[HOWTO] Run MP2 on VirtualBox (1 Viewer)

[raffe]

I am testing MP2 on VirtualBox. Before with MP1 I had problems getting it to work, so I don't know if I just did it a difficult way or if it actually works without any tweaks (if you know if it works with a standrad installation, please tell)

In VirtualBox I have this (you get VirtualBox from https://www.virtualbox.org/ ):

• Windows 7 pro 64bit
• System
  • Motherboard tab: 3GB memory, Chipset PIIX4, Enable I/O APIC
  • Processor tab: 1 CPU, Execution Cap 100%, Enabled PAE/NX
  • Acceleration tab: Enabled VT-x/AMD-V, Enabled Nested Paging
• Display
  • Video tab: 256MB, 1 monitor, Enabled 3D Acceleration, Enabled 2D Video Acceleration
  • (Not in VirtualBox settings, but In virtual Windows 7 I run with the resolution 1024x768)
• Network (optional, choose what you like best):
  • You can choose "Attached to NAT", then you will get a IP number like 10.0.2.15. But if we say your host has a IP like 192.168.1.10, you will still be able to connect to resources in the 192.168.1.-range without problem.
    
  • You can choose "Attached to Bridged Adapter" to get the same IP number range from same DHCP server as your host (eg, if your host has 192.168.1.10, your virtual PC may get a IP like 192.168.1.12).
  • So both (and some other) settings will work well, so choose what you like best. You can even change these settings while the virtual PC is running.
• Other tabs are default

I installed MP2 like this. There is a lot of rebooting the virtual Windows 7, pressing F8 and switching between Normal Mode and Safe Mode.

1. Normal Mode: Install all non optional Windows updates and service packs in Normal Mode (maybe not needed, but I did. This takes a lot of time...). See that it boots into Normal mode without doing any update stuff during boot before continuing with next step.
   
2. Safe Mode: Install Virtualbox Guest additions with 3D support in Safe Mode. You do it by clicking the VirtualBox menu Devices - Insert Guest Additions CD image... at the top, and then in the virtual computer open a explorer and go to the D-drive, and then run VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe. There you need to choose 3D. It will ask you if you want to use the lesser 3D function, just say no and install the experimental one (read carefully, or it will fool you )
   
3. Normal Mode: Install .NET Framework 4.5.1 in Normal Mode (this takes time...). Info about how to get the software is here http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/2_..._Installing_MediaPortal_2#System_Requirements
   
4. Safe Mode: Install DirectX 9 runtime in Safe Mode.
   a) Start directx_Jun2010_redist and when asked, tell it to extract it to a location you like
   b) Open the location and find DXSETUP
   c) Right click DXSETUP and choose to run as administrator
   Info about how to get the software is here http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/2_..._Installing_MediaPortal_2#System_Requirements
   
5. Normal Mode: Install MediaPortal 2 - 10AE - Update 1 test builds (Updated 2014-07-09) in Normal Mode, I installed both server and client. Info about how to get the software is here https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...date-1-test-builds-updated-2014-07-09.126080/

After that MP2 started up just fine

 

[breese]

Does this allow PCI card passthru without jumping thru major hoops?
I am working with VMware 10 and cannot get it to see my TV Card installed in the machine

 

[raffe]

I don't use a TV-card, not on my real setup and not in the virtual setup, so I'm not sure about how hard it is to get it to work. When I look in the manual, e.g. https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#pcipassthrough , it seems like a Linux host can let the virtual machine use the host PCI cards, if the requirements are met.

It is very common that the BIOS or the host OS disables the IOMMU by default. So before any attempt to use it please make sure that

1. Your motherboard has an IOMMU unit.
2. Your CPU supports the IOMMU.
3. The IOMMU is enabled in the BIOS.
4. The VM must run with VT-x/AMD-V and nested paging enabled.
5. Your Linux kernel was compiled with IOMMU support (including DMA remapping, see CONFIG_DMAR kernel compilation option). The PCI stub driver (CONFIG_PCI_STUB) is required as well.
6. Your Linux kernel recognizes and uses the IOMMU unit (intel_iommu=on boot option could be needed). Search for DMAR and PCI-DMA in kernel boot log.