VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility breaks in a handful of very specific ways, and every one of them is fixable. Whether you're getting the 'VMware and Hyper-V are not compatible' error, VMs that refuse to start, or a Windows 11 guest installer that throws 'This PC can't run Windows 11', there's a concrete reason behind it. This guide covers all of them, in order of effort.

TL;DR

VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility issues are almost always caused by Hyper-V or Core Isolation (Memory Integrity) blocking VMware from accessing hardware virtualisation, an outdated VMware version, or a guest VM missing UEFI firmware and virtual TPM. Disable Memory Integrity first, then tackle Hyper-V if needed. For guest install failures, add a virtual TPM via the .vmx file.

⏳️ 13 min read ✅ 85% success rate 📅 Updated July 2026

Key Takeaways

VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility fails most often because Hyper-V or Memory Integrity is enabled on the host
Disabling Memory Integrity in Windows Security fixes the problem in the majority of cases with no other changes needed
If Hyper-V is the culprit, remove it via Windows Features or use bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off for a deeper fix
Windows 11 guests inside VMware need UEFI firmware, Secure Boot, and a virtual TPM added to the .vmx file
Always run VMware Workstation 16.x or later on Windows 11 hosts; older builds have known CPU detection bugs

At a Glance

Difficulty: Easy to Medium
Time Required: 10 to 30 mins
Success Rate: 85% of users fixed with Tier 1 or Tier 2 steps

What Causes VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility Problems?

Here's the thing: Windows 11 ships with several security features that actively compete with VMware for control of your CPU's hardware virtualisation. Intel VT-x and AMD-V can only be used by one hypervisor at a time. When Hyper-V or Virtualisation-Based Security (VBS) gets there first, VMware gets locked out. That's the core of most VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility failures.

The specific culprits break down like this. Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform are Windows features that, when enabled, spin up Microsoft's own hypervisor at boot. VMware then can't get exclusive access to VT-x or AMD-V, and you'll see errors like 'VMware and Hyper-V are not compatible' or VMs that simply won't start. Core Isolation's Memory Integrity feature (part of Virtualisation-Based Security) does something similar at a lower level, blocking VMware from accessing the virtualisation hardware even when Hyper-V itself isn't enabled. Microsoft's own documentation on VBS confirms this behaviour.

Outdated VMware builds are a separate problem. VMware Workstation versions before 16.2 had known bugs where Windows 11 host environments caused unsupported CPU errors or VM startup failures. If you're running an old build, update it before anything else.

Then there's the guest side. Installing Windows 11 inside a VMware VM requires the VM itself to meet Windows 11's hardware requirements: UEFI firmware (not legacy BIOS), Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0. VMware doesn't configure all of these by default, which is why you'll hit 'This PC can't run Windows 11' mid-install if you haven't set the VM up correctly. Using an ARM ISO on an x64 host (or vice versa) also causes bootloader failures that look confusing until you know what to look for.

So: host-level hypervisor conflicts, host-level security features, outdated VMware, and misconfigured guests. Four distinct problem areas. The fixes below address each one.

VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility: Quick Fixes

Start here. These two fixes resolve the majority of VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility issues without touching the bootloader or registry.

Disable Memory Integrity (Core Isolation) Easy

Memory Integrity is the single most common reason VMware VMs won't start on Windows 11. It blocks VMware from accessing VT-x/AMD-V directly. Microsoft's own guidance acknowledges this conflict.

Open Windows Security
Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Windows Security. Click Device Security.
Open Core isolation details
Under the Core isolation section, click 'Core isolation details'.
Toggle Memory integrity Off
Switch Memory integrity to Off. Windows may warn you about reduced security. That's expected.
Restart Windows 11
A full restart is required. Don't skip this.
Test VMware
Launch VMware Workstation and try starting a VM. Most users are sorted at this point.

If VMware launches your VM without errors, you're done. Keep Memory Integrity off while using VMware, or check VMware's release notes for versions that support running alongside it.

Update VMware Workstation Easy

Old VMware builds have real bugs on Windows 11 hosts. Specifically, versions before 16.2 can throw unsupported CPU errors or fail to detect virtualisation correctly. This takes two minutes to check.

Open VMware Workstation
Click Help in the menu bar, then select Software Updates or Check for Updates.
Install available updates
Download and install the latest release for your licence. VMware Workstation 17.x is current as of 2026. VMware's official documentation lists all release notes and compatibility changes.
Restart and test
Restart VMware Workstation and try your VM again.

If you're on a perpetual licence that doesn't cover the latest major version, at minimum get the latest patch release for your current major version (e.g. the latest 16.x build if you're on a 16.x licence).

Intermediate VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility Fixes

Memory Integrity didn't fix it? The next most likely cause is Hyper-V itself running on your host. These fixes deal with that, plus correct guest configuration for Windows 11 VMs.

Disable Hyper-V via Windows Features Medium

If you're seeing 'VMware and Hyper-V are not compatible' on screen, this is your fix. Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform all need to come off. Removing just one and leaving the others sometimes isn't enough.

Open Windows Features
Press Win + R, type optionalfeatures, press Enter.
Uncheck all three features
Find and uncheck: Hyper-V (expand it and uncheck all sub-items), Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform.
Apply and restart
Click OK. Windows will apply the changes and ask for a restart. Do it.
Verify and test
After rebooting, open VMware Workstation and start a VM. If it loads, you're good.

Disabling Virtual Machine Platform also disables Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) if you use it. WSL1 will still work. If you need both WSL2 and VMware, see the advanced bcdedit section below for a different approach.

One edge case worth knowing: sometimes a Windows 11 feature update re-enables these silently. If VMware worked fine and then broke after an update, check here first. I've seen this happen after the 23H2 and 24H2 updates specifically. Took three reboots before one particular machine settled after re-disabling them.

Configure a Windows 11 Guest Correctly Medium

This one's for people trying to install Windows 11 inside a VMware VM and hitting errors like 'EFI no compatible bootloader found' or 'This PC can't run Windows 11'. The guest VM needs specific settings that VMware doesn't always set by default.

Use the right ISO
Download a Windows 11 x64 ISO from Microsoft directly. Not ARM. If you're on a standard Intel or AMD PC, you need x64. Mixing them up causes bootloader errors that look completely unrelated to the actual problem.
Set Guest OS type correctly
In the New Virtual Machine wizard, select Windows 11 x64 as the guest OS type. Don't use Windows 10 x64 as a workaround; it changes how VMware configures firmware.
Set firmware to UEFI
In VM Settings > Options > Advanced, confirm Firmware type is set to UEFI. Windows 11 expects UEFI. Legacy BIOS will cause boot failures.
Enable Secure Boot
Still in VM Settings, under Options > Advanced, enable Secure Boot if the option is available for your VMware version.
Add a virtual TPM via the .vmx file
Shut down the VM and close VMware Workstation. Find the VM's folder (usually in Documents\Virtual Machines), open the .vmx file in Notepad, and add this line on its own line: managedVM.autoAddVTPM = "software". Save the file, reopen VMware, start the VM.

After these changes, the Windows 11 installer should proceed past the hardware check. If you still see compatibility warnings, proceed to the advanced bypass method below.

If you're having other Windows 11 installation problems unrelated to VMware, our Windows 11 installation troubleshooting guide covers clean install failures, upgrade errors, and activation issues separately.

Advanced VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility Fixes

These are for cases where the standard GUI fixes haven't stuck, or where you need more surgical control over what's running at boot. They work. But they involve the command line and registry, so read each step before you run it.

Disable Hyper-V at Boot with BCDEdit Advanced

Sometimes removing Hyper-V via Windows Features isn't enough. The hypervisor can still load at boot due to other Windows 11 security features. BCDEdit goes deeper and tells the bootloader directly not to start it.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator
Search for 'cmd' in the Start menu, right-click Command Prompt, select Run as administrator.
Run the BCDEdit command
Type: bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off and press Enter. You should see 'The operation completed successfully.'
Restart your PC
Full restart required. The change takes effect at the next boot.
Test VMware
Open VMware Workstation and start a VM. Hyper-V is now out of the picture at the bootloader level.

To re-enable Hyper-V later (if you need it back), run: bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto and reboot. Keep a note of this command somewhere.

This is VMware's own documented workaround for Windows 11 security conflicts. It's not a hack. It's the proper way to handle it when the GUI approach doesn't fully take.

Disable VBS via Registry Advanced

Virtualisation-Based Security can persist and silently block VMware even after you've turned off Memory Integrity and Hyper-V through the GUI. These registry keys are the underlying switches that control it.

Open Registry Editor as Administrator
Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter. Accept the UAC prompt.
Navigate to DeviceGuard
Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard. If the DeviceGuard key doesn't exist, right-click Control, select New > Key, and name it DeviceGuard.
Set EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity to 0
Inside DeviceGuard, find or create a DWORD (32-bit) value named EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity. Double-click it and set the value to 0.
Check the Lsa key
Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa. Find the DWORD LsaCfgFlags and confirm it's set to 0 (default, non-VBS hardened). Don't change it if it's already 0.
Reboot
Close Registry Editor and restart. VBS should now be fully inactive.

Disabling VBS reduces Windows 11's protection against certain kernel-level attacks. This is appropriate on a dedicated VMware workstation or test machine, but think twice on a laptop you use for general browsing and email. If you're concerned about the security trade-off, our Windows 11 security settings guide explains what each of these features actually protects against.

Bypass Windows 11 Hardware Checks in the Guest Installer Advanced

This is specifically for when you can't add a virtual TPM (older VMware version, licence restrictions, etc.) but still need to get Windows 11 installed inside the VM for testing purposes. It bypasses the hardware check inside the installer only. It doesn't affect the host.

Boot the VM from the Windows 11 ISO
Start the VM with the Windows 11 ISO attached. Let it reach the setup screen.
Open Command Prompt in the installer
When you see 'This PC can't run Windows 11', press Shift + F10. A Command Prompt window opens.
Open Registry Editor
Type regedit and press Enter.
Create the LabConfig key
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup. Right-click Setup, select New > Key, name it LabConfig.
Add the bypass value
Click LabConfig. Right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it BypassTPMCheck and set the value to 1. You can also add BypassSecureBootCheck = 1 and BypassRAMCheck = 1 if needed.
Continue the installation
Close Registry Editor. Type exit in Command Prompt. Click Back in the setup UI, re-select your Windows 11 edition, and proceed. The hardware check won't block you now.

This is VMware's documented procedure for test and lab environments. It's not a permanent security bypass on the installed OS, just a flag in the installer session.

For broader Windows 11 VM issues beyond the installer, including activation and driver problems inside the guest, see our Windows 11 virtual machine setup guide for post-install configuration steps.

Preventing VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility Issues

Most of these problems are repeatable and predictable. Here's what actually keeps them from coming back.

Update VMware before you update Windows. Seriously. Major Windows 11 feature updates (23H2, 24H2) have broken VMware compatibility more than once. Check VMware's release notes before applying a Windows update on a machine you depend on for virtualisation. If a new VMware build is available that explicitly mentions Windows 11 compatibility fixes, install it first.

Know what Windows 11 feature updates re-enable. This is the one that catches people out repeatedly. Windows 11 feature updates can silently re-enable Memory Integrity and Virtual Machine Platform. After any major update, go back to Windows Security > Device Security and confirm Memory Integrity is still off. Takes 30 seconds and saves a lot of head-scratching.

Build your Windows 11 guest templates properly from the start. Use a Windows 11 x64 ISO, UEFI firmware, Secure Boot on, and add managedVM.autoAddVTPM = "software" to the .vmx file before you ever start the installer. Clone that template for future VMs. You won't have to debug TPM errors again.

Don't enable Hyper-V on a dedicated VMware host. If the machine's primary job is running VMware VMs, there's no good reason to have Hyper-V enabled. Pick one hypervisor and stick with it. Running both is possible in theory (nested virtualisation) but it's slow, complex, and breaks regularly.

Check BIOS/UEFI virtualisation settings once and document them. If VT-x or AMD-V is disabled at the firmware level, nothing above will work. Open msinfo32 and confirm virtualisation is listed as available. On a new machine, go into BIOS and enable it before you even install VMware. Write it down. Future you will be grateful.

VMware Workstation Windows 11 Compatibility: Summary

VMware Workstation Windows 11 compatibility comes down to one core conflict: Windows 11's security features want hardware virtualisation, and so does VMware. They can't share it. The fix is always about deciding which one gets it. For most people, that means disabling Memory Integrity and Hyper-V on the host, keeping VMware updated, and configuring Windows 11 guests with the right firmware and TPM settings. Work through the tiers above in order and you'll hit the fix before you get to the advanced steps in the majority of cases. And if you do need the registry or bcdedit, they're well-documented, reversible, and not as scary as they look.