Is Virtualbox incompatible with Hyper-V in Windows 10?

Question

This question is not related to How to select paravirtualization interface in virtual box

In Virtualbox 5.1.x I saw various paravirtualization options in the "Acceleration" tab of my VM settings.

I remembered Windows 10 did not install Hyper-V, so I went to "Add remove program features" (or similar) in the Control Panel and I checked the box for Hyper-V.

After two reboots I went into VBox and the Acceleration tab is completely disabled.

Is it an expected behavior? would Hyper-V work also without the Hyper-V components from Microsoft?

Answer 1

VirtualBox 5.x cannot run if you are using HyperV virtual machines. Basically, both systems try to get exclusive access to the virtualization capabilities in the CPUs (e.g., the Intel VT-x extensions). HyperV, that runs below the Windows Operating System, gets the access first and impedes VirtualBox uses that capabilities.

You may check more information:

• Why VirtualBox or VMware can not run with Hyper-V enabled Windows 10
• Switch easily from VirtualBox to Hyper-V

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UPDATE (10/03/2019): VirtualBox 6.0 has an experimental feature to work when Hyper-V is running. Basically, VirtualBox detects Hyper-V and executes the virtual machines using the Hyper-V capabilities.

• I had mixed experiences using VirtualBox 6.0 on Hyper-V: I had two computers where the VirtualBox works without problems, but another machine where the virtual machines froze after boot.