Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is not supported on this platform in VMware Workstation
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Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is not supported on this platform in VMware Workstation

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Article ID: 389469

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi VMware Workstation

Issue/Introduction

VMware Workstation or Fusion fails to power on a virtual machine when the "Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT" feature is enabled. This occurs primarily due to conflicts with Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) or when running in a nested environment where hardware virtualization is not passed through to the guest.

  • Symptoms:
    • The virtual machine fails to start with the error: Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is not supported on this platform.
    • The error message VM Workstation and Device/Credential Guard are not compatible appears on Windows 10 or Windows 11 hosts.
    • Power on fails with: This host appears to be running in a virtual machine with VHV disabled.
    • Significant performance degradation occurs when the monitor mode is not set to CPL0.

 

Environment

  • VMware Workstation Pro 15.x, 16.x, 17.x
  • VMware Fusion
  • VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

The issue is caused by the host operating system (specifically Windows Hyper-V/VBS) or the physical hypervisor (ESXi) reserving hardware virtualization features, preventing VMware Workstation from accessing Intel VT-x/EPT directly.

Resolution

Phase 1: Verify Monitor Mode

  1. Check the vmware.log file located in the virtual machine directory. Search for the string "Monitor Mode":
    1. Monitor Mode: CPL0: The VMware engine is running with optimal performance.
    2. Monitor Mode: UML: The slower Hyper-V API is in use; follow the steps below to disable Hyper-V/VBS.

Phase 2: Disable Hyper-V and VBS (Windows Hosts)

  1. Turn off Memory Integrity: Navigate to Settings > Core Isolation and toggle Memory Integrity to Off.
  2. Disable Windows Features: Open Turn Windows features on or off and uncheck:
    1. Hyper-V
    2. Virtual Machine Platform
    3. Windows Hypervisor Platform
    4. Windows Sandbox
  3. Command Line Override: Open Command Prompt as Administrator and execute: bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off
  4. Registry Modification: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard. Set EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity to 0.
  5. Restart the system.

Phase 3: Enable VHV (Nested ESXi Environments)

  1. If VMware Workstation is running inside a VM hosted on ESXi: 
    1. Right-click the VM in the vSphere Client and select Edit Settings.
    2. Expand the CPU section.
    3. Check the box Expose hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS.
    4. Click OK and power on the VM.

Additional Information

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