VMware Workstation does not support nested virtualization on this host. Module 'HV' power on failed

[tkdreamer2]

Hello

When trying to deploy a 64bits VM from VMware Workstation 16 hosted on a Windows 11 family edition, I have this error message:

"VMware Workstation does not support nested virtualization on this host.

Module 'HV' power on failed.

Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is disabled for this ESX virtual machine. You will only be able to run 32-bit nested virtual machines.

Failed to start the virtual machine."

 

VT is enabled and I tried everything written in the forums:

 

Verify Virtualization-based Security (VBS) is Enabled/Not Enabled:

      1. Open msinfo32/system information on Windows 10

      2. Under System Summary on the Right-hand page, scroll down to Virtualization-based Security and
          ensure the Value is set to Not enabled.

      3. If the value is set to enabled follow the steps given below according to disable Hyper-V.

1. Turn Off Hyper-V

1. Go to "Turn Windows features on or off"
2. Make sure Hyper-v is not ticked.
3. If it is Ticked, untick it and click "Ok".

2. Open command prompt window as an administrator   

1. Run “bcdedit /enum {current}”
2. Note down the hypervisorlaunchtype in case this needs to be reverted
3. Run “bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off” to disable hypervisor Close the command prompt after   executing the commands and restart the system.

And I have also done this: "make sure that Memory Integrity is OFF
Windows Security -> Device Security -> Core Isolation details"

 

 

[GeoStigma]

 

The below recommendation works perfectly thank you for sharing.

"Verify Virtualization-based Security (VBS) is Enabled/Not Enabled:

      1. Open msinfo32/system information on Windows 10

      2. Under System Summary on the Right-hand page, scroll down to Virtualization-based Security and
          ensure the Value is set to Not enabled.

      3. If the value is set to enabled follow the steps given below according to disable Hyper-V.

1. Turn Off Hyper-V

1. Go to "Turn Windows features on or off"
2. Make sure Hyper-v is not ticked.
3. If it is Ticked, untick it and click "Ok".

2. Open command prompt window as an administrator   

1. Run “bcdedit /enum {current}”
2. Note down the hypervisorlaunchtype in case this needs to be reverted
3. Run “bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off” to disable hypervisor Close the command prompt after   executing the commands and restart the system.

And I have also done this: "make sure that Memory Integrity is OFF
Windows Security -> Device Security -> Core Isolation details"

But I have the Windows blue screen when trying to start the vm... So I made it active again."

Regards,
GeoStigma

[AminaHassan]

Thanks it worked for me

[jsmolic83]

Thanks mate!

[VMware Community Member]

Thanks a lot! You saved my day. 

[BeornBear]

This solution does not work for me. I tried all of the steps above and I still get an error message. 

[OdMiTiMbO]

Hi thanks this worked for me as well. It just annoys me that the fix involves disabling security features, are there any fixes that don't involve reducing device security measures?

[MGMGMG1]

HI there,

only solution working for me was:

Process to turn off virtualization-based Security:
Below steps can be followed to turn off virtualization-based Security for Windows 10 Home & Pro:
For Microsoft Windows 10 Pro & above:

Edit group policy (gpedit.msc)
Go to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System
Double Click on Device Guard on the right hand side to open.
Double Click on "Turn On Virtualization Security" to open a new window
It would be "Not Configured", Select "Disable" and click "Ok"
Close the Group Policy Editor.
Restart the system

 

Hope it useful for you as well.

MG

[T7AMIL]

Out of the 10 solutions I've tried
Your only solution that worked
Thank you

[tkdreamer2]

Problem solved with latest version of VMware Workstation (17)!

[JBDell20]

what do you mean solved with vm workstation 17? Do you have to make any changes? I just upgraded to 17 and still get that message?

[meldirlobor]

It doesn't work for me either.

 

[JBDell20]

I was able to get it to work by doing the following below on workstation 17 pro.

1. Go to "Turn Windows features on or off" and unchecked Hyper V (this is under control panel) have to reboot
2. F2 Changed BIOS and made sure everything was checked under virtualization on my local laptop

[amar3383]

Finally! it worked. Thanks

[Tonerone]

Nested virtualisation in VMware Workstation requires the guest to have "Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI" checked (VM Settings > Processors). It will fail if Virtualisation Based Security is running on the host. msinfo32 will tell you if it is running. You can disable it using group policy UNLESS your host is managed by an MDM (Intune for example) AND your MDM admin has set an MDM setting to force Virtualisation Based Security to run - if this is the case, after you disable it using group policy and gpudate /force, you will see an error from gpudate /force telling you MDM is preventing the gpedit change.   

[lse123]

 

TRY THIS

https://www.leonidassavvides.com/blog/uncategorized/problems-with-nested-virtualization-in-vmware-vms-the-solution-worked-for-me/

[omerbutt1478]

i tried everything but only this solution worked for me so, thanks for your help MGMGMG1

 

[jsoto49]

This was the only thing that also worked for me on Windows 11 Pro.

Thanks!

[bouchra-we]

i had the same problem after trying to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). 

if your problem persists after deactivating wsl and the vbs

I would advice to deactivate also Virtual Machine Platform (VMP) 

1. You can disable VMP in the Windows Features menu. To open this, type Windows Features in Search.
2. Select the Turn Windows features on and off option in the search results.
    
3. Scroll down the list of features and deselect Virtual Machine Platform.
4. Click Ok to close the window, then restart your computer.

[aldosan6666]

Worked out perfectly! thank you!

[Roshanda Nixon]

Thank you! This still works for anyone whose wondering.

[David Nsengiyunva]

I was able to get the KVM feature to work using the steps provided as well, thank you! 

[Weslly Jara]

Hello everyone,

I've been struggling with a GNS3 VM issue for months and would appreciate your insights. Below I'll detail my troubleshooting efforts step-by-step:

Background:

Until recently, my GNS3 VM worked flawlessly on:

Windows 11 Home Edition

Victus by HP Laptop 16-d0xxx

Problem Timeline

Initial Error:

Suddenly started receiving "Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is not supported on this platform" without any configuration changes.

Upgrade Attempt:

Upgraded to Windows 11 Pro (current version: 10.0.26100 Build 26100) - no resolution.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken

1. Hyper-V/Virtualization Features Disabled

Turned off all virtualization-related features in:

Windows Features > Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Hypervisor Platform

Executed PowerShell commands:

powershell

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName VirtualMachinePlatform

2. Core Isolation & Memory Integrity

Disabled Memory Integrity in:

Windows Security > Core Isolation

3. Group Policy & Registry Edits

Group Policy (gpedit.msc):

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Turn On Virtualization Security = Disabled

Registry Modifications:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Hypervisor\EnableHypervisor = 0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\LSA\LsaCfgFlags = 0

4. Validation Checks

Hyper-V Status:

powershell

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V  

# Output: State = Disabled

System Information:

sysinfo returns:

"Hyper-V Requirements: A hypervisor was detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed."

5. Device Guard/Credential Guard Attempts

Tried disabling (unsuccessfully):

powershell

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Windows-Defender-DefaultGuard  

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Windows-Defender-ApplicationGuard

Errors:

Feature name [...] is unknown

Device Guard Status Check:

powershell

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DeviceGuard -Namespace root\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard  

# Output shows VirtualizationBasedSecurityStatus = 2 (Enabled?)

Additional Checks

BIOS:

Virtualization (VT-x) remains enabled. No recent BIOS updates.

Cross-Platform Test:

Installed Linux + VMware Workstation 17 Pro (17.6.2). GNS3 VM works here, confirming hardware capability.

System Specs

Host OS: Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26100

Software:

GNS3 2.2.53/2.2.54

VMware Workstation 17 Pro

Hardware: HP Victus Laptop 16-d0xxx

Key Observations

The VM works under VMware but not natively, suggesting a Windows configuration conflict.

VirtualizationBasedSecurityStatus = 2 and Hypervisor detection persist despite disabling features.

Request:

Any insights into why Hyper-V components still appear active?

Could the Device Guard output indicate residual virtualization security?

Are there undocumented dependencies in Windows 11 24H2 (Build 26100)?

Thank you for your time!

[Morc001]

VBS is not disabled then. Check post 3 in this thread and execute all steps: https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/windows-11-24h2-hsot-how-to-disable-virtual-based-security

[Weslly Jara]

Thank you very much, that was the solution, in my particular case, to the points related to point two of post 3.

[RaSystemlord]

As for help since you wrote about struggling with months ...

... I'm not an expert in solving nested virtualization problems ... or problem with no straigh-forward solution, perhaps.

As for "suddenly happening", usually, there is no such thing. Probably, if nothing else happened, it was a Windows 11 main Upgrade where these things start to manifest themselves.

As for a solution, there are many, all of them solvable more quickly than in months. Not sure which of these suit you, if any:

1.
Use Win 10 Pro. Obviously a bad solution, but could work.

2.
Use Linux, like Kubuntu LTS. Obviously a good solution, but perhaps not to your liking (or company's liking). Technically always doable, because you can have a dedicated computer to run VMware. Hardware is nowadays cheap, compared to any other cost, and thus there is no reason to fear a new dedicated computer.

This is what I did when Windows failed (for many reasons in the past).

3.
Use VMware 17.5.2 version. That is the last vmware-team version. Probably works. New versions give no benefit and security considerations are probably not really true - especially, if you use a new dedicated computer.

4.
Use Intel. There is my thread "Why doesn't it work", or something like that, dated a few months back. There I asked the experts Deepseek and Chat GPT and they both said that with AMD, this thingy might NEVER work since the processors are not the same for Win 11 OS perspective. Not sure if you are already using Intel.

5.
Redo everything and check all those 10-20 threads for instructions what to do for disabling VBS, Hyper-V in Win 11.

Obviously a bad solution.

[TamZoun]

Thank you Very, It Works for me

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[TamZoun]

Thank you Very much, This Works for me perfectly

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[TamZoun]

Thank you Very much, This Works for me perfectly

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