Cannot Create Hyper-V Virtual Machine within VMware Workstation VM

Cannot Create Hyper-V Virtual Machine within VMware Workstation VM

When virtual machine is created inside VMware workstation, under normal conditions, it can be used to install 32-bit version of the operating systems. In case you want to install 64-bit version of the operating systems, your physical computer (host computer) must have Hardware Accelerated Virtualization integrated in it.

When talking about Hyper-V, it is the role of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012 and is only available in the 64-bit versions of these network operating systems (NOS). Since Hyper-V is the feature using which administrators can create multiple virtual machines within a single host Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 OS, the process of installing either of these operating systems within the VMware Workstation, and creating and using virtual machines within these operating systems using Hyper-V can be referred to as nested virtualization.

If your computer has Hardware Accelerated Virtualization present in it, 64-bit Windows operating systems can be installed easily on the virtual machines within the VMware Workstation. However to install Hyper-V and then to install and use the virtual machines within a virtual machine in the VMware Workstation, you must create your VMware Workstation virtual machine and modify its .VMX file accordingly.

Below is the process using which you can create VMware Workstation virtual machine and modify its .VMX file so that the VM can be used to install Hyper-V and can allow you to create a nested virtualization setup:

1. Log on to the computer with the user account on which the virtual machine is to be customized for Hyper-V.
   
2. If already not created, create a new virtual machine in the VMware Workstation selecting the Microsoft platform with Windows Server 2008 x64 operating system in the Select a Guest Operating System window during the VM creation process.
   
3. Once the virtual machine is successively created, on the VMware Workstation console, click to select the target virtual machine tab.
   
4. Once selected, click the Edit virtual machine settings option from the right pane of the VMware Workstation interface.
   
   
5. On the Virtual Machine Settings box that appears, make sure that the Hardware tab is selected.
   
6. In the left pane, click to select Processors option.
   
7. In the right pane, from the Preferred mode drop-down list under the Virtualization engine section, choose the Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI option.
   
8. Also, check the Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI checkbox from the same interface.
   
   
9. Finally click OK button to save the changes.
   
10. Once the entire process is complete, exit the VMware Workstation application.
    
11. Using the Windows Explorer, locate the corresponding .VMX file of the virtual machine.
    
12. Open the located file in the Notepad application.
    
13. Add the hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = “FALSE” perimeter at the end of the file.
    
    
14. Save the file, and start the VMware Workstation application.
    
15. Run the target virtual machine, install Windows Server 2008 64-Bit operating system on the VM, and install the Hyper-V or role to configure the nested virtualization network setup.