Windows 10 Host Hyper-V RemoteFX VGPU Gaming-

GeorgeChe · 20 Nov 2016

Hello,

Sorry if this post already exist somewhere else, I checked through all of the category's pages and didn't find anything related.

Reasoning behind this whole endeavor:
I want to separate Programming, gaming and DBA activities from my main OS.
Basically I'm OCD and don't want to "dirty" my windows installation with too much software.

I read about Docker and application containerization/virtualization but have no clue how to do it, thus i chose this method.

So, here is the setup,

I have Windows 10 Pro installed on my computer (host, directly installed on the drive, no other OS's installed or dual booted).
I have enabled hyper-V on it.
I created a virtual machine with Windows 10 in Hyper-V.

Gaming VM Specs
- 100% of Processor used (4 cores)
- 8GB of RAM
- 80GB vhdx (can be expanded if required)
- Standard Network adapter (not legacy or fiber)
- All Integration Services available (all checkboxes checked)
- RemoteFX VGPU adapter installed - linked to my GTX 970 card - 1024MB of Video Memory selected
- RDP enabled

I installed Sims 4 on this VM and started testing. (I know, I know, living with girlfriend)
The game lags.
Specifically frame skipping (30 FPS or lower) at medium settings; on main OS 60+ FPS no lag on Ultra.

No other game(s) and/or application(s) running on the VM.

Now my questions.

Is it possible to fix this?
Is it possible to do some sort of direct pass from the VM to the GPU (I know that the entire thing, including the main OS, sits on the Hyper-V layer between the hardware and the software)
Are there any GPO fixes to force something similar to this?
Are there any registry hacks that may enable some sort of passthrough?
Is it possible to force some sort of driver to substitute the RemoteFX driver in the VM?

I have read about Terminal Services, but have no clue what or how or where.
Also read about the new features of Server 2016 but it's still in beta.

Anyone have a clue to this, or even if it's possible?

cereberus · 22 Nov 2016

Why not simply install a second instance of windows 10 in a virtual hard drive rather than a virtual machine?

This just creates a single .vhd file on your current installation which emulates a second hard drive and al files for the second instance are included in the .vhd file. When you boot to the vhd version, it uses al the native host drivers rather than emulated drivers via a vm.

GeorgeChe · 22 Nov 2016

That sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't that create a second entry in the bootloader?
I did some research into that, it seems that I can do pretty much what I want with the bootloader entries, that is really awesome.
Thanks a lot.

Now, sorry if I seem ungrateful, I just want to see if there are any other options out there.
How can I get a VM as close to bare metal performances as possible.

cereberus · 23 Nov 2016

A second boot entry is no big deal. Easy to add or remove.

To create vhd do this

create usb flash drive of windows 10 installer using media creation tool.

boot from usb drive

At install now, press shift+f10 to jump to command prompt

Type following (can change names, size in GB, drive etc).

c:

cd\

md vhd

diskpart

create vdisk file=c:\vhd\win10.vhd maximum=50000 type=fixed

select vdisk file=c:\vhd\win10.vhd

attach vdisk

exit

exit

and now install OS in new vhd.

This creates new boot entry for you.

To remove, just delete vhd and remove boot entry from boot tab in msconfig.

I doubt there is any vm that could outperform using vhd with native pc. Even the best (hyper-v) would be slower.

Kari · 23 Nov 2016

cereberus said:

To create vhd do this.

An alternative, maybe the easiest method is simply mount (double click) a Hyper-V virtual machine's VHD or VHDX file on host, open elevated command prompt and enter command bcdboot X:\Windows (replace X with drive letter given to Windows partition when VHD is mounted).

This adds the VHD or VHDX to Windows boot menu as native boot VHD.

More: Hyper-V - Native Boot VHD - Windows 10 Forums

Kari

GeorgeChe · 23 Nov 2016

Hi,

Thanks for the help.
The solutions provided are really good.
Just booted one of my VM's directly and it works flawlessly.
Thank MS that Windows 10 is smart enough to detect the hardware changes and reconfigure accordingly.

cereberus · 23 Nov 2016

Kari said:

An alternative, maybe the easiest method is simply mount (double click) a Hyper-V virtual machine's VHD or VHDX file on host, open elevated command prompt and enter command bcdboot X:\Windows (replace X with drive letter given to Windows partition when VHD is mounted).

This adds the VHD or VHDX to Windows boot menu as native boot VHD.

More: Hyper-V - Native Boot VHD - Windows 10 Forums

Kari

Great tutorial. I always had issue with vhds not being able to be upgraded with new builds in native boot mode. I knew you could upgrade in a vm. It never occurred to me to simply load vm in hyper-v, upgrade vhd and then reload in native mode. I guess this shows how superior Windows 10 is in handling native and hyper-v drivers when switching between vm mode or native mode.

I shall try this with my insider version which I have always run in hyper-v as I did not want to mess up partitions by installing as a normal dual boot option.

This allows me to use vhd natively but use hyper-v to upgrade. Don't know why I never thought of it!

I was using viboot and macrium and using method you showed me to sysprep and generalise hyper-v image to be able to install image in a native vhd but I obviously over complicated the solution!!

Kari · 23 Nov 2016

cereberus said:

I was using viboot and macrium and using method you showed me to sysprep and generalise hyper-v image to be able to install image in a native vhd but I obviously over complicated the solution!!

Both methods (viBoot and Hyper-V) have their own advantages. Macrium viBoot is practical when you have an image made from a physical installation and you want to service it (upgrade, add / remove programs and files etc.) outside said physical installation, then update it fast simply by restoring the in viBoot updated image.

Hyper-V is great if you want to run Windows on VHD on physical hardware; just create the vm in Hyper-V, shut it down after installation, mount on host and run one simple command to add it to boot menu.

Important thing to remember, as also told in tutorial, is that you have to remove all checkpoints from a vm in Hyper-V before you can mount it! Mounting a vm with existing checkpoints will corrupt the VHD.

Kari

cereberus · 24 Nov 2016

Kari said:

Both methods (viBoot and Hyper-V) have their own advantages. Macrium viBoot is practical when you have an image made from a physical installation and you want to service it (upgrade, add / remove programs and files etc.) outside said physical installation, then update it fast simply by restoring the in viBoot updated image.

Hyper-V is great if you want to run Windows on VHD on physical hardware; just create the vm in Hyper-V, shut it down after installation, mount on host and run one simple command to add it to boot menu.

Important thing to remember, as also told in tutorial, is that you have to remove all checkpoints from a vm in Hyper-V before you can mount it! Mounting a vm with existing checkpoints will corrupt the VHD.

Kari

Another scotch lined up if you are ever in Aberdeen ��!

Windows 10 Host Hyper-V RemoteFX VGPU Gaming-

Windows 10 Host Hyper-V RemoteFX VGPU Gaming-

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