Disabling Virtualization

To fully disable virtualization-related features on a Surface Book 3, there are several layers that may need to be turned off, depending on what is enabled and what behavior is desired.

The command already used:

bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

stops the Hyper-V hypervisor from launching at boot for that boot entry. This is one key step, but other Hyper-V–based components can still keep virtualization active.

Use the following additional options as needed:

1. Disable Hyper-V and Hyper-V-based features

Third‑party virtualization apps and some scenarios require Hyper‑V and its dependent security features to be disabled.

Options to disable Hyper‑V:

• Control Panel:
  1. Open Control Panel → Programs and Features.
  2. Select Turn Windows features on or off.
  3. Expand Hyper‑V → Hyper‑V Platform and clear Hyper‑V Hypervisor.
• PowerShell (admin):

    Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-Hypervisor
  

• DISM (admin Command Prompt):

    DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-Hypervisor
  

If the goal is to block Hyper‑V entirely on the device, it is also possible to remove the broader Hyper‑V feature:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

2. Verify whether the hypervisor is still running

To confirm whether the Hyper‑V hypervisor is active:

1. Run msinfo32.exe.
2. In System Information, look for the entry:

   A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper‑V will not be displayed.

If this line is present, Hyper‑V is still running. If it is absent after using the steps above and rebooting, Hyper‑V is not active.

3. Disable Virtual Machine Platform (VMP) and other virtualization components

Some Windows features (for example WSL2, some security features, and other virtualization stacks) rely on Virtual Machine Platform and similar components. To reduce virtualization usage further:

1. Open Turn Windows features on or off.
2. Clear Virtual Machine Platform.

If gaming performance is the concern, also consider turning off Memory integrity (Hypervisor‑protected code integrity) from Core isolation in Windows Security, as it is Hyper‑V–based and can affect performance.

4. Optional: Create a separate “no hypervisor” boot entry

If frequent switching between virtualization on/off is needed, create an alternate boot entry with the hypervisor disabled:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Run:

      bcdedit /copy {default} /d "Hypervisor Off"
   

   Note the returned identifier.
3. Then run:

      bcdedit /set {identifier} hypervisorlaunchtype off
   

On next boot, select the Hypervisor Off entry to start Windows without the hypervisor.

Be aware that disabling these features can reduce security (for example, disabling Memory Integrity and Credential Guard) and will prevent Hyper‑V, WSL2, and other virtualization‑dependent features from working until re‑enabled.

References:

• BCDEdit /set
• Connected Standby is not available when the Hyper-V role is enabled
• Block users from running Hyper-V and VMware VMs on workstation-class computers
• Virtualization applications don't work together with Hyper-V and Hyper-V-based features
• Options to optimize gaming performance in Windows 11
• Troubleshooting Windows Subsystem for Linux