NFS The Run, Win11 and Virtual Machine Platform

[Manticore 3]

I've got a problem with NFS The Run after I upgraded to Windows 11. Whenever I try to start it, the game shows an error "Sorry, this application cannot run under a Virtual Machine".

I see that this problem is not exclusive to this particular game; others report similar issues with different programs and games. The solution is usually to disable Hyper-V and other related Windows features.

For me, disabling Virtual Machine Platform solves the issue, however this also disables WSL2 which I use from time to time (I'm also planning to use WSA when it's released). Is there any way to "hide" Hyper-V from the game without having to disable it each time I want to play it? Or maybe the game can be "cheated" to bypass this VM check somehow?

PS - the computer we're talking about is a physical device, not a virtual machine.

[citybuilders 0]

It may be an annoying solution, but you can create a boot entry without Hyper-V disabled using BCDEdit.

https://www.hanselman.com/blog/switch-easily-between-virtualbox-and-hyperv-with-a-bcdedit-boot-entry-in-windows-81

I did this to be able to run BlueStacks when I had WSL2 enabled. That doesn't feel too necessary to me now that WSA exists as a preview and that the Google Play Store can be used instead of the Amazon Appstore.

The post says that you need to go to Advanced Startup Options to see the boot menu. If this doesn't happen by default, go to the Advanced tab in Advanced System Settings and under Startup and Recovery, check the box next to "Time to display list of operating systems:" and set the number of seconds that you want the list to be displayed.

[emptyend6893 0]

Can you check whether VBS is enabled? Have a look at this link for help: https://beebom.com/how-disable-virtualization-based-security-vbs-windows-11/

[Manticore 3]

citybuilders - thanks, I will use this workaround if I can't find a proper solution 🙂

emptyend6893 - it shows as running in System Information App, but the interesting thing is that Memory Integrity is disabled. I also tried the registry editor trick as well as the Group Policy Editor (I have Win11 Pro) and still VBS seems to be enabled. Is that a Windows 11 bug or am I missing something?

[Manticore 3]

OK guys, I did some more digging and these are my findings.

I think the issue is related to the game's DRM:

- original .exe shows the error mentioned above;

- so does a file called "Ultimate unlocker" - it's essentially a crack which also unlocks the Limited Edition cars and challenge series events; its size is 11,622 kB

- when I use a different cracked .exe (37,146 kB) the game launches fine even with VMP enabled, but the Limited Edition content is locked.

And just to clarify - I have the original copy (boxed, registered on Origin), I only used cracks for the diagnostic purposes.

Does anyone know if there's a way to unlock the Limited Edition content using the 37,146 kB .exe? Or to bypass the VM protection without having to use the crack?

[cuzbabytonight 2]

There is another Limited Edition crack which isn't the Ultimate Unlocker. Try that.

[afsalbaaqir 0]

On 11/4/2021 at 3:28 AM, Manticore said:

I've got a problem with NFS The Run after I upgraded to Windows 11. Whenever I try to start it, the game shows an error "Sorry, this application cannot run under a Virtual Machine".

I see that this problem is not exclusive to this particular game; others report similar issues with different programs and games. The solution is usually to disable Hyper-V and other related Windows features.

For me, disabling Virtual Machine Platform solves the issue, however this also disables WSL2 which I use from time to time (I'm also planning to use WSA when it's released). Is there any way to "hide" Hyper-V from the game without having to disable it each time I want to play it? Or maybe the game can be "cheated" to bypass this VM check somehow?

PS - the computer we're talking about is a physical device, not a virtual machine.

For me it doesn't even work after disabling Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, Windows Virtual Machine Plaform.