Ubuntu issues and problems
Ubuntu issues and problems
Sure thing! The issue seems to be related to enabling IOMMU in the grub config and connecting QEMU/KVM. Make sure your physical GPU is properly recognized by adding it via virt-manager before restarting libvirt or virtlog. This should resolve the connection problems.
Did the physical GPU become active when you attempted to add it? If yes, and if this device isn’t a multi-GPU setup like a quadro that supports distribution, you may not succeed unless you have an alternative GPU. Note that technically you can run a KVM instance from a headless system with just one GPU, but it won’t work in a graphical environment.
I adjusted the settings to rely on Nvidia, but macOS doesn’t accept it, so I can’t proceed. I attempted to enable integrated graphics for passthrough, but Ubuntu crashes during boot. Why? I’m hoping this is the best way to get good performance and GPU support on macOS.
The integrated graphics are in their own IOMMU group. You haven’t disabled the kernel driver or replaced it with vfio-pci. The problems you’re facing relate more broadly to virtualization on Linux rather than a specific Ubuntu concern. Special steps must be taken, as assigning devices to a VM isn’t straightforward.
They belong to the Ir IOMMU community and whenever I attempt to use the vfio-pci for isolation, it fails to boot as it did with the Nvidia card previously.
I haven't seen much progress in getting through integrated graphics. Even though it lists its own IOMMU group, the kernel seems to have removed it from other CPU components that would normally need to be included. At that stage it feels like a tough situation. Could it be that macOS actually prefers AMD GPUs? Have you checked if macOS supports your NVIDIA card? From what I've heard, using a modern version of macOS without an AMD GPU won't work smoothly.
It seems you're confirming your setup is still viable. Your GPU works with High Sierra, and Apple hasn't fully phased out support for it. If it's compatible but not the latest version, you won't be able to update, which could affect performance. That's accurate.
I have minimal familiarity with MacOS and wouldn’t be the ideal person to consult. If upgrading drivers were a priority, I’d support removal rather than addition. In any case, proceed cautiously—backup your VM before attempting the upgrade. If successful, you’ll be thrilled; if not, restore from backup and try again. I need to get moving soon and won’t be able to help for the next three hours. Please share your exact hardware details so I can better understand your setup. What operating system are you using? Which Ubuntu version? Also, did you enable IOMMU or VT-d in your BIOS if you have an AM4 or LGA1151 card? Which PCI slot was used for the NVIDIA GPU? On typical systems, it should be placed in the top slot to avoid chipset issues.
Hardware setup includes an Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor with 4 cores and 8 threads, an Ice Lake U RAM module, 8GB DDR4 memory, a Lenovo motherboard model LNVNB161216, Intel chipset (possibly unknown), integrated graphics via Intel UHD, a Nvidia GeForce Mx350 graphics card, a 2GB discrete storage SSD with 512GB NVMe drive, and an SKHynix BC511 HFM512GDHTNI-87A0B chip. The system runs Linux Live CD, supports Wi-Fi 6 AX201 and Bluetooth 5, features a keyboard and trackpad, and has two USB 3.0 ports. IOMMU is enabled, and VT-D is active in BIOS; I added intel_iommu=on in grub. The physical form appears to be a laptop, though it can be passed through, as seen in macOS, but no Nvidia driver was found.
GPU pass-through on a laptop remains uncommon and isn’t widely discussed, so most people won’t be able to achieve it. If it does work, start by testing it in a Windows virtual machine to confirm compatibility with macOS. Have you run the update-grub command after setting intel_iommu=on? Do you recall whether you simply re-linked the NVIDIA driver or used vfio-pci previously? Which Ubuntu version were you using at that time? The steps for desktop use are similar, though MacOS configuration details matter. I don’t have further questions.