VMware Workstation VM does not start after OS upgraded to Windows 11

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor
• VMware Workstation 17.x Pro (for Windows)

Issue/Introduction

VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.2 VM does not start after upgrading OS from Windows 10 to 11

Environment

VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.2

Resolution

Please follow the below mentioned steps to resolve the issue:

Step 1: Stop any currently running Hyper-V service:

1. Click Start -> Services
2. Press ENTER
3. From the list of services disable Hyper-V and HV Host Service.
4. Close Services window

Step 2: Ensure that Hyper-V and Platform are not installed:

1. Click Start -> Features
2. Select: "Turn Windows Features on and off"
3. Ensure that the following are unselected:
   - Hyper-V (including all sub-items)
   - Windows Hypervisor Platform
4. Click OK

Step 3: Disable "hypervisorlaunchtype":

1. Click: Start -> powershell
2. Select: "Run as administrator", type the following command:
   bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off
3. Press ENTER
4. Close Powershell window

Step 4: Disable Device Guard:

1. Click Start -> gpedit msc
2. Press ENTER
3. Navigate in the left-hand pane: Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Guard
4. Disable "Turn on Virtualization Based Security"
5. Click OK

Note:

• This step may or may not apply depending on the Windows version
• MS seems to have disabled the group policy editor in Windows 11 Home, to reenable follow these instructions

Step 5: Disable "Memory Integrity" in "Core Isolation":

1. Click Start -> core isolation
2. Press ENTER
3. Ensure that "Memory Integrity" is turned Off
4. Close window

If issue is still not resolved, please follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Uninstall VMware Workstation Pro
2. Clean registration
3. Reboot the system
4. Perform a 2nd registry cleanup with CCleaner
5. Re-install VMware Workstation Pro
6. Reboot the system