GPU Passthrough + Windows VM with Looking Glass #3455
Replies: 20 comments 79 replies
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This is amazing! |
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Want to test GPU passthrough before it's merged? Follow these steps: # 1. Fetch PR branch
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" checkout -B feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough FETCH_HEAD
# 2. Switch to test branch
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
# 3. Test features
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info detect # Check hardware compatibility
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup # Run setup (backs up config files)
sudo reboot # Apply kernel parameters
# 4. Verify configuration (after reboot)
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info verify # Check everything is configured correctly
# Optional: generate reports (helpful for troubleshooting)
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info report # Hardware configuration summary
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info diagnose # Full diagnostic report
# 5. Install Windows VM
omarchy-windows-vm install # Install Windows VM with Looking Glass
# 6. Return to master
omarchy-update-branch master
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" branch -D feat/omarchy-gpu-passthroughNotes:
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omarchy-gpu-passthrough-diagnostics-20251128_003120.txt Hello brother, greetings! I'm coming from YouTube since you asked me to share the report generated about the RAM error problem. I assigned 4GB and 6 cores to the VM. This is the error: ❯ ERROR: qemu-system-x86_64: unable to map backing store for guest RAM: Invalid argument |
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I come from the future, brother, and I've already solved it. All I did was edit the docker-compose.yml file and modify the amount of RAM allocated to Looking Glass. The default is 128M, but I assigned 32M, which according to the LG website is enough for 1080p, which is my case, and now the VM works perfectly. |
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Thanks for the report - very helpful! And congrats on getting it running! You're right - 32MB is enough for 1080p. The 32MB option was missing. Adding it and fixing some bugs in the next update. |
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This works great - 4gb Sapphire + 12gb RTX 2060 I fixed this with adding the linux zen kernel, then ACS patch. Here are the full details on how I got it running on my older workstation. Environment
Issue 1: Setup Wizard Fails Silently (GRUB users)Problem: Cause: Script expects Limine bootloader, fails when GRUB is detected. Workaround: Manually create config file: sudo tee /etc/omarchy-gpu-passthrough.conf << 'CONF'
GPU_PCI_ADDR="04:00.0"
GPU_NAME="NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 12GB"
GPU_VENDOR_ID="10de"
GPU_DEVICE_ID="1f03"
GPU_AUDIO_ID="10f9"
GPU_DRIVER_ORIGINAL="nvidia"
GPU_IOMMU_DEVICES="04:00.0 04:00.1"
CONFSuggestion: Add GRUB support or clearer error message when non-Limine bootloader detected. Issue 2: IOMMU Group Not Viable (AMD 500 Series Chipset)Problem: Docker container crashes with: Cause: AMD 500 series chipset puts GPU in same IOMMU group as USB controller, SATA, NVMe boot disk, and Ethernet. Can't bind all to vfio-pci. Fix: Install linux-zen kernel (has ACS override patch) and add kernel parameter: # Install linux-zen
sudo pacman -S linux-zen linux-zen-headers
# Add ACS override to GRUB
sudo sed -i 's/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="\(.*\)"/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="\1 pcie_acs_override=downstream,multifunction"/' /etc/default/grub
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
# Reboot into linux-zen kernelSuggestion: Detect bad IOMMU grouping during setup and warn user about ACS override requirement. Issue 3: Looking Glass Device Not FoundProblem: Looking Glass host app in Windows shows "Looking glass device not found" Cause: kvmfr module loaded but Fix: # Create kvmfr config
echo 'options kvmfr static_size_mb=128' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/kvmfr.conf
# Reload module with size parameter
sudo modprobe -r kvmfr
sudo modprobe kvmfr static_size_mb=128
# Fix permissions
sudo chown $USER:kvm /dev/kvmfr0
sudo chmod 660 /dev/kvmfr0
# Create udev rule for persistence
echo 'SUBSYSTEM=="kvmfr", OWNER="'$USER'", GROUP="kvm", MODE="0660"' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-kvmfr.rulesSuggestion: Issue 4: Package Conflict (netcat)Problem: Installation fails due to gnu-netcat vs openbsd-netcat conflict. Fix: sudo pacman -S openbsd-netcat # replaces gnu-netcatSummary of Required Manual Steps (GRUB + AMD 500 series)
Files Created/Modified
Issue 5: Looking Glass Client Exits Instantly (SPICE socket permissions)Problem: Cause: SPICE socket at Fix: sudo chmod 777 /var/run/omarchy-windows/spice.sockSuggestion: Docker container should create socket with user-accessible permissions, or add udev rule / tmpfiles.d config. Issue 6: IOMMU Group Numbers Change After ACS OverrideProblem: After enabling ACS override, GPU moves to different IOMMU group (e.g., 15 → 21, audio → 22). Docker compose config has hardcoded group number. Cause: ACS override splits groups, changing group assignments. Fix: Update # Find new group numbers
basename $(readlink /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:04:00.0/iommu_group) # GPU
basename $(readlink /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:04:00.1/iommu_group) # Audio
# Update docker-compose.yml devices section with new group numbersSuggestion: |
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Thanks for the detailed report and congrats on getting it running! This is helpful.
Testing non-standard configs (different kernels, bootloaders) takes much more time, so community feedback like yours really helps ❤️ Thanks for taking the time to document everything! |
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Try using the latest version and let me know: #3455 (comment) |
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Hi, first of all, thank you so much for your work, I really appropriate it! I ran into an issue during during the install script. After downloading windows, attempting to boot it causes the docker container to shut down and the install script to hang, only printing the used storage space every minute. The logs from the docker container are: https://pastebin.com/1ZDxP02w This is with the latest commits in your branch from 3 hours ago. Running the install script again, choosing to do a quick reinstall and disabling gpu pass through allows the container to start and windows to start installing. If there is anything else I can provide that would be useful, let me know! Thank you once again for working on this :) |
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I've pushed a fix for Intel 12th/13th gen + Looking Glass DMA mapping failures. BIOS settings (keep as-is):
To update and test: This adds |
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Okay, we have progress, windows is installing, I'll run some tests and let you know tomorrow how it behaves, thank you for taking some time to look into this, you are awesome :) |
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Windows installed and ran without any other issues. I've also re-enabled ReBAR. I've tested out some software and games that I usually run, there are the results: SoftwareSome of the more interesting ones would be:
GamesFurMark2 P1080 score is higher than the median score for my GPU - https://www.gpumagick.com/scores/1894031
OtherI also encountered some small stuff here and there which might not be actionable on your end, but I thought might be useful for you to know and maybe document. When I initially started testing this PR, I read though the requirements you posted further up here, enabled everything in the BIOS and then ran
I couldn't get it to run at my monitor's native resolution and refresh rate, even a after disabling the VM adapter and updating nvidia drivers.
The install process puts the windows recovery partition after the NTFS partition.
Well, this is what I managed to gather so far today. If anything interesting comes up, I'll let you know. Also, if you want me to test something, let me know. Once again, thank you so much for your work to make this happen, I really enjoy this setup and I can't wait to see these changes merged for everyone to enjoy. Cheers! :) |
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Thanks for all this - really helpful! And congrats on getting it working!
Yes - I'll add a note to
That's a dockurr/windows limitation - the unattended install creates this layout. One workaround could be adding a second disk in docker-compose manually.
Planning to add "Custom" option for manual input. Same for RAM. Regarding Javelin - I've tested with SecureBoot and TPM 2 enabled, same result. Battlefield 6 shows Javelin error regardless. If you have time, a few questions:
And if you could share: No rush on any of this. Thanks again! |
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Thank you as well!
I used the highest option, I figured that since I'm running 1440p@165Hz, I might as well give it more memory.
None so far, audio is combined between host and vm sources without issues to both wired and bluetooth outputs. Input also properly registers inside the vm.
Yes, bidirectional copy/paste is working out of the box.
I have, the vm seems to be unresponsive for about ~20 seconds after host resume, during that time, looking glass is also unresponsive. Trying to kill and start LG again during this short span of time results in LG being unresponsive with a still image of what was last seen in the from the vm or with a black screen. LG resumes working fine after this initial period passes. Also works fine if you don't have it running and start it after waiting for those ~20 secs to pass.
I no longer do, unfortunately. It would indeed be useful to have bare-metal benchmarks to compare against. That said, based on the FurMark score, which came out higher than the median for this GPU, and my overall experience so far, the performance feels genuinely native, despite any losses from virtualization, looking glass, the output signal coming form the MB instead of the GPU, and etc. I presume you could mitigate some of them by using the GPU output directly. I do run the VM with 16 cores and 16 GB of RAM and with a high-end GPU, so other people's mileage might vary. In addition, most games I’ve tested actually run better in the VM than through Proton, in some cases, I get nearly double the framerate. But maybe that's just a skill issue and I don't know how to use Proton properly.
Yes, it is, I've been using windows VMs for years, but this is the first time I actually run it in a docker container, with GPU passthrough on top of that. I was actually looking into how to do it like 10 years ago, but I never got around to actually giving it a shot.
I was looking into Omarchy, I really liked the modular approach to building this distro and I wanted to see what the community was up to. When I was browsing the PRs, yours was the newest, opened an hour ago, and it caught my eye. As I was running windows natively for some time now, mostly due to work, I was getting tired of all the AI slop and the increasing amount of bugs that nobody seems to address, so I am quite excited to finally be back on linux as my main OS, instead of running it in a VM or WSL, and this is in no small part thanks to you.
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Hey, boss! I have a new problem... I've been trying all day to get LG to access the virtual machine, but I can't get it to work. It connects with RDP. I followed the steps in your video to disable the Red Hat image controller. If I keep this controller active, I can access it with LG, but the performance is terrible... I only use a monitor connected directly to the motherboard with the iGPU. Something curious is that if I access it with RDP + keep alive, I can see the LG service in Windows running, but it doesn't connect to my host. I even downloaded it from the official B7 website, compiled it, and ran that exe file (stopping the process that comes with the B7 in your project), and I can access the client, but it doesn't allow me to control it at all. I could see the movements but not the mouse in the RDP window, and when I close RDP, the LG client window also closes. Here is my configuration in case you see anything. Thank you for everything. |
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So maybe the RAM is the bottleneck... Let's check it. Install AIDA64 Extreme from https://www.aida64.com/downloads and test the RAM. On my side, I have the results shown in the screenshots below. You can also try testing the configuration with 12 vCPUs and 6 vCPUs. |
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Hello! Thank you for your reply, friend. I ran some tests and concluded that the problem stems from the argument within -cpu in docker-compose.yml. Most of the parameters are correct, but apparently, by default, when creating this file, it adds family, model, stepping, and -hypervisor when, in reality, using -cpu host, which already comes by default at the beginning of this line, is sufficient for it to detect the physical CPU flags on its own. So, if you remove all the ones I mentioned and set kvm=off and migratable=off, it works much better for me. Edit: Something I wanted to highlight in CPU_CORES="10," RAM_SIZE="8," but I could increase it even more, and in cpuset: “1-5,7-11” is what I have inside yml... But in general, games work well for me, SMITE 1 for example with easy anti-cheat.
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I added a screenshot that I forgot to upload after making the aforementioned changes. |
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@Colchito12 good to know that improved performance. Could you share your docker-compose (obviously without the password) for comparison? I think it might help others too. Also, what results are you getting in the game now compared to those previous screenshots? Is the performance similar to bare metal Windows 11? |
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Of course, here it is. As for your question about performance on Windows 11... It was almost the same. In my case, I gained a few more fps on Windows 10. That is, W11 39 fps with drops and W10 43 with drops, but keep in mind that this is without the fix I mentioned earlier. This means that if I go back to using Windows 11 with the fix, I could play normally. The problem is that I didn't like that version because the file manager is terrible. |
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Hey, gave it another go, here are the results: ❯ ERROR: qemu-system-x86_64: -device vfio-pci,host=0000:01:00.0: vfio 0000:01:00.0: group 2 is not viable Here are the diagnostic results: omarchy feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough ❯ omarchy-gpu-passthrough info detect GPU Detection Detected 2 GPU(s): GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile] ✓ IOMMU: Enabled === Hardware Configuration Report === SYSTEM Omarchy: MOTHERBOARD BIOS SETTINGS GPUs [2] NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile] (01:00.0) IOMMU GROUPS (for passthrough) DISPLAY CONFIGURATION Monitors per GPU: DRIVER VERSIONS GPU PASSTHROUGH STATUS Generated: 2025-11-29 19:18:25 GPU Passthrough Diagnostics ℹ️ Collecting system information... [SYSTEM INFORMATION] [CPU] [Operating System] [Bootloader] [Motherboard] [Display Session] [GPU INFORMATION] [GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630]] DRM Card: card1 [GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile]] [IOMMU INFORMATION] IOMMU Status: Enabled Active VFIO IOMMU Groups: 1 [GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630]] [GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile]] [KERNEL CONFIGURATION] [Kernel Command Line] [IOMMU Parameters] iommu=pt: ✓ Enabled [LOADED KERNEL MODULES] [VFIO Modules] [NVIDIA Modules] [AMD GPU Modules] [DRIVER VERSIONS] [NVIDIA Driver] [AMD GPU Driver] [VFIO Driver] [GPU PASSTHROUGH CONFIGURATION] [GPU Configuration: /etc/omarchy-gpu-passthrough.conf] GPU Passthrough Config - Generated 2025-11-29GPU_PCI_ADDR="01:00.0" [Limine Configuration: /etc/default/limine] [VFIO Configuration: /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf] VFIO GPU Passthrough - Generated 2025-11-29options vfio-pci disable_vga=1 [Driver Blacklist: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-gpu-passthrough.conf] GPU Passthrough - Prevent NVIDIA auto-load at bootinstall nvidia /bin/false [System Environment (/etc/environment)] [PROCESSES USING GPU] [NVIDIA GPU Processes] [DRI Device Handles] [NVIDIA Device Handles] [RECENT GPU PASSTHROUGH LOGS] [Last 50 lines of /var/log/omarchy-gpu-passthrough/gpu-passthrough.log] RELEVANT BOOT MESSAGES (dmesg) [IOMMU Messages] [VFIO Messages] [Boot VGA Device] [PCI Passthrough Messages] [END OF DIAGNOSTICS REPORT] Report saved to: /tmp/omarchy-gpu-passthrough-diagnostics-20251129_191825.txt ✓ Report saved: /tmp/omarchy-gpu-passthrough-diagnostics-20251129_191825.txt Issues here imo: Device: 0000:00:01.0 |
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Please try the latest version. # Fetch latest changes
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head:feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
# Re-run setup (will now auto-detect USB controller)
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup
# Reboot for binding to take effect
sudo reboot
# Remove old Windows VM
omarchy-windows-vm remove
rm -rf ~/.config/windows/
# Reinstall VM
omarchy-windows-vm installLet me know if it works. |
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Hi! GPU Detection Detected 2 GPU(s): GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile] ✓ IOMMU: Enabled === Hardware Configuration Report === SYSTEM HARDWARE GPUs
DISPLAY PASSTHROUGH STATUS Passthrough GPU: IOMMU Group 2: VFIO Modules: loaded Issues: DRIVERS Generated: 2025-11-30 15:08:07 GPU Passthrough Diagnostics ℹ️ Collecting system information... [SYSTEM INFORMATION] [CPU] [Operating System] [Bootloader] [Motherboard] [Display Session] [GPU INFORMATION] [GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630]] DRM Card: card1 [GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile]] [IOMMU INFORMATION] IOMMU Status: Enabled Active VFIO IOMMU Groups: 1 [GPU 1: Intel Corporation CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630]] [GPU 2: NVIDIA Corporation TU106M [GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile]] [KERNEL CONFIGURATION] [Kernel Command Line] [IOMMU Parameters] iommu=pt: ✓ Enabled [LOADED KERNEL MODULES] [VFIO Modules] [NVIDIA Modules] [AMD GPU Modules] [DRIVER VERSIONS] [NVIDIA Driver] [AMD GPU Driver] [VFIO Driver] [GPU PASSTHROUGH CONFIGURATION] [GPU Configuration: /etc/omarchy-gpu-passthrough.conf] GPU Passthrough Config - Generated 2025-11-30GPU_PCI_ADDR="01:00.0" [Limine Configuration: /etc/default/limine] [VFIO Configuration: /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf] VFIO GPU Passthrough - Generated 2025-11-30options vfio-pci disable_vga=1 [Driver Blacklist: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-gpu-passthrough.conf] GPU Passthrough - Prevent NVIDIA auto-load at bootinstall nvidia /bin/false [System Environment (/etc/environment)] [PROCESSES USING GPU] [NVIDIA GPU Processes] [DRI Device Handles] [NVIDIA Device Handles] [RECENT GPU PASSTHROUGH LOGS] [Last 50 lines of /var/log/omarchy-gpu-passthrough/gpu-passthrough.log] RELEVANT BOOT MESSAGES (dmesg) [IOMMU Messages] [VFIO Messages] [Boot VGA Device] [PCI Passthrough Messages] [END OF DIAGNOSTICS REPORT] Report saved to: /tmp/omarchy-gpu-passthrough-diagnostics-20251130_150807.txt ✓ Report saved: /tmp/omarchy-gpu-passthrough-diagnostics-20251130_150807.txt |
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I've looked at the diagnostic report. The config shows GPU_IOMMU_GROUP="unknown" and GPU_IOMMU_DEVICES="", which means IOMMU detection failed during setup. This is why the USB controller ID wasn't added to vfio.conf. I need more data to understand why detection fails on your system. Could you run these commands and share the output? # Check if IOMMU symlink exists
ls -la /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:01:00.0/iommu_group
readlink -f /sys/bus/pci/devices/0000:01:00.0/iommu_group
# List devices in IOMMU group 2
ls /sys/kernel/iommu_groups/2/devices/
# Check if xhci_hcd is built-in
cat /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/modules.builtin | grep xhci
# Current mkinitcpio MODULES
grep "^MODULES" /etc/mkinitcpio.confThen re-run setup with full terminal capture: # Fetch latest
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" checkout -B feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough FETCH_HEAD
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
# Re-run setup (copy entire terminal output)
# When asked about reboot, choose NO
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup
# Check these files before reboot
cat /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf
cat /etc/omarchy-gpu-passthrough.confAfter that, reboot and test: sudo reboot
# After reboot, generate reports
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info verify
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info report
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info diagnose
# Try VM installation
omarchy-windows-vm installUpload all outputs to pastebin.com. This will help narrow down whether it's a permission issue, kernel config, or something specific to your hardware. |
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Try using the latest version and let me know: #3455 (comment) |
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Hello, I'd like to contribute the output of my attempt at setting up passthrough on my computer (Lenovo Legion 5 laptop in hybrid graphics mode) After running omarchy-gpu-passthrough info detect |
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Success! Everything seems to work as intended now on my system. I was able to follow the remaining steps to finish setup on the windows side, so I tested it by installing the nvidia gaming drivers, and running rocket league and fusion 360. I'd say all the important problems for my hardware were solved. The process is very straightforward and easily reversible at any step, which is great for me as I had to frequently uninstall and reinstall the setup script. I would only have two pieces of feedback, through I've found easy enough workarounds for both of them
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Cool! Thanks for testing and the detailed feedback!
Edit
You might not need |
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Thanks for that. Very useful
Unfortunately it does not :-( hyprland sees and can use the GPU just fine, but it can't see the connected second monitor at all. |
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Let's debug this :) Could you share these after |
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Sure thing! Thanks for being willing to help! after setting the mode to host and re-logging in, this is the output of those commands. The monitor remains connected for the entire process. The |
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New demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyZaCxlqmZw |
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Installing this in the windows VM allows you to use looking glass without having anything connected physically to HDMI |
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also allows two monitors in the vm to work pretty seamlessly |
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Thanks for sharing - I'll take a look, looks interesting. |
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Hi, this morning I encountered an issue with relaunching the vm after being stopped. Attempting to start the container resulted in exit code 128 as it was failing to bind the GPU to the vm. Here are the logs https://pastebin.com/FC6gX0Y6 This led me to believe the issue comes from the plex media server I setup recently, it was using the gpu for hardware accelerating encoding by default. Disabling hardware acceleration, stopping the plex service or rebooting didn't resolve the issue though, I was encountering the same errors. I re-ran the setup script as it was suggested in the logs and it works fine now. I've since moved plex to a docker container and haven't had any issues so far. |
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There may also have been some errors related to sudoers (fixed in recent updates, but requiring a rerun: Anyway, thank you for your feedback! |
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Thank you for the prompt reply. I was able to get back to my usual system fairly easily. The results from the commands you wanted can be accessed here https://pastebin.com/DvNVmZF4 |
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I ran the updated setup and during the setup I noticed that it had detected the need to change to loading order. However when I ran verify, the NVIDIA GPU is not listed as VM ready, and I experience the same issue with the GPU running the display processes. The laptop is on power saving mode and I've tried all the modes, to no change. Thank you for your dedication to this project, it means a lot to me and the community. |
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Hello! I've been following this thread closely for the last couple weeks because I get the exact same errors as the thread. I'm wondering if you are using a Lenovo laptop. |
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@RyanLatimer I made some fixes - please try the latest version: git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" checkout -B feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough FETCH_HEAD
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup
sudo reboot
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info verify
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info report
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info diagnoseLet me know if it works! @vonkovi Same steps - give it a try. |
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Hi @RyanLatimer, I was having the exact same issues as you, same error message about the gpu being in use when I tried to start the vm, and killing the processes would black screen my laptop. Solution ended up being adding the following line to my It is referenced in this thread. I feel like adding this shouldn't be necessary, but it does seem to stop Hyprland from opening any vital gpu handles, and thus allow me to passthrough the gpu successfully. |
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@JacksonDCollins Thanks for finding the EGL workaround! I've added it to setup automatically. @RyanLatimer @vonkovi Please try the latest version: # Fetch latest changes
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head:feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
# Re-run setup (will now configure EGL isolation)
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup
# Reboot for changes to take effect
sudo reboot
# Verify no NVIDIA handles are held
lsof /dev/nvidia* 2>/dev/null
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info verifyLet me know if it works. |
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Hi @slawomir-andreasik i tried to do the setup but it tell me that i have 0 igpu monitor. i have 1 monitor plugged with the gpu and 1 plugged to the motherboard. when i try the setup it show a warning that say that it skips the configuration because a don't have the monitor with igpu and then i get this ` GPU Passthrough Verification System Information: Hardware: Kernel Configuration: Limine config (/etc/default/limine): VFIO Setup: USB Controller Setup (laptops with NVIDIA USB-C): GPU Status: Display Rendering: Configuration exists. GPU not bound to vfio-pci. ~ ❯ omarchy-gpu-passthrough mode vm GPU Mode: VM ❌ Error: GPU passthrough not configured ~ ✗` i'm missing something? i changed the setting in bios and everything. i have an amd gpu (rx 9060 xt) and a ryzen 5 9600 |
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I've pushed more fixes for the AMD desktop case. To update: git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" fetch origin pull/3454/head
git -C "$OMARCHY_PATH" checkout -B feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough FETCH_HEAD
omarchy-update-branch feat/omarchy-gpu-passthrough
# IMPORTANT: Re-run setup (this adds your GPU to vfio-pci.ids)
omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup
# Reboot for changes to take effect
sudo rebootIf it still shows after reboot, go to BIOS and set "Primary Display" to "IGD" or "Integrated Graphics". |
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thanks! now it works and windows is using the GPU. i still have one question, now i have 1 monitor with HDMI to the motherboard and a DP to the GPU. Is it possible to use only the DP port? omarchy-gpu-passthrough mode host (by default) is it possible something like this? or i need to have always the HDMI to the motherboard and execute the commands manually? |
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I tried to use the command to switch mode and after i did i can't switch back to vm because gpu is in use like doing the vm install |
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@ZaBovv - you already have Looking Glass configured as part of the setup. With Looking Glass you only need one display output from iGPU (HDMI). The DP cable to dGPU is only needed to "wake up" the GPU (can be a dummy plug or your monitor - you don't need to look at it). Your workflow would be:
Are you using Looking Glass? If you're having issues with it, let me know what's happening. Or is there a specific reason you want native DP output instead? |
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I'm using looking glass and the vm is working fine. I want to use by default linux with the GPU for everything, and only when i need windows i switch mode. For example i use linux for gaming and i need the GPU for that, but also i have friends that play fortnite so when i'm with them i need the GPU to work with the VM. So for me the ideal is default GPU host and when i need i switch to VM mode but for now GPU is VM by default every time i boot and when i switch to host i can't switch back to VM because GPU in use. it is possible to have an easy switch and choose what is going to be the default? |
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Hey, thanks for this work. I don't use Omarchy but I've adopted your spoofing techniques. I've spent a lot of time just trying to play Arc Raiders in my Windows VM and you're the first proof I've seen online that somebody has actually been able to do it. Unfortunately even with SMBIOS, |
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What's your VM setup - raw QEMU, libvirt, Proxmox or something else? We use dockurr/windows container which adds a lot of hidden QEMU flags automatically (like Can you share your QEMU command line? |
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=== Hardware Configuration Report === SYSTEM HARDWARE GPUs
DISPLAY PASSTHROUGH STATUS Passthrough GPU: IOMMU Group 13: VFIO Modules: loaded DRIVERS Generated: 2025-12-28 22:21:11 An issue that I faced specifically, I am not sure if it has been noticed by anyone else was that my VM would stutter in Unreal Engine or basic idle that involved fast movements. After a few hours and a lot of googling I was able to figure out a solution to the problem. There was an issue with hyperthreading not being enabled on the VM which i discovered when using the omarchy-looking-glass-launch command where it would be spat out in orange text. The solution i found was that I needed to enable +topoext ( for AMD CPU ) within the -cpu param inside of the docker-compose.yaml. Declare a -smp function that contained the overall combined cores and threads, the individual cores, and individual threads and then declare the cpuset that worked for my setup to ensure for a smooth hyperthreading experience and for the vm to read things correctly. I have attached my yaml file incase @slawomir-andreasik you would like to include this fix into the program. I definitely noticed a much smoother overall experience and better performance in Unreal Engine overall, with no stutters over looking glass. |
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Thanks for the detailed report and the fix! I've implemented the SMT topology detection based on your example :) |
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New Year update with better AMD GPUs support (persistent VFIO for reset bug), MUX-less laptop improvements, SMT topology fix, and expanded diagnostics. AMD dedicated GPUs now work - tested AMD CPU + AMD GPU (RX Vega 56) combo myself. Please comment even if everything works - helps to know which configs are stable! Works? → https://www.gpumagick.com/scores/2054165 
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I have a studio display with a 5K resolution, and a graphics card with a 5070 and a 1650. The 5070 is used by Omarchy, and the 1650 is used by a Windows virtual machine via VFIO. However, the monitor connected to the 1650 only has a 2K resolution, which makes the Windows screen look very blurry on the looking glass, even worse than XFreeRDP. Perhaps I should use a Windows virtual monitor or a 5K graphics card spoofer? |
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I tried this and ran into a strange (to me) issue. After running the setup and rebooting, it shows the SDDM login screen and I can’t login. There’s no omarchy-gpu-passthrough command available... Did I miss a step? |
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Ran through this again and after a reboot, I still get the SDDM screen, but can log in once I switch the session to "hyprland" (not the uwsm-managed one). But, the hyprland configs are all screwed up, showing over 690,000 config errors. Also, basic command like nano, omarchy-gpu-passthrough, etc are not recognized as commands, so there's seemingly no going back (can't do the omarchy-gpu-passthrough setup --uninstall, for example). Any help? |
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I should say that the hyprland config errors showed up just after running the git checkout... command. |
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It happens because on latest omarchy, hyperland version is 0.53 and this GPU-passthrough guide is using 0.52 hyperland. Either install the same omarchy version as the guide, or just pull changes from this: #4025. |
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Got it all working, I launch Fortnite and it says "can't run under virtual machine" |
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GPU Passthrough + Windows VM with Looking Glass
Got GPU passthrough working with Looking Glass for Windows VM. This is for the request in #3307.
PR: #3454
Demo: YouTube - full setup, Fortnite, CS2, benchmarks
How it works:
You can bind your GPU to the VM for gaming, then switch it back to the host whenever you want. Looking Glass gives you low-latency display through shared memory so there's basically no lag. I can play Fortnite or CS2 in the VM, then switch the GPU back to the host and use LM Studio while the VM is still running.
There's hardware spoofing built in - it auto-detects your SMBIOS info so Windows sees real hardware instead of VM stuff. Anti-cheat works because of this. Fortnite and CS2 both run fine.
Setup is an interactive wizard that handles IOMMU config, kernel parameters, driver stuff, and sets up Hyprland to use your integrated GPU so your desktop stays on the iGPU. Works on MUX-less laptops too (auto-configures EGL isolation to prevent NVIDIA handle blocking).
AMD GPUs with reset bug: Some AMD GPUs (Vega, Polaris, some Navi) don't reset properly after VM shutdown. For these, there's a "persistent VFIO mode" that keeps the GPU bound across reboots - no reset needed, VM starts instantly. GPU health monitoring detects IOTLB errors automatically.
Known working hardware:
Not tested: Intel Arc GPUs
Tested games & software:
Additional test results (@steventsvetkov):
What hasn't been tested yet:
Important: Looking Glass needs a display on GPU
Your dedicated GPU needs a display connected - otherwise Windows won't render anything. Options:
Want to try it?
You need 2 GPUs - one for the VM, one integrated for your desktop. Setup wizard does most of the work.
If you test it, run
omarchy-gpu-passthrough info verifyafter reboot to check everything is configured correctly. Let me know:omarchy-gpu-passthrough info diagnoseand share the outputIf it doesn't work that's also good to know - helps me figure out what hardware has issues.
Heads up:
This is experimental. There's a chance of black screen on first boot (there's a TTY2 recovery thing in the PR if that happens). Back up your stuff before trying.
Thanks for any testing or feedback!
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