How to fix the “Hypervisor Is Not Running” error when Windows Sandbox fails to start

Hello,

The Hypervisor is not running error when launching Windows Sandbox usually occurs when hardware virtualization is disabled in BIOS/UEFI, the required Windows features are not enabled, or the hypervisor is prevented from starting during Windows boot.

First, make sure you are running Windows 10 or Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, as Windows Sandbox is not supported on Home editions.

To resolve this issue, start by checking whether hardware virtualization is enabled in your system's BIOS/UEFI. Restart your computer, enter BIOS/UEFI setup (usually by pressing F2, F12, or Del during startup), and locate the CPU or processor configuration settings. Make sure Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) is enabled if you are using an Intel processor, or SVM Mode (AMD-V) if you are using AMD. Also, ensure that Data Execution Prevention (DEP/NX/XD) is enabled. Save your changes and restart Windows.

Once Windows starts, open Task Manager > Performance > CPU and confirm that Virtualization is displayed as Enabled.

If hardware virtualization is already enabled, the next step is to verify that the required Windows features are installed. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM" -All

You can also enable the Virtual Machine Platform feature if it is not already enabled:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "VirtualMachinePlatform" -All

Restart your computer if prompted. To verify that Windows Sandbox is enabled, run:

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM"

Make sure the State property shows Enabled.

Another possible cause is that the hypervisor is installed but prevented from starting automatically. To check this, open Command Prompt as Administrator and execute:

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto

Restart your computer and verify the configuration by running:

bcdedit /enum | findstr -i hypervisorlaunchtype

The expected value is Auto.

If you have VMware Workstation or Oracle VirtualBox installed, check whether your version is compatible with the Windows Hypervisor Platform. Older versions may have compatibility issues with Hyper-V and Windows Sandbox, so updating them may help.

Also, if Windows is running inside a virtual machine, verify that nested virtualization is enabled on the host, as Windows Sandbox requires access to hardware virtualization.

After completing these steps, restart your computer and try launching Windows Sandbox again.

If the issue persists, please share your Windows edition, version, and OS build (using winver), the virtualization status displayed in Task Manager, and whether Windows is running directly on physical hardware or inside a virtual machine. This information will help identify the underlying cause.

If this resolves your issue, please click Accept Answer so that other community members experiencing the same problem can benefit from the solution.

Thank you.