 running perfectly with both graphics cards and I want to create a virtual machine inside of Windows that will be using 2 cores and the 1050ti. It will also have a seperate network adapter and 500gb hdd. So I tried Hyper V, and it does not seem to have PCI passthrough which is a must for me. So, is there any other free program to use on Windows 10 as the host, that has PCI passthrough? I would want to have Ubuntu as the secondary O.S. but this may change depending on what I want to experiment with. However, if I could use Ubuntu as the host and run a VM inside of that with Windows 10 I would be fine with that as long as all of my programs are still there. So the Windows 10 I have now will become the guest while Ubuntu is the host. I just need to make sure I would not lose any data. I would think this is possible due to Windows being on its own seperate SSD and HDD. I just do not have the experience to know for sure. So if this is possible, could you please tell me how? Thank you

Mira Yurizaki · April 13, 2018

From my limited understanding of Windows and hardware virtualization, Windows doesn't support any graphics virtualization unless it's a Server version.

Master Disaster · April 13, 2018

AFAIK Windows doesn't support hardware passthrough full stop and even on Linux it's insanely complicated. It's not something a novice should ever attempt and my understanding is even hardcore Linux users will find the process incredibly involved.

You're best option is use a hypervisor like ESXi or UNRaid and create 2 separate VMs that way. The downside is hypervisors require a second machine to access the control panel and create the VMs.

Judd · April 13, 2018

@Master Disaster

I have a second machine to use to access the control panel. But my question is if I make unRaid the host OS then make Windows a guest will I lose all of my data? Also, it appears ESXi and unRaid are not free. Are there any alternatives? But thank you for the response. And in no way am I experienced in Linux so there woul dbe no hope for me to create a VM with PCI passthrough on Linux.

Master Disaster · April 13, 2018

4 minutes ago, Judd said:

@Master Disaster

I have a second machine to use to access the control panel. But my question is if I make unRaid the host OS then make Windows a guest will I lose all of my data? Also, it appears ESXi and unRaid are not free. Are there any alternatives? But thank you for the response. And in no way am I experienced in Linux so there woul dbe no hope for me to create a VM with PCI passthrough on Linux.

Yes, if you installed a hypervisor then you'd have to start fresh (AFAIK anyway).

I believe there's a cut down version of ESXi that's free, it's called VSphere but I'd suggest you try it out in a VM before committing to it, hypervisors are not something I've had much experience with and while I understand the concept I'd hate for you to commit only to find it's not what you need.