[BUG] Cowork "Virtualization is not available" on Windows 11 Pro — VM bundle never downloads, no logs generated

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?

Cowork tab shows "Virtualization is not available — Claude's workspace requires Virtual Machine Platform, but the virtualization service isn't responding." Restarting does not resolve it. The %APPDATA%\Claude folder is never created, the VM bundle never downloads, and no logs are generated at any point. CoworkVMService and vmcompute are both confirmed running.

What Should Happen?

Cowork should detect that all virtualization features are enabled, download the VM bundle, and successfully initialize the workspace.

Error Messages/Logs

"Virtualization is not available — Claude's workspace requires Virtual Machine Platform, but the virtualization service isn't responding. Restart your computer to resolve this."
No logs exist — %APPDATA%\Claude folder is never created.

Steps to Reproduce

Install Claude Desktop v1.2.234.0 on Windows 11 Pro (upgraded from Home)
Enable Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform via Windows Features
Confirm CoworkVMService and vmcompute are Running
Confirm bcdedit hypervisorlaunchtype is set to Auto
Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Cowork tab
Observe "Virtualization is not available" error
Check %APPDATA%\Claude — folder does not exist, VM bundle never downloaded

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.2.234.0 (Claude Desktop, not Claude Code CLI)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Upgraded from Windows 11 Home to Pro specifically to resolve this issue — did not help
Full uninstall and clean reinstall performed (AppData cleared before reinstall)
Claude Desktop set to run as Administrator
All system-level virtualization checks pass: VM Monitor Mode Extensions: Yes, hypervisorlaunchtype: Auto
Network connectivity to claude.ai confirmed (TcpTestSucceeded: True)
Related issues: #25136, #27316, #27420, #29887, #32004