After upgrading to ESXI 6.7 U1, VMs fails to power on with Error message: PCI passthrough devices cannot be added when Nested Hardware-Assisted Virtualization is enabled.
Article ID: 324310
Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
- VDI desktop VMs with Graphics cards attached as Passthrough device fails to power on after upgrading to ESXi 6.7 Update 1
- VM power on Fails with error message similar to:
PCI passthrough devices cannot be added when Nested Hardware-Assisted Virtualization is enabled.
- If you remove the PCI Passthrough device you cannot re-add it back.
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
Cause
By Design, PCI passthrough and nested hardware assisted virtualization are not enabled simultaneously. However a configuration check was not enforced in previous versions. Additional validation was added in hostd from ESXI 6.7 Update 1 to ensure PCI passthrough and nested hardware assisted virtualization are not enabled simultaneously (vGPU and VVTD):
Resolution
It is not recommended to enable both nested hardware assisted virtualization and PCI Passthough
Workaround:
Disable hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS
Workaround:
Disable hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS
Feedback
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