How can I disable the [[kvm]] Kernel in [[Linux]], so that I can launch a virtual machine in VirtualBox

---
When you run [[VirtualBox]] on a Linux host, it can conflict with the **KVM kernel modules** (`kvm` and `kvm_intel` or `kvm_amd`). VirtualBox doesn’t use KVM, and if those modules are loaded, they can prevent VirtualBox VMs from starting properly.

To disable KVM, you can either **temporarily unload** the modules or **permanently blacklist** them.

---

### 🔹 Option 1: Temporarily Disable KVM

Run the following commands (with root privileges):

```bash
sudo modprobe -r kvm_intel
sudo modprobe -r kvm_amd
sudo modprobe -r kvm
```

- If your CPU is Intel, unload `kvm_intel`.
    
- If your CPU is AMD, unload `kvm_amd`.
    
- Then unload the generic `kvm` module.
    

This will disable KVM until the next reboot.

---

### 🔹 Option 2: Permanently Disable KVM

To prevent KVM from loading on boot, blacklist the modules:

1. Create a blacklist file:
    
    ```bash
    sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-kvm.conf
    ```
    
2. Add these lines:
    
    ```
    blacklist kvm
    blacklist kvm_intel
    blacklist kvm_amd
    ```
    
3. Save and exit.
    
4. Update initramfs (on some distros, required):
    
    ```bash
    sudo update-initramfs -u
    ```
    
5. Reboot your system.
    

---

### 🔹 Verify

After reboot (or unloading), check that no KVM modules are loaded:

```bash
lsmod | grep kvm
```

If the output is empty, KVM is disabled and VirtualBox should work.

---

⚠️ **Note:** If you ever want to use QEMU/KVM again, you’ll need to remove those blacklist entries and reboot.

Would you like me to also show you how to make VirtualBox auto-unload KVM just when you launch a VM (without disabling it system-wide)? That way, you can keep using both VirtualBox and KVM on the same system.