Allow VMware Workstation and Hyper-V to run on the same Windows 10 workstation

So I upgraded my lab workstation recently and it is running Windows 10 Professional. I installed VMware Workstation 16 PRO and it works fine. It is great for a lab, especially when you need to install a entire vSphere environment. This is because VMware Workstation is great at nested virtualization.

My problem started when I installed Windows Sandbox environment on the physical Windows workstation. It created a slew of errors when trying to boot vm’s that used the nested virtualization flags or hardware assisted virtualization flags. Errors upon errors pop up with the ultimate result of the vm failing to boot.

I didn’t want to uninstall Hyper-V or Windows Sandbox and the thought of uninstalling VMware Workstation never even entered my mind because frankly it is awesome.

The Solution

Turn off the one you are not using.

To use VMware Workstation:

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

If u want use hyper-v:

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto

It is very important that you reboot after running either of these commands or it will not work.

I know this is not optimal but until VMware and Microsoft work out their differences it looks like we are the ones paying the price.