How to enable TPM 2.0 support in VMware Workstation Player for free
It can be quite a hassle to upgrade your main computer to Windows 11, just to roll back to Windows 10. The best way to find out if you will like Windows 11, is by testing it first hand, on a virtual machine. We showed you ways to download the ISO, how to bypass the TPM restrictions, etc.
Last week, I wanted to try the latest build that was released to the Windows Insider Program, to try and see if there were some workarounds for some issues in it. But I had trouble enrolling into the Preview Program, because the guest operating system failed the requirement check, since my virtual machine does not have TPM.
I had faced a similar issue before the stable version of Windows 11 was released, and used the free trial of VMware Workstation Pro to bypass the issue, since it had an option to enable TPM 2.0 support. The free version of the software does not have that. There is a way to fix this.
Note: Please do not try this with an existing virtual machine, as it may corrupt it. I'd also advise taking a backup of your data before you delete the current VM, to make space for a new one.
A tweet posted by Michael Roy, a VMWare Product Manager, confirmed that users of the free VMWare Workstation can enable TPM, with a simple tweak. The option works with VMWare Workstation Player 16.2 and above, which you can download from the official website.
How to enable TPM 2.0 support in VMware Workstation Player for free
1. Create a new guest OS in VMware Workstation Player. Don't install Windows 11 just yet.
2. Exit the program, and navigate to the folder which has your virtual machine's settings, and look for the .VMX file. Open it with a text editor like Notepad, and add the following line to it.
managedvm.autoAddVTPM = "software"
Save the document and close the text editor. This flag, enables TMP 2.0 in VMware Workstation Player, without encrypting the VM completely. According to the tweet, the VM is encrypted partially without a password, which should offer better performance than a full encrypted copy of the virtual machine.
3. Start the application, and install Windows 11 normally. You may use Window Insider Preview ISOs too.
If you shut down the operating system, and run VMware Workstation Player again, you will see a padlock icon next to the OS indicating that it encrypted. Access the virtual machine's settings, and it will list TPM as an option, though you can't edit it with the free version of the application. If you want further confirmation that TPM is working correctly, install and run the PC Health Check app in your VM, and it should no longer say that your computer doesn't support TPM 2.0.
How to disable side channel mitigations in VMware Player
On a side note, VMware Player recently started displaying a warning on my computer. It said that there maybe some performance degradation with side channel mitigations enabled. (Reference: Support page)
I'm not really sure if it has something to do with the Trial version of the Pro variant that I had been using, so I ignored it and tried using the VM, but it was really slow and simple actions like opening files took a long time to complete. It turns out the message about side channel mitigation appears when Hyper-V is enabled in the host, Windows. The support article mentions an option that you can toggle, but it seems to be exclusive to the Workstation Pro version. The option can be found here: Edit Virtual Machine Settings > Options >Advanced >Settings.
A solution for this issue was available at the company's community forums. If you are using the free version of VMWare Workstation Player, you can edit your VMX file to add the following line to it.
ulm.disableMitigations="TRUE"
Setting that option to true fixed the lags I had in the Windows 11 virtual machine., so try that to see if it helps you.
There is not still W11 23H2 and these instructions are nonsense by now. :[
It worked for me just fine. You’re probably not following the instructions clearly.
Just tried the password option and the OOBE option and didnt work.
Worked perfectly. Thank OP.
Worked perfectly for me just now. Specifically, the regedit option.
Is this cut and paste from a Microsoft PR paper, because it 1000% BS:
“By listening to user insights, Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to refining the Windows experience based on real-world needs.”
Windows 11 is proof they don’t give a s*it.
Worked for me just now
I agree! Windows 11 was a downgrade to me and I kept all 8 computers in our family on Windows 10 as a result. They didn’t listen to any customers. The taskbar was THE main reason I stayed away from Windows 11. With 6 monitors, it is impossible to navigate so many browser tabs, without the feature. I will try the new version in the virtual box to see if it is worth it yet.
Microsoft did a terrible job with this implementation.
They simply need to employ the creator of StartAllBack to fix Windows. He is smarter and more talented than the entire campus of Microsoft employees.
lol
Thank you so much! I work in IT and this is extremely useful information!
Thanks man. The second method worked great!
I used the second method, and i got exactly what i expected.
Using the Bypass 2: Use a banned email address email worked fantastically as I had gone to far to use the bypass 1.
I will be back when I next have a problem.
Keep you the great work
W11 File Explorer is the worst crap ever done. W11 is the biggest shame ever.
Just one more reason for me to go to Linux when Windows 10 ages out.
@ MarineRecon,
Be careful which Linux distro you choose. Some of them don’t include the Wayland protocol which is a security issue i.e. apps can copy, paste and inject data without user interaction.
It’s included in Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/system-administrators-guide/Wayland/
How about a DARK MODE for your website? That would be oh so nice.
Something like this : [https://img.justpaste.me/image/8617] maybe?
Done with ‘Dark Reader Extension for ? Firefox’ [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/darkreader/]
This comment was written on [https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-installation-has-failed-how-to-fix-this-upgrade-error/#comment-4573155}
Definitely NOT! Once you get older and your eyesight starts to fail you’ll positively loathe dark mode.
Not sure what eye problems *you’re* having, but for me the exact opposite is true. Dark Mode is MUCH easier on my Eyes.
BTW- I’m 52, and have worked in IT all my life. Been staring at monitors for hours each day, most days of the week since the late 1980’s.
Microsoft completely ruined File Explorer by converting to XAML/WinUI/whatever new bloated modern garbage. Its worse than it ever was.
i tested it on win10 current edition. speeds up explorer like a charm
SO what is the priority numbers to give preference to ethernet over wireless?
Worked very well happy to have Windows Photo Viewer back in action in Windows-11
Worked for me (registry option) thank god, I can use the search option to find things on my computer again. Thank you so much!
Install Everything Search and dispense with Microsoft’s crappy search tool. https://www.voidtools.com/
Martin wrote an article on it: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/09/add-everything-search-to-the-windows-taskbar-for-even-faster-searches/
I presume the text “WindowsCopilot,,” is a typographical error (2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/). The broken comment system unfortunately looks like it is populating itself via AI autopilot.
Hopefully, this Windows Copilot nonsense fails even more spectacularly than Cortana. Who requested this? We want all of the UX features removed back in 11, not this copilot nonsense.
I really don’t mind all of these Windows enhancement but Microsoft get one thing very wrong. ‘Opt in’, is far better than seek information and work to disable.
Turn off Windows Copilot entirely is not good enough.
How to uninstall Copilot entirely ?
@ ilev,
Use Gpedit or the registry. Explained in this article: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/
With that snake oil salesman Panos gone, hopefully Windows can return to a normal desktop operating system without all the insanity it has right now in Windows 11.
Can we please stop being ‘politically correct’ (lying) and call them ads again instead of ‘suggestions’?
@ Martin,
Does your gpedit hack also turn off all the other “subscribed content” shown in the registry screenshot? Do you happen to know what all those are?
Thank you, I used the fake email option, it worked great.
I wish I had read this article a few months ago, as I purchased two refurbished Windows 10 Pro PCs to replace two older ones. The 1st one I entered an existing Microsoft account I had and it imediately setup OneDrive, adding it to the path names for the common folders such as Documents, Music, video, etc. I tried to just disable OneDrive but then had odd problems finding my data copied from another older PC. long story short I was able to remove all the entries from the registry after un-installing OneDrive.
The second refurbished PC I didn’t connect the WiFi adapter so during installation I was able to click on the no Internet option. Basically I did as you suggested above; set up a local login, disabled OneDrive from running on bootup, and eventually unInstalled it. No problems with folder paths, etc.
The registry option worked for me, but only me, not any other users. How do I make this apply to all users? Yes, I have admin rights.