Hypervisor along with Virtual Machine Platform allows you to run virtual machines on your Windows PC. It is responsible for resource allocation management. However, many users are facing an error with it rendering the Virtual Machine unusable.
The Hypervisor could throw out an error or not perform its job properly if you have outdated drivers, bad sectors on your primary or secondary storage drives, corrupted system files, interfering third-party apps, conflictual settings, or an outdated Windows version.
Fortunately, since Hypervisor is a piece of software that has no special hardware components installed just for it to work, you can resolve this issue on your own using the list of methods mentioned in this guide.
That being said, do keep in mind you might have to try more than one method to resolve the issue on your system.
1. Run Memory Diagnostics
Windows Memory Diagnostic tool helps you diagnose and find issues with the RAM module installed physically on your computer. If the issue is hardware-based, this will significantly help you pinpoint the issue.
Head to the Start Menu and type Memory Diagnostic to perform a search. After that, from the search results, click on the ‘Windows Memory Diagnostic’ tile to proceed.
Then, either click on the ‘Restart Now and check for problems’ option to restart the PC immediately or click on the ‘Check for problems the next time I start my computer’ option based on when you are comfortable with performing the check.
2. Install Missing Drivers or Update Device Drivers
Hypervisor errors can also surface due to outdated, missing, or corrupt drivers. A simple fix to the situation is to update all the drivers installed on your computer.
Note: You can follow the below-mentioned process for both installing the missing driver and updating drivers on your Windows PC.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Device Manager to perform a search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Device Manager’ tile.
Now, on the device manager screen look for the ‘question mark’ icon on any of the categories in the list. Then, click on the chevron (downward arrow) preceding the said option to expand it.
Then, from the list of components, double-click on the option having the exclamation mark.
After that, the issue will be displayed in the ‘Device Status’ text area. Now, click on the ‘Update Driver’ option to continue. This will open a separate window.
Now, from the separate window, click on the ‘Search automatically for drivers’ option to let Windows search for a driver for you. Otherwise, if you already have a driver package in your local storage, click on the ‘Browse my computer for drivers’ option.
Note: If you are updating a driver, skip the next step and manually head to the ‘Windows Update’ tab in the ‘Settings’ app and follow the method.
Though it is rare, it is a possibility that Windows might not be able to find a driver for it. If that’s the case, click on the ‘Search for updated drivers on Windows Update’ option. This will open a Settings window.
After that, on the ‘Windows Update’ screen, click on the ‘Advanced options’ tile present in the list.
Then, scroll down to locate and click on the ‘Optional Updates’ tile.
After that, select all available drivers by clicking on the individual checkbox preceding each option in the list. Then, click on the ‘Download & install’ button.
Once downloaded, all the drivers will be installed on your next boot-up or restart depending upon the nature of the said updates.
3. Run CHKDSK
CHKDSK scan will check your hard disk for the physical bad sector and logical errors as well. This will help you to pinpoint problems with your secondary storage device.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Terminal to perform a search for it. After that, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option to proceed.
Then, enter credentials for admin on the UAC screen if not logged in with an admin account. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button to proceed.
After that, click on the chevron (downward arrow) and then choose the ‘Command Prompt’ option to continue. This will open the Command Prompt in a separate tab.
Next, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned command and hit Enter on your keyboard to execute the command.
chkdsk /f
After that, press the Y key to schedule the scan to be initiated when you boot up your PC next time.
4. Run SFC and DISM Scan
System File Checker and Deployment Image Servicing and Management scans will check and repair the existing operating system files installed on your device along with other system files.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Terminal to search for it. Then, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option to proceed.
Next, if you are not logged in with an admin account, enter the credentials for one. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button to proceed.
After that, click on the ‘chevron’ (downward arrow) icon and click on the ‘Command Prompt’ option.
Then, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned command and hit Enter on your keyboard. This will restore your currently installed OS image on your device.
DISM/ Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Once completed, type or copy+paste the following command to check and repair the system files on your PC.
SFC /scannow
If after the scan, you get the message that the scan was successful, see if you’re still getting the error. If it finds corrupted files in the scan, remove those files and the error should be resolved by now.
5. Disable and Re-enable Hypervisor
Many times, a simple service behind the process is stuck or is in a deadlock which in turn prevents the Hypervisor to work correctly on your computer. To resolve this scenario, simply disable the Hypervisor and re-enable it.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Control to perform a search. After that, click on the ‘Control Panel’ tile to open it.
Then, click on the ‘Programs and Features’ option from the grid.
Next, click on the ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ option to continue. This will open a separate window on your screen.
Then, locate and click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Hyper-V’ option to uncheck it.
After that, click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Virtual Machine Platform’ option to uncheck it. Then, click on the ‘OK’ button to proceed.
Windows will then apply the settings to your PC. Once the process has been completed, click on the ‘Restart now’ button to apply the changes.
Once the PC has restarted, repeat the process again to turn on the Hypervisor on your PC.
6. Turn on Driver Verifier
Driver verifier is a built-in utility of Windows that allows you to scan and fix deep-rooted issues with an installed driver on your computer.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Terminal to perform a search. Then, from the search results, right-click on the ‘Terminal’ tile and click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.
Now, a UAC (User Account Window) will appear on your screen. If you are not logged in with an admin account, enter the credentials for it. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button to proceed.
After that, click on the ‘chevron’ on the title bar and select the ‘Command Prompt’ option.
Now, on the ‘Command Prompt’ tab, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned command and hit Enter to execute. This will open a separate window on your screen.
verifier
Next, click on the radio button preceding the ‘Create standard settings’ option and then click on the ‘Next’ button to continue.
On the next screen, click on the ‘Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer’ option. Then, click on the ‘Finish’ button.
After that, restart your PC. The driver verifier will now run in the background and diagnose the drivers.
To learn which driver caused the issue on your computer, open the Driver Verifier Manager again using the steps showcased earlier in this section. Then, click on the ‘Display information about the currently verified drivers’ option and then click on the ‘Next’ button.
Once you have fixed faulty drivers, you will need to stop Driver Verifier as it will keep on running in the background after every sign in to your computer which may cause an overload and will unnecessarily hog resources.
To do so, head to the ‘Command Prompt’ on the Terminal using the steps showcased previously. Then, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned command and hit Enter to execute.
verifier/reset
7. Perform a Clean Boot
A third-party software/service often interferes with the system and generates this error. Hence, starting the system in the clean boot can help you determine if the actual culprit behind the issue is a third-party software/service.
First, press the Windows+R keys together on your keyboard to bring up the Run utility. Then, type msconfig and press Enter on the keyboard to continue.
From the General tab, click on the radio button preceding the ‘Selective startup’ option and then click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Load system services’ option to proceed.
Then, head to the ‘Services’ tab and click on the checkbox preceding the ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ option. Then, click on the ‘Disable all’ button. Finally, click the ‘Apply’ button and then click on the ‘OK’ button to close the window.
Now, restart the PC from the Start Menu. Once the PC is restarted in the clean boot environment, you can check if you are still facing the issue. If not, you can enable processes one by one and check which one is causing the issue.
8. Update your BIOS
An out-of-date BIOS version is one of the culprits for this issue since BIOS handles the primary input/output of your PC along with the kernel systems.
Since BIOS entry methods, BIOS interfaces, and BIOS settings vary greatly from one motherboard manufacturer to another, it is impossible to provide you with detailed steps.
Thus, enter safe mode on your Windows 11 PC. Then, follow the steps to update the BIOS from your manufacturer’s website. After that, check if the issue was resolved.
9. Roll Back to a System Restore Point
If you have a reason to believe that a recent software upgrade or a third-party software installation might be the culprit behind the issue, you can roll back to a system restore point if you have created one.
First, head to the Start Menu and type Control to perform a search. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Control Panel’ tile to proceed.
After that, locate and click on the ‘Recovery’ tile from the grid of icons.
Next, click on the ‘Open System Restore’ option from the list. This will open a separate window on your screen.
From the separately opened window, click on the ‘Next’ button.
All created system restore points will be listed on the screen. Click to select the desired one and then click on the ‘Next’ button to initiate the rolling back process.
Next, a list of drives that the rollback will impact will be displayed along with the timestamp of the restore point created. You can also check the programs that will be affected; click on the ‘Sca for the affected programs’ button. A new window will appear on the screen.
On the new window, you can view the programs that will be deleted and the ones that will be restored (since no programs will be affected on the test PC, the list in the screenshot below is empty). Click on the ‘Close’ button to navigate to the previous window.
Finally, click on the ‘Finish’ button to initiate the rollback process
Once the rollback is complete, check if you the error is gone. Otherwise, move on to the next fix.
10. Reset your PC
In case no method has been able to fix the issue on your PC, the last resort is to reset your PC. Thankfully, you will not lose your personal files and folders. However, resetting your PC will remove all the programs that you have installed and also bring all the settings to their default configurations.
To reset your PC, head to the Start Menu, and click on the ‘Settings’ icon. Alternatively, type Settings in the menu to perform a search.
After that, from the Settings window, make sure you have selected the ‘System’ tab present on the left sidebar.
Then, from the right section of the window, scroll down to locate and click on the ‘Recovery’ tile to proceed.
Next, on the ‘Recovery’ settings screen, locate the ‘Reset this PC’ tile and click on the ‘Reset PC’ button present on the far right edge of the tile. This will open a separate window on your screen.
Now, from the separately opened window, click on the ‘Keep my files’ tile to proceed. In case you wish to remove all your personal files as well when resetting, click on the ‘Remove everything’ option.
On the next screen, you will need to choose a method for reinstalling the operating system on your machine. Since there could be an issue with the copy already present on your system, it is recommended that you click on the ‘Cloud downloads’ option.
Note: ‘Cloud download’ will require an active internet connection and will consume upwards of 4GB of data.
After that, Windows will list the settings that you have chosen. In case you wish to change any of them, click on the ‘Change settings’ option to continue.
If you chose to change the settings, you can configure the following settings on the next screen, You can choose to not restore the apps and settings by clicking on the toggle switch present under the ‘Restore preinstalled apps?’ option and bringing it to the ‘No’ position. You can even switch from the cloud download to local installation by clicking on the toggle switch present under the ‘Download Windows?’ option to change the installation method. Once adjusted according to your preference, click on the ‘Confirm’ button to proceed.
After that, from the main window, click on the ‘Next’ button to continue.
In case your PC was updated recently, you will receive a message on the screen stating that you will not be able to roll back once you reset the PC. To continue, click on the ‘Next’ button.
After that, Windows will list out all the impacts resetting your PC will have on your system. Read them carefully and click on ‘Reset’ to commence the resetting process.
That’s about it. One of the methods mentioned above is bound to resolve the Hypervisor error on your PC.
