Virtualization applications don't work together with Hyper-V, Device Guard, and Credential Guard

Many third-party virtualization applications don't work together with Hyper-V. Affected applications include VMware Workstation and VirtualBox. These applications might not start virtual machines, or they may fall back to a slower, emulated mode.

These symptoms are introduced when the Hyper-V Hypervisor is running. Some security solutions are also dependent on the hypervisor, such as:

  • Device Guard
  • Credential Guard

Applies to:   Windows 10 - all editions
Original KB number:   3204980

Determine whether the Hyper-V hypervisor is running

To determine whether the Hyper-V hypervisor is running, follow these steps:

  1. In the search box, type msinfo32.exe.

  2. Select System Information.

  3. In the detail window, locate the following entry:

    A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.

    screenshot of the detail window of System Information.

Cause

This behavior occurs by design.

Many virtualization applications depend on hardware virtualization extensions that are available on most modern processors. It includes Intel VT-x and AMD-V. Only one software component can use this hardware at a time. The hardware cannot be shared between virtualization applications.

To use other virtualization software, you must disable Hyper-V Hypervisor, Device Guard, and Credential Guard. If you want to disable Hyper-V Hypervisor, follow the steps in next two sections.

How to disable Hyper-V

You can disable Hyper-V Hypervisor either in Control Panel or by using Windows PowerShell.

Disable Hyper-V in Control Panel

To disable Hyper-V in Control Panel, follow these steps:

  1. In Control Panel, select Programs and Features.

  2. Select Turn Windows features on or off.

  3. Expand Hyper-V, expand Hyper-V Platform, and then clear the Hyper-V Hypervisor check box.

    screenshot of the Hyper-V Hypervisor check box.

Disable Hyper-V in PowerShell

To disable Hyper-V by using Windows PowerShell, follow these steps:

  1. Open an elevated PowerShell window.

  2. Run the following command:

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

Disable Device Guard and Credential Guard

You can disable Device Guard and Credential Guard by using registry keys or group policy. To do it, see Manage Windows Defender Credential Guard.

More information

Third-party information disclaimer

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.