Solved Win11 VM - No Sound - NOT an office/network environment - home apartment

Hello,

Windows Version:



I am working on a personal project that will have me setting up multiple VMs. I have already figured out how to build the VMs and install Win11 Home successfully and get them connected to the internet and to my NAS drive. My project will have these machines ALL running Win11 HOME WITHOUT ACTIVATING ANY OF THEM. I do not have the financial resources (and for the project it is for it is not worth the investment) to pay money to waste them for multiple VMs that are ONLY for a personal project and nothing else. That said, here's the problem I need help with. I need all the VMs to be capable of having sound playback. I got my first VM setup and running tonight and discovered that it cannot playback any sound and when I checked the device manager I discovered that there are no audio devices installed at all.



I did some research and found information on what is called "Enhanced Mode" for VMs but that is a NO GO because the machines will never be running any activated versions of Win11 let alone the Win11 Pro that is also needed for enhanced mode. I checked it out all the way through to researching the "VMConnect" app and "Remote Desktop" services/app and that is how I found out that although my host machine is a legitimate, activated Win11 Pro and can do the VMConnect and Remote Desktop the VMs cannot do either because of the no activation and being home not pro.



Can anyone please help me firure out how to get audio to play on the VMs?



Thank you.



Sincerely,

WonderWoman

I'll start by saying that I am hesitant to help in a situation where someone specifically notes that they have no intention of activation their copy of Windows.

I'll approach this from the assumption that

1) This is a short term test (say under 30 days).
or
2) That you could use an eval version for your testing.

First, I should note that activation on the VM clients has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Remote audio can be played without activation on the VMs. However, an Enhanced Session is required to play audio remotely.

Since this presumably just for testing purposes anyway, why not install the Pro version of Windows?

Or do I have this backwards? Are you saying that the host computer is running Home and not Pro?

Thank you for replying. The physical machine is a laptop that is 1.5 years old and is an MSI Katana GF 66 and it is running windows 11 pro fully activated. All virtual machines will be running windows 11 home, but if there is an option to redo the operating system as pro, which I don’t think will make much of a difference because to access the features that might enable sound if it Hass to go through the enhanced connection will not work because the enhanced connections and remote desktop require that the OS be activated and be pro not home. This will be a limited personal project. The reason why I made the statement about activation being a factor is exactly because of everything. I was reading right off Microsoft own learning website that was describing that in order to use the enhanced connection feature that requires that the OSB both pro and activated. There has to be a way to enable sound on a virtual machine without needing the enhanced connection, which would enable enhance sharing of the sound devices on the physical machine through to the virtual machine. A friend of mine, who uses VirtualBox said that there are some settings for VirtualBox, where you just have to go in and enable the sound feature. I am wondering if there is someplace that I am overlooking in the settings of either, the hyper V environment or on the specific individual virtual machines that I can go in and put a checkmark in enable audio? If there is no way to do it that way is there an alternate way that doesn’t put me through needing anything to do with remote desktop or remote virtual machine desktop, which are two related but different apps within windows, Pro ? If there’s no way to set up audio on a Hyper-v virtual machine, then that’s gonna be a bit of a hangup because when I was going to school a couple years ago, and I was not on windows 11 yet that I remember, there was an “allergy” (that’s how I describe it), or an incompatibility between the windows, virtual environment, and VMware‘s VirtualBox. Granted it has been a couple of years, but at the time the teacher at my school, which was a tech school told me I have to pretty much got the machine dig out all the virtualization from windows in order to get the VM VirtualBox installed and I really don’t wanna be doing that but it has been a couple of years since that happened. So lots of updates and changes since then.

Thank you for the help.

Sincerely,

WonderWoman

As noted, activation has nothing to do with it. I just installed Win 11 Pro in Hyper-V, NOT activated, and sound works fine.

I cannot comment on Virtual Box since I have not used it, but I know that with some hypervisors sound will work. Vmware Workstation is an example of one.

I have the enhanced session enabled but there is still entries for enabling sound to play......there are zero entries in the Device Manager for everything to do with audio......I will try to create a Win11 Pro machine and see if that helps....I think that Pro vs. Home might be the issue holding my sound ability back. Thank you for your suggestion. I didn't think there was any ability to install any version of W11 Pro when choosing to NOT activate it.

When you connect to the remote system, make sure that you check the settings for your connection like this:

Hello,

I finally got my sitaution with not being able to run/use the "enhanced connection" settings which turned out to be purely because I was trying to run the enhanced connection using Win11 Home and not Pro. Once I created a new Gen2 VM and installed Win11 Pro I was able to enable the enhanced connection option to share my audio & displays.

The problem I am now experiencing is that I cannot log into Win11 Pro on the VM with the enhanced option enabled. I get a screen with no functionality as in it has a background log in screen image/picture but zero functionality and not even the time on the screen. I cannot click on the screen and get the login screen to open; it is dead in the water/frozen. I am able to log in successfully but only when I turn off the enhanced feature. I therefore cannot test out if the enhanced feature is working to allow me to play sound on the VM.

I have a couple of questions about the Remote Desktop Connection window that you showed me. First I was only able to get that window to open ONLY the first time I connected to the VM after getting Win11 Pro installed, but that was through the Hypervisor console. After setting the options the first time when I clicked the connect button I get the machine immediately coming up I do NOT get the "connections window". How do I get that to come up again any time I want it to come up? Additionally the "connect" window that came up the first time through the Hypervisor console is not the one that you show in your reply. I do know how to get that window to open and I have it pinned to my taskbar for easy access. My next question is that during my research which educated me about the enhanced connection feature it showed me a separate login window specifically for connecting to a VM (see images). What are the differences between the two? Are they interchangeable? Which am I supposed to use to connect to a VM that is NOT in a server environment? The VM Connection window gives me problems with connecting to any VM (I have two built on my laptop - the original Win11 Home and this new Win11 Pro) and it gives me an error message about the "Local Host" (see rectangle in image). When I drop down the top list I have my laptop's name but even selecting that name doesn't fix the error message. What is that and how do I get access to the local host that it is referencing? I tried taking up ownership of what I think was the local host but it had no effect on the error message. When I select the name of the laptop (MSI) it shows "<Error Loading Virtual Machines>" and no machines show up..........It does not even give me the option to browse for the machines......This is in regards to the "Virtual Machine Connection" window not the RDC.

You need to connect to the name or IP address of the virtual machine, not localhost. Localhost would imply that you are trying to connect to the HOST machine rather than the GUEST virtual machine.

EDIT: For clarification, on the first screenshot that you have (Remote Desktop Connection), supply the name of the VM machine. You will also need to supply credentials to that machine and Remote Desktop needs to be enabled in Settings (it is disabled by default).

WonderWoman said:

I did some research and found information on what is called "Enhanced Mode" for VMs but that is a NO GO because the machines will never be running any activated versions of Win11 let alone the Win11 Pro that is also needed for enhanced mode.....

Can anyone please help me firure out how to get audio to play on the VMs?

Click to expand...

Basically, with Hyper-V you can't get sound in the guest OS unless it is a Pro version.

To get sound for a Home guest you need stop using Hyper-V and use something else. You can have sound if you use VirtualBox to make your VMs.

WonderWoman said:

I cannot log into Win11 Pro on the VM with the enhanced option enabled. I get a screen with no functionality as in it has a background log in screen image/picture but zero functionality and not even the time on the screen. I cannot click on the screen and get the login screen to open; it is dead in the water/frozen. I am able to log in successfully but only when I turn off the enhanced feature. I therefore cannot test out if the enhanced feature is working to allow me to play sound on the VM.

Click to expand...

That is a known issue, and has a very simple solution....

The problem is, that Enhanced Mode in Hyper-V is based on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), basically exactly the same than a remote desktop connection. RDP requires a password sign-in, it does not accept PIN. As W11 OOBE / setup, when user uses an MS account, requires user to create a PIN, and enforces Windows Hello at sign-in by default, Hyper-V VM enhanced mode sign-in fails, only showing an empty screen.....

The solution really is simple. Sign in once in normal mode, disable Windows Hello enforcement, and switch to enhanced mode. Sign-in screen will be shown, and user can sign in to VM with password.

Click to expand...

Trying to install Windows 11 in Hyper-V problem - post #9

Your login problem is because Windows hello is enabled with a PIN for logons. Disable Windows hello and go back to a straight password and your blank screen issue will be fixed.

Another way to accomplish the same thing if you are trying to access that VM from your Host machine on which the VM is located...

Open the Hyper-V manager and double-click the name of the VM.



Click "Start"



On the next screen, you can either click on "Connect" or dismiss the screen. If you dismiss it, then you are bypassing Enhanced Mode. If you click on "Connect" then you are connecting in Enhanced Mode.



Note that in order for this to work, settings must allow an Enhanced Mode connection like this...

BINGO!!!! Finally got the sound working on the VM!!! A friend of mine found a video that detailed the exact steps about the Windows Hello being the interfering problem and followed the steps and got it working. I need to read things better because whereas I was following the steps to remove the Windows Hello, I was not truly paying attention to the fact that it was NOT looking for me to enter the PIN I created in order to allow for the removal it was looking for the full blown PW for my Microsoft account. When I entered that PW it allowed me to remove the Windows Hello credentials. I now have the sound working on the VM.

Two follow up questions:

1) How do I get that initial VM connector box to come up? It comes up for me ONLY the first time I connect to the VM for it's maiden launch and then after that when I start the machine and click on "connect" in the Hypervisor Console it goes straight into the machine window and doesn't give me this box:



2) Is it possible to duplicate and simply rename VMs so that you don't have to go through repeated VM creation steps including installing the OS? If yes, how do I do that please?

WonderWoman said:

BINGO!!!! Finally got the sound working on the VM!!! A friend of mine found a video that detailed the exact steps about the Windows Hello being the interfering problem and followed the steps and got it working. I need to read things better because whereas I was following the steps to remove the Windows Hello, I was not truly paying attention to the fact that it was NOT looking for me to enter the PIN I created in order to allow for the removal it was looking for the full blown PW for my Microsoft account. When I entered that PW it allowed me to remove the Windows Hello credentials. I now have the sound working on the VM.

Click to expand...

Congratulations....

WonderWoman said:

Two follow up questions:

1) How do I get that initial VM connector box to come up? It comes up for me ONLY the first time I connect to the VM for it's maiden launch and then after that when I start the machine and click on "connect" in the Hypervisor Console it goes straight into the machine window....

Click to expand...

At the top of the VM's window select View and untick Enhanced session. Next time you start up the VM you'll see the connect box again.

WonderWoman said:

2) Is it possible to duplicate and simply rename VMs so that you don't have to go through repeated VM creation steps including installing the OS? If yes, how do I do that please?

Click to expand...

You want to look at using differencing disks. That way you can have one parent disk, installed and set up to suit your your needs and write protected so it never changes. Then you could use it as the parent for multiple child disks, one for each new VM you want to create. It may be useful for your purposes to have the parent disk at the stage where the OOBE has yet to be run, then each child disk would be a VM that's ready to run its OOBE setup for the first time.

A virtual machine using Differencing Disks is stored on two separate virtual hard disks. The Parent Disk contains the basic Windows installation, and the Child Disk all user settings, data, customizations and so on. Parent Disk can be write protected, and used as parent for multiple child disks.

Click to expand...

Thank you for that information regarding helping me learn how to create multiple virtual Client machines, or virtual workstations whatever the proper term is with the least amount of work to create multiple machines. I am truly enjoying learning all this, even though I am hitting snags I am learning so much from hitting those roadblocks. I truly appreciate all of the help. I’m getting here.

WonderWoman said:

I am truly enjoying learning all this, even though I am hitting snags I am learning so much from hitting those roadblocks. I truly appreciate all of the help. I’m getting here.

Click to expand...

I learned everything I know about Hyper-V VM's from the other members both here and on the sister-site Ten Forums. It's only fair that I pass that on

Kari's tutorials on Ten Forums are a goldmine of information. See the list of related tutorials at the bottom of this one:

Follow up question to the information you provided about hyper V and differencing discs and child discs. When doing it that way I can multiple.VMs be run simultaneously off of the one build?

WonderWoman said:

Follow up question to the information you provided about hyper V and differencing discs and child discs. When doing it that way I can multiple.VMs be run simultaneously off of the one build?

Click to expand...

You can run as many VM's concurrently as your system hardware can handle.-- even the same build and it's easy if you install as vhdx files . E.g here I've got 2 Win 11 Pro canary builds -- one in ENG and other in ISL, a Windows 11 pro dev build and an evaluation (free 180 day) version of Windows 2022 LTSC server.

If you install identical copies of Windows in a VM via say cloning then the GUUID of the partitions will be identical so at boot time the poor boot loader will get its knickers in a twist and won't be able to select the appropriate system.

You can still run either one but will have to enter the computers virtual bios to choose the right one. A way round that is to use a partition manager to change the partition guuids and re-install the bootloader.

The problem though with running concurrent identical Windows builds as VM's is that you won't be able to pass thru any hardware so you will have to have 100% "paravirtualisation" which isn't the most efficient way of running VM's.

In this case I've found it easier to run any of these from a SINGLE VM (easier maintenance etc and I don't usually run this stuff concurrently). In your case just make separate VM's.



As for SOUND on a VM -- if the HOST machine doesn't have a sound card or sound isn't working on the HOST then you won't get sound on the VM if you are logged on to the VM on the HOST itself. This could be the case with some non Windows NAS boxes.

Ensure that sound works on the Host and set in the VM's config the appropriate driver for the "Virtual hardware".

If you are logging into your VM from a remote laptop / other computer then provided you are playing audio content (with or without video) then as pointed out by previous posters enable sound via the options in Remote desktop on your remote machine.

You can also use a cheap USB->Audio out on the GUEST but that can only be run on 1 VM even if several are running.

cheers
jimbo

WonderWoman said:

Follow up question to the information you provided about hyper V and differencing discs and child discs. When doing it that way I can multiple.VMs be run simultaneously off of the one build?

Click to expand...

The parent disk never gets altered, all the changes are stored in the child disk. So there is no reason why you cannot run multiple VMs simultaneously, each with its own child disk, all with the same parent disk. Here it is in action, two VMs sharing a common Parent and running simultaneously.





The only limit to the number of VMs you could run would be the available RAM in the Host machine. Each VM requires its own share of the physical memory. Assuming you assign 4GB RAM to each VM then with the 32GB in your profile specs you could run seven VMs (not eight, your Host machine needs its own 4GB).

Bree said:

The parent disk never gets altered, all the changes are stored in the child disk. So there is no reason why you cannot run multiple VMs simultaneously, each with its own child disk, all with the same parent disk. Here it is in action, two VMs sharing a common Parent and running simultaneously.

Click to expand...

That is correct. The parent disc is read only, and then each VM has it's own unique differencing disk where the changes for that particular VM are stored. This method saves a lot of disk space.

Bree said:

The only limit to the number of VMs you could run would be the available RAM in the Host machine. Each VM requires its own share of the physical memory. Assuming you assign 4GB RAM to each VM then with the 32GB in your profile specs you could run seven VMs (not eight, your Host machine needs its own 4GB).

Click to expand...

With dynamic RAM enabled, most VM's will give back RAM to the host when it's not needed...so you can theoretically even run more than math would indicate. Most VM's aren't working hard simultaneously, so this works.