(2012-05-26) Using Both Microsoft Hyper-V And VMware Workstation On The Same Machine

I have been using VMware workstation since the beginning of time, well almost then! . Yes, I’m a huge Vmware workstation fan because it gives me all the flexibility I need on my work laptop to give demos, perform tests, etc. Features I really like are: USB support, network redirector to access data on the host without IP connectivity, copy paste to/from VM from/to host, easiness to copy/distribute VMs between VMware workstation instances, and some more.

However, sometimes I also need to use Hyper-V. Previous I was only able to use Hyper-V on Windows Server and because I did not feel like using Windows Server as my desktop OS I always needed additional hardware. What I DO NOT mean is to use both Hyper-V and VMware workstation at the same time. I DO mean that I want to use either one at a time when I need to.

However, now with Windows 8, BOTH the desktop and server OS have Hyper-V as OS feature/role. That’s good news! BUT….how to get both Hyper-V and VMware workstation on the same machine without wither complaining. Until now I have not found anything on how to do this, until a person in the VMware forums (this post) pointed me to a link explaining the steps to achieve what I have wanted for ages! Read it here.

The first thing you need to determine is which virtualization technology will be used very frequent and which virtualization technology will be used sporadically. In my personal case VMware workstation will be used very frequent, and is therefore the default, and Hyper-V only as needed. As my desktop OS I’m using Windows 8 client.

After installing Windows 8, go to the Control Panel (lower right corner of the desktop –> Settings –> Control Panel) –> Programs And Features –> Turn Windows Features On Or Off. Then make sure all Hyper-V components are checked as shown below. Then click “OK”. Close all windows when done.

Figure 1: Installing The Hyper-V Windows Feature On Windows 8 (Client)

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Hyper-V is now installed and now it is time to install VMware Workstation. The latter won’t even install if it detects Hyper-V is installed AND running. In other words, Hyper-V is already claiming the Hypervisor and because of that VMware workstation can’t use it.

Make sure the following is done with admin credentials AND elevated! Open a command prompt window by pressing [WINDOWS KEY]+[R] and then type CMD.

Then type: BCDEDIT /ENUM

Figure 2: Enumerating The Boot Options In The Boot Menu (After Installing Hyper-V)

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Check out the last element called “hypervisorlaunchtype”.

Now Type: BCDEDIT /COPY {DEFAULT} /D “No Windows Hypervisor”

Figure 3: Creating A Copy Of The Original Boot Option

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Note the GUID that is mentioned at the end between brackets. Now for the just create copy of the original boot option you will disable the automatic claim/use of the hypervisor by Hyper-V.

Now type: BCDEDIT /SET {d9cbf0e2-786c-11e1-b1f9-abcdd5349459} HYPERVISORLAUNCHTYPE OFF

Figure 4: Disabling Hyper-V To Claim/Use The Hypervisor In The Copy Of The Original Boot Option

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Now type: BCDEDIT /ENUM /V

Figure 5: Enumerating The Boot Options In The Boot Menu

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Currently, the boot option  with the description “Windows 8 Consumer Preview” is set as the default, and that’s the boot option I need to select when I want to use Hyper-V. However, when I want to use VMware Workstation I need to select the boot option with the description “No Windows Hypervisor” and I use VMware Workstation as my default virtualization solution I need to set the corresponding boot option as the default choice.

Now type: BCDEDIT /DEFAULT {d9cbf0e2-786c-11e1-b1f9-abcdd5349459}

Figure 6: Setting The Copy Of The Original Boot Option

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Now type: BCDEDIT /ENUM /V

Figure 7: Enumerating The Boot Options In The Boot Menu

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Now when you reboot Windows 8, you will see something similar like…

Figure 8: Choosing A Boot Option During The Booting Of The OS

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If you do not choose an option it will by default continue with the default option and in this that will be “No Windows Hypervisor” boot option.

If you do make a choice and choose the boot option called “No Windows Hypervisor” you will be able to use VMware Workstation, but you will not be able to use Hyper-V.

If you do make a choice and choose the boot option called “Windows 8 Consumer Preview” you will be able to use Hyper-V, but you will not be able to use VMware Workstation. In this case the OS would reboot again and allow you to start Hyper-V afterwards.

Remember, you can only have ONE virtualization technology running at a time! If you want to switch between using a virtualization technology, you will need to reboot the computer again!

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Have fun!

I have been using this for a few weeks now, and this is quite cool and now I’m happy as I can use both without having additional hardware!

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PS: Although I have not tested it, this will also work with W2K8 and W2K8R2.

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Cheers,
Jorge
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* Always evaluate/test yourself before using/implementing this!
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