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Claude Code Issues / #34747

[BUG] Cowork "Virtualization is not available" on Windows 11 Pro — Hyper-V enabled, %APPDATA%\Claude never created

Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Mar 15, 2026 by moustafabaroud81 Closed Mar 18, 2026

Preflight Checklist

  • [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
  • [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

<html>
<body>
<!--StartFragment--><p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Cowork permanently shows:</p>
<blockquote class="ml-2 border-l-4 border-border-300/10 pl-4 text-text-300">
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">"Virtualization is not available — Claude's workspace requires Hyper-V, but the virtualization service isn't responding. Restart your computer to resolve this."</p>
</blockquote>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Restarting does not resolve it. A full clean reinstall does not resolve it. Enabling Hyper-V and HypervisorPlatform does not resolve it. The <code class="bg-text-200/5 border border-0.5 border-border-300 text-danger-000 whitespace-pre-wrap rounded-[0.4rem] px-1 py-px text-[0.9rem]">%APPDATA%\Claude</code> folder is <strong>never created</strong>, meaning the VM never attempts to initialize.</p>
<h2 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">System Info</h2>
<div class="overflow-x-auto w-full px-2 mb-6">
Property | Value
-- | --
OS | Windows 11 Pro
Install type | Direct download from claude.ai/download (NOT Microsoft Store)
Claude Desktop version | Latest (fresh reinstall)

</div><!--EndFragment-->
</body>
</html>

What Should Happen?

Cowork should detect that Hyper-V and all required virtualization features are enabled and successfully initialize the workspace VM, creating the %APPDATA%\Claude directory and associated VM files.

Actual Behavior
The app shows the "Virtualization is not available" error immediately. No folders or logs are ever created under %APPDATA%\Claude, indicating the VM provisioning never even starts. This is not a system configuration issue — all prerequisites are confirmed enabled and verified.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce

Install Claude Desktop (latest, from claude.ai/download) on Windows 11 Pro
Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Cowork tab
Error appears immediately: "Virtualization is not available"
Verified all Hyper-V features disabled → enabled them via Admin PowerShell → rebooted
Error persists
Performed full clean reinstall: cleared %APPDATA%\Claude and %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude, uninstalled, rebooted, reinstalled
Error still persists — %APPDATA%\Claude folder is never created after launch

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.71 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

This appears to be the same app-side detection bug reported in #27316, #29532, #27384, #27350, and #30997. The common thread across all reports: system-level virtualization is confirmed working, but Claude Desktop fails to detect it and never attempts VM initialization.

GitHub Bug Report - Cowork Virtualization Not Available.pdf

View original on GitHub ↗

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