VMware ESXi GPU Passthrough - driver/Xorg issue

mersenne · n00b Joined: 21 Apr 2017 Posts: 3

Trying to install gentoo to a vm in ESXi 6.5 and passthrough a radeon HD 6350
Originally I got the "Unable to locate a BIOS ROM" error, but I applied the patch https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/dri-devel/2014-November/072701.html and now the gpu is recognized fine.
Then when I ran startx with no config (after following the install steps in the wiki), xorg complains about missing drivers for the VMware virtual GPU.
So I put a file in x11/conf.d to choose the right device and driver, but now xorg messages "No Devices Detected".
I tried "X -configure", but it segfaults when it tries to use the pci device 27@0:0:0

dmesg
20-radeon.conf
Xorg.0.log with 20-radeon.conf
X -configure output and Xorg log
lspci
lspci -vvv entry for the radeon card
kernel config

I don't know that the Command buffer error in dmesg is about - it doesn't show up again if I run startx again

Maitreya · Guru Joined: 11 Jan 2006 Posts: 441

Maybe I don't understand but either do pass the video card and use drivers for them or use the virtual gpu and use vmxgfx?
Or do you want both at the same time?

mersenne · n00b Joined: 21 Apr 2017 Posts: 3

I don't want to use the vmware GPU - just the passed-through one with radeon.
I tried disabling the vmware GPU but them the VM doesn't start.

R0b0t1 · Apprentice Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 264

Just to verify, the guest sees the Radeon card and not a VMware emulation layer?

If so, then your card may simply not work; despite various cards being usable (it seems most people use the 900 or 1000 series NVIDIA cards) some have serious errors that prevent them from functioning when used with VT-d or AMD-Vi. My personal experience with a W7100 is that it can only be passed to a guest once and afterwards stops functioning completely, i.e. the virtual machine can't be rebooted unless the host is also rebooted. It seems like you have done everything right and it still doesn't work. The next step is, I think, probing the PCIe bus.

Ant P. · Watchman Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 6920

Have you tried not hardcoding the PCI bus address in the config file? That's usually only needed if you have multiple cards that work with 1 driver.

mersenne · n00b Joined: 21 Apr 2017 Posts: 3

Yes. the guest is seeing the card itself - the lspci output shows vmware nowhere. Also, I have used this card before successfully using the old fglrx proprietary drivers.
What do you mean by probing the PCIe bus? I included the lspci entry in the OP.

I tried only setting the driver in 20-radeon, but that didn't help.

R0b0t1 · Apprentice Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 264