After being let down by VMware one too many times (this time after upgrading Ubuntu to the latest beta and finding out that kernel 2.6.30+ is not supported), I decided to move on to KVM. After all, my server has full visualization support in the CPU so why not put that to good use.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve started off by making sure visualization support is enabled in the BIOS. In my case it was nowhere to be found and a quick search for the MSI KA780G (MS-7551) showed that users had varying experience finding the feature but everyone seemed to agree that a BIOS upgrade should help (most of the time). A quick \u2018lshw\u2019 showed that I indeed was using the 16.0 version of the BIOS which is more than a year old.<\/p>\n
Next, how to flash the BIOS? I do not (like the guide from MSI suggest) have a floppy drive installed in my server nor do I have Windows installed. Luckily, updating the BIOS of the KA780G is pretty easy as it is supported by the Linux programmer \u2018flashrom\u2019:<\/p>\n
apt-get install<\/span> flashrom\nflashrom\nflashrom -r<\/span> backup.bin\nflashrom -w<\/span> newbios.bin<\/pre>\nWarning: the last command actually programs the new BIOS into your computer. Make sure you have the right BIOS for your motherboard and do not interrupt the flashing.<\/p>\n