Emulade won't start: virtualization not enabled

If Emulade shows an error along the lines of "Hardware virtualization is not available" on launch, the fix depends on your OS.

Windows

This means Windows Hypervisor Platform isn't enabled. Restart into your BIOS or UEFI settings and turn on VT-x (Intel) or AMD-V (AMD) under CPU configuration. Full steps are in system requirements and enabling virtualization.

If virtualization is already on in the BIOS but you're still seeing the error, check that no other software has disabled Windows Hypervisor Platform at the OS level (Control Panel, then Programs, then Turn Windows features on or off).

macOS

This is unusual on macOS since Virtualization.framework is built in on every supported version. If you see this error on macOS 13 or later, it's worth a restart first. If it persists, your Mac may be running under a remote management profile that restricts virtualization, which is common on managed corporate or school devices.

Linux

Check that /dev/kvm exists and that your user has access to it:

ls -l /dev/kvm
groups

If kvm isn't listed in your groups, add yourself and log back in:

sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER

Some cloud VMs and older hypervisors don't expose nested virtualization by default. If you're running Emulade inside a VM rather than on bare metal, nested virtualization needs to be turned on at the host level first, which Emulade has no way to detect or fix on its own.