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SPMSFT's avatar
SPMSFT
Copper Contributor
Apr 26, 2025

Turning on Windows Sandbox feature hangs

I just got a new Dell machine with Windows 11 Pro installed on it. I wanted use the machine with Virtual Machines as well as Windows Sandbox feature. When I enable Hyper-V feature, the reboot works f...
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WolfGangg's avatar
WolfGangg
Iron Contributor
Dec 19, 2025

This is a common Windows virtualization setup issue, not a hardware failure.

Before reinstalling Windows, try these quick fixes:

1. Check BIOS settings
Make sure VT-x/AMD-V and VT-d/IOMMU are enabled. Use UEFI, not Legacy boot.

2. Enable all required Windows features together
In Windows Features, enable:

  • Hyper-V
  • Windows Sandbox
  • Virtual Machine Platform
  • Windows Hypervisor Platform

3. Update BIOS and chipset drivers
Do this from Dell’s support site, not Windows Update.

4. Temporarily turn off Memory Integrity
Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation → Memory integrity → OFF
Reboot, then enable Sandbox again.

5. Enable Sandbox first, Hyper-V second
The order sometimes matters and avoids the “stuck at 100%” issue.

If it still freezes, an in-place repair install of Windows 11 (using the ISO) usually fixes it without wiping your data.

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