How to: Routine checks
This is a great place to start if you are having trouble getting going, especially if you're not that familiar with Docker just yet.

Just looking to make a container quickly? Check out our [container creation examples](#container-creation-examples) section.

More specific/advanced troubleshooting questions and answers may be found in [More Questions and Answers](#more-questions-and-answers). You should also check out the [closed issues](https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aclosed). Someone else might have gotten a question like yours answered already even if you can't find it in this document!

#### Confirm that your CPU supports virtualization

See [initial setup](#initial-setup).

#### Docker Unknown Server OS error

```console
docker: unknown server OS: .
See 'docker run --help'.
```

This means your docker daemon is not running.

`pgrep dockerd` should return nothing

Therefore, you have a few choices.

`sudo dockerd` for foreground Docker usage. I use this.

Or

`sudo systemctl --start dockerd` to start dockerd this now.

Or

`sudo systemctl --enable --now dockerd` for start dockerd on every reboot, and now.

#### Use more CPU Cores/SMP

Examples:

`-e EXTRA='-smp 6,sockets=3,cores=2'`

`-e EXTRA='-smp 8,sockets=4,cores=2'`

`-e EXTRA='-smp 16,sockets=8,cores=2'`

Note, unlike memory, CPU usage is shared. so you can allocate all of your CPU's to the container.