Solved Windows 11 and Hyper V enhanced session.

johnlgalt · Jun 20, 2021

That's really weird then. Enhanced mode will show me nothing but the accessibility and power button on the lower right, everything else is missing, except for the desktop backkground.

felixretama · Aug 22, 2021

Connect with basic session and change the screen resolution inside the VM, in my case is 1980 X 1080, this should work . If you try to activate enhanced session it won't work, the only thing you will see is the background , nothing else. I had the same issue with a Linux VM running in hyper-V, enhanced mode simply doesn't work!

cereberus · Aug 23, 2021

felixretama said:
Connect with basic session and change the screen resolution inside the VM, in my case is 1980 X 1080, this should work . If you try to activate enhanced session it won't work, the only thing you will see is the background , nothing else. I had the same issue with a Linux VM running in hyper-V, enhanced mode simply doesn't work!

Linux VMs will only work in basic mode as they do not natively support RDP as a servrer. It is possible to run xrdp to Ubuntu (and sound) and it will run in enhanced mode.

How to get sound on Ubuntu in Hyper-V

One of the weaknesses of Hyper-V is that you cannot get sound unless VM has an RDP server. Ubuntu can now be installed with XRDP enabling enhanced mode. There are many web guides how to install Ubuntu in enhanced mode e.g. How to Enable Hyper-V Enhanced Session for Ubuntu 20.04 VMs...

www.elevenforum.com

barman58 · Aug 23, 2021

I had similar issues and assumed it was just my use of 4K monitors confusing Windows 10 as it always seems too , may give this a go for future use, though I got round my issues by using Windows to Go and a USB NVME drive - Thanks to Rufus that still allows building a WtG setup from an ISO

cereberus · Aug 23, 2021

Kari said:

Kari said:
John, I have Windows Hello enabled in all my virtual machines. If you add yourself on VM to Remote Desktop Users group in Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) > Users > [username] > Member of, you should be able to use enhanced session:

View attachment 237

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Click screenshots to enlarge.

Of course, as RDP does not allow Windows Hello, it will be disabled for your enhanced session and you must sign in with password, but in any case you do not have to disable Hello.

Kari

I have just tried that on a W11 VM and it does not work but interestingly, in basic mode I can login with PIN.

cereberus · Aug 23, 2021

I have done a bit more testing as it would not work with a Windows 10 VM either with myself added to remote desktop users group.

I added the VHD to natively boot from Host and made sure Windows Hello was off, then I ran netplwiz, unchecked box requiring password, entered password twice, and then reenabled Windows Hello.

I then rebooted into my Host OS, and ran HyperV with the same VHD, and it boots into Windows in enhanced mode. I still need to enter password of course, but it no longer hangs.

Of course, if you use netplwiz, you rather defeat point of a PIN.

I have still to find a 100% satisfactory solution setup to use a PIN on Host, but password on VM in enhanced mode.

In short, I can only get it working in enhanced mode, with Windows Hello on, with netplwiz to autologin.

johnlgalt · Aug 23, 2021

I'll definitely be interested if this can be solved once and for all without the need for all these work-arounds.

pparks1 · Aug 30, 2021

The reason that I am using Hyper-V on Windows 10+, rather than alternatives like VMWare or Virtualbox is that I want/need to use Docker Desktop and WSL2. These 2 components require the Windows virtualization platform. Not exactly Hyper-V...but "enough" of Hyper V that when I attempt to launch a VM under Virtubox, I get the "Green Turtle" icon. Any VM's that I run under Virtulbox runs like...well....turtles. They are unusably slow.

Therefore, I have had to just accept using Hyper-V and I have successfully moved over to it on Windows 10+. While there are many things I don't love about Hyper-V, for my needs, it gets the job done. I have 0 needs to run any WIndows XP environments for anything, so that makes absolutely no difference to me. As long as modern server OS's work, (both Windows and Linux), the things that I want to test or experiment with in a virtualized environment are achieved.

cereberus · Aug 30, 2021

johnlgalt said:
I'll definitely be interested if this can be solved once and for all without the need for all these work-arounds.

I do not think there is an answer regrettably until MS make changes.

johnlgalt · Aug 31, 2021

cereberus said:
I do not think there is an answer regrettably until MS make changes.

Yeah, that is what I was implying.

Kari · Aug 31, 2021

Geeks, I really do understand that some users have issues with Hyper-V in general, and enhanced mode in particular. I just want to say, that I have never had a single issue with enhanced mode. Not in Windows 8 / 8.1, not in WIndows 10, not in Windows 11.

It works perfectly for me.

Kari

johnlgalt · Aug 31, 2021

I wonder if local account versus Microsoft account is the base reason for this particular issue?

Kari · Aug 31, 2021

johnlgalt said:
I wonder if local account versus Microsoft account is the base reason for this particular issue?

I am, and have always been using a "hybrid" account, a local account with full MS account integration.

Add Microsoft account to Local account for Hybrid account in Windows 11 Tutorial

A Microsoft account (MSA) is a good choice if a user wants to use the same account on multiple devices, or wants to make it easy to use all / any Microsoft services. Setting up a preinstalled Windows 10 on a new device, after a clean install, or creating a new user on existing Windows...

www.elevenforum.com

Kari

johnlgalt · Aug 31, 2021

Which could still make a difference versus those of us not using a hybrid, but a direct Microsoft account when installing.

I mean, I tried both in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and Hyper-V machines with me logging in directly to my Microsoft account in Windows 11 guests breaks enhanced session every time.

Or else it is hardware specific, but that doesn't seem to be the case, as it happens on both an old 6th gen Intel mobile CPU and a 2nd gen AMD Ryzen 9 CPU. Completely different hardware all around, one is a laptop and one is a desktop (both listed in my systems below).

Regardless, though, all other guests works with enhanced session - Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and a few iterations of Linux, including Gentoo, KALI, and a generic Sabayon install (now called MoccacinoOS).

cereberus · Aug 31, 2021

johnlgalt said:
Which could still make a difference versus those of us not using a hybrid, but a direct Microsoft account when installing.

I mean, I tried both in Windows 10 and Windows 11, and Hyper-V machines with me logging in directly to my Microsoft account in Windows 11 guests breaks enhanced session every time.

Or else it is hardware specific, but that doesn't seem to be the case, as it happens on both an old 6th gen Intel mobile CPU and a 2nd gen AMD Ryzen 9 CPU. Completely different hardware all around, one is a laptop and one is a desktop (both listed in my systems below).

Regardless, though, all other guests works with enhanced session - Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and a few iterations of Linux, including Gentoo, KALI, and a generic Sabayon install (now called MoccacinoOS).

Yep - installing directly with MS account breaks HyperV enhanced mode until Windows Hello is turned off. I have tried this in AMD and intel pcs and it is always same, so not hardware related.

Use a local account to sign in, no issue.

All the enhanced mode issues started when Windows insisted you enter a PIN at startup.

Then the first time you start windows, enhanced mode hangs. Go to basic mode, and it works, enter password, then you can turn off windows hello. The next time you login, the windows hello option is greyed out.

Now here is where it gets really screwy. Change session to Basic and it asks you to enter PIN even though Windows Hello is turned off which makes no sense at all.

pparks1 · Aug 31, 2021

Yeah, I am running Windows 11 in a VM under Hyper-V on my Windows 10 Pro host and having no problems with Enhanced mode.

I'm on Build 20H2 of Windows. I'm using an AMD Processor.

On my host machine, I am using a local account. My local account is then tied into my Microsoft account so that I can use the Store and OneDrive using that account. I believe this is what Kari refers to as the "hybrid account". I logon with a standard password.

On my windows 11 VM, I am logging into that machine with a local account as well. Using a standard password on this machine too.

johnlgalt · Sep 1, 2021

pparks1 said:
Yeah, I am running Windows 11 in a VM under Hyper-V on my Windows 10 Pro host and having no problems with Enhanced mode.

I'm on Build 20H2 of Windows. I'm using an AMD Processor.

On my host machine, I am using a local account. My local account is then tied into my Microsoft account so that I can use the Store and OneDrive using that account. I believe this is what Kari refers to as the "hybrid account". I logon with a standard password.

On my windows 11 VM, I am logging into that machine with a local account as well. Using a standard password on this machine too.

Exactly. Local account == no issues. Logging in directly with Microsoft account and enhanced session breaks, as excellently explained by cereberus' reply to me:

cereberus said:
Yep - installing directly with MS account breaks HyperV enhanced mode until Windows Hello is turned off. I have tried this in AMD and intel pcs and it is always same, so not hardware related.

Use a local account to sign in, no issue.

All the enhanced mode issues started when Windows insisted you enter a PIN at startup.

Then the first time you start windows, enhanced mode hangs. Go to basic mode, and it works, enter password, then you can turn off windows hello. The next time you login, the windows hello option is greyed out.

Now here is where it gets really screwy. Change session to Basic and it asks you to enter PIN even though Windows Hello is turned off which makes no sense at all.

It seems that using @Kari's hybrid method, in which you start with a local account login, and then attach it to a Microsoft account, is the best way to go forward, as it bypasses the enhanced session bug we encounter because of the initial local login and still retains the benefits of allowing OS backups and file backups via the Microsoft account (and OneDrive). The same as you are doing, as well.

cereberus · Sep 1, 2021

johnlgalt said:
Exactly. Local account == no issues. Logging in directly with Microsoft account and enhanced session breaks, as excellently explained by cereberus' reply to me:

It seems that using @Kari's hybrid method, in which you start with a local account login, and then attach it to a Microsoft account, is the best way to go forward, as it bypasses the enhanced session bug we encounter because of the initial local login and still retains the benefits of allowing OS backups and file backups via the Microsoft account (and OneDrive). The same as you are doing, as well.

Sure but we should not have to use a local login, coupled with logging in to apps with MS account - this is a workaround to what is obviously a bug.

I just want to be able to install with MS and go.

Kari · Sep 6, 2021

Replied to this issue in another thread, I thought I should post it here, too:

banger said:
I am having a problem with this build on a VM. It works find on Hyper-V in 11 in basic mode but as soon as I switch to enhanced mode everything disappears. Anyone know what the problem may be. I can run it fine and log in on basic mode in the VM.

Windows 11 has some new security requirements. It requires UEFI, support for TPM, and a GPT disk, for instance. One of these new security features is, that signing in to Windows 11 with a Microsoft account, Windows Hello (PIN, facial recognition, fingerprint etc.) is enforced by default.

Hyper-V enhanced mode is based on Remote Desktop Protocol, which does not allow Windows Hello. As Windows 11 setup with a Microsoft account forces user to setup a PIN, if you set up a Windows 11 virtual machine in Hyper-V using a Microsoft account, you must first turn Windows Hello enforcement off. This is easy, and only requires a few mouse clicks.

So, when setting up a Windows 11 VM with a Microsoft account, let it boot to desktop after Windows Setup once using the normal, basic mode. Then, turn Windows Hello enforcement off:

That's it. Enhanced mode works now with MS account sign in.

Kari

H20 · Feb 6, 2022

felixretama said:
Connect with basic session and change the screen resolution inside the VM, in my case is 1980 X 1080, this should work . If you try to activate enhanced session it won't work, the only thing you will see is the background , nothing else. I had the same issue with a Linux VM running in hyper-V, enhanced mode simply doesn't work!

@felixretama thanks this trick worked for me