How to Enable Nested Virtualization on Hyper-V, VMware, and VirtualBox
Run VMs inside VMs by exposing hardware virtualization to guest machines.
Overview
Nested virtualization lets a virtual machine itself run a hypervisor and its own VMs — useful for labs, testing, and WSL2/containers inside a VM. This guide shows how to enable it on Hyper-V, VMware Workstation, and VirtualBox.
Nested virtualization on Hyper-V, VMware, and VirtualBox.
Key Takeaways
- Nested virtualization exposes VT-x/AMD-V to the guest VM.
- The host CPU and hypervisor must support it.
- Enable it per-VM (often while the VM is powered off).
- Needed for running Hyper-V/WSL2 inside a VM.
Prerequisites
- A CPU with hardware virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) enabled in BIOS.
- A hypervisor version that supports nesting.
- The guest VM powered off before changing settings.
Enable on Hyper-V
1. Power off the target VM.
2. On the host, open PowerShell as administrator.
3. Run: Set-VMProcessor -VMName "YourVM" -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true
4. Start the VM; it can now run its own hypervisor.
Enable on VMware Workstation
1. Power off the VM.
2. Open VM > Settings > Processors.
3. Tick "Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI".
4. Save and start the VM.
Enable on VirtualBox
1. Power off the VM.
2. Open the VM’s Settings > System > Processor (or use VBoxManage).
3. Tick "Enable Nested VT-x/AMD-V".
4. Alternatively run: VBoxManage modifyvm "YourVM" --nested-hw-virt on
5. Start the VM.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Option is greyed out / disabled.
Solution: Ensure the VM is powered off and the host CPU has VT-x/AMD-V enabled in BIOS.
Problem: Guest hypervisor won’t start.
Solution: Confirm nesting is enabled for that exact VM and the host hypervisor version supports it.
Problem: Conflicts with Hyper-V on the host.
Solution: On Windows hosts, Hyper-V/WSL2 can claim virtualization — check that your third-party hypervisor supports coexistence or use Hyper-V nesting.
Problem: Performance is poor.
Solution: Nested VMs are slower by nature — allocate enough CPU/RAM and avoid deep nesting.
Conclusion
Nested virtualization is enabled per-VM: a PowerShell command for Hyper-V, a processor checkbox in VMware, and a setting/VBoxManage flag in VirtualBox. Ensure hardware virtualization is on and the VM is powered off, and you can run hypervisors inside your VMs.
