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VMware Workstation Player and/or guests are claiming not to be connected to a graphics card. The host OS is Linux Mint 18.2.

inxi reports:

$ inxi -G
Graphics:  Card: Intel 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: intel (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: [email protected]
           GLX Renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Haswell Mobile
           GLX Version: 3.0 Mesa 17.0.7

What, if any, options do I have to make my graphics card visible to VMware and VMware guests?

--EDIT--

The bounty text, unformatted in the original, reads:

I am trying to get an authoritative answer to how I can make my graphics card av ailable to guest VM's.

I am running Linux Mint Sonja Cinnamon on the host and so me guests, with VMware Workstation Player, and the Mint VM's I am building do no t see the integrated graphics card (Intel 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller). Cinnamon gives a nag warning:

Running in software rendering mode

Cinnamon is currently running without any video hardware acceleration and, as a result, you may observe much higher than normal CPU usage.

This could be a problem with your drivers or some other issue. For best experiences, it is recommended that you only use this mode for troubleshooting purposes.

Any help would be appreciated.

On a partly related note, Cinnamon's Preferences allow a choice of resolutions but not the devite I have, and the primary issue seems to be causing a secondary blockage in terms of getting the display to show at native resolution. I have been trying to follow community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/877 (it's old, and if it's out-of-date please point me to something better). That recipe seems not to work if the VM doesn't see a graphics card. Any help with getting my basic graphics card to be visible to guest VM's would be appreciated.

Thanks,

--UPDATE--

I ran cpuid and other identifying commands, and cpuid alone amounted to more characters than are allowed in a post.

Consequently, I have posted cpuid comments to https://cjshayward.com/wp-content/project/cpuid.txt.

Does this provide the needed info, and if not, what else should I be running to post adequate diagnostic info?

Thanks,

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  • The question cannot be answered because you don't specify which CPU you have. What you want requires a very specific virtualization hardware feature. Only specific Intel CPUs have this feature. The question should be updated obviously. Any comment that contains information I requested will be flagged.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Nov 8, 2017 at 22:31
  • Usually you do NOT do this. The VM has its own virtual graphical card. You use that. If you really want though then you can either 1) Disable and disconnect graphics from your main OS and pass it though to the VM. 2) Use a secondary graphics card and pass wthis though to the VM.
    – Hennes
    Commented Nov 9, 2017 at 17:39
  • Possible interesting reading for background knowledge: pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/…
    – Hennes
    Commented Nov 9, 2017 at 17:41
  • You still have not provided which processor you have within the body of your question. A link to an external resource doesn't count.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Nov 9, 2017 at 17:54
  • 1
    If i got that right, you are on a notebook. This means the host is using the intel graphics card in any case as far as i know, even when you have dedicated other ones built in. This again would mean that there is no chance ever to forward the device because it is already in use
    – Harry
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 19:21

1 Answer 1

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+50

First question: do you have Guest Additions installed? And do you have 2D/3D acceleration turned on for the VM? Otherwise the kernel of the host can't see the virtual GPU.

Second question: Do you really need a powerful GPU in the VM? You can avoid all the hassle if you just turn down the graphics settings. Or go all the way headless and just use the terminal. Or maybe use a distro/flavour with minimalist desktop like LXDE, LXQT or XFCE.

In order to make use of a "real" GPU in your VM you need to have a secondary one available that can be detached from your host system and passed through to your guest using PCI pass through. That is usually not possible with the Intel on-board GPU. You'd rather run your host on the on-board GPU, detach the PCI-E graphics adapter and feed that to your VM. Make sure you have the needed kernel modules loaded on the host and Guest Additions installed on the guest.

Also note that your kernel/Xserver usually grabs the PCI-E graphics adapter as the primary one and disables the integrated GPU. Switching while running is not supported unless you configured hybrid graphics the right way.

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6
  • I had something installed, but reinstalling Guest Additions made an order of magnitude difference. VirtualBox said that checking 2D video acceleration is an "invalid setting"; the bottom of the screen was a black rectangle, 100% width, 80 to 100 pixels high.
    – Christos Hayward
    Commented Nov 15, 2017 at 0:59
  • So you problem is fixed now?
    – gilgwath
    Commented Nov 18, 2017 at 10:22
  • It's much better. How can I enable hybrid graphics or tell if it's available? It sounds, from what you are saying, that further improvement hinges on other hardware than what I have.
    – Christos Hayward
    Commented Nov 18, 2017 at 21:49
  • The biggest thing I've noted in the VM is that videos are staccato in the guest where they are appropriately smooth in the host. I haven't noticed too many other difficulties.
    – Christos Hayward
    Commented Nov 18, 2017 at 21:51
  • Try giving the VM more video RAM and enable 3D accel. Hybrid graphics is only available if you have a Intel on-board graphic chip and an dedicated graph chip from a third party vendor, or you attached a graphics card via USB/thunderbolt. But as I said it is easier to not us hybrid graphics and attach the dedicated one directly to the VM
    – gilgwath
    Commented Nov 19, 2017 at 12:10

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