monitor_control.disable_directexec = "TRUE" can slow down your VM significantly. Use it only as a last resort. Chapter 5: Alternative Fix – Using VMware Unlocker Tools For users who are not comfortable editing .vmx files manually, there are community tools that automate the process. What is VMware Unlocker? Originally created to run macOS on VMware, some forks include scripts to “de-vmware” a virtual machine by patching the VMX binary and the guest’s registry.
# Disable hypervisor CPUID leaf hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = "FALSE" cpuid.coresPerSocket = "1" Remove hypervisor bit from CPUID cpuid.1.ecx = "0:---:-:----:----:----:----:----:--0:----" cpuid.80000001.ecx = "0:----:----:----:----:----:----:----:----" Additional isolation flags monitor_control.disable_directexec = "TRUE" prefvmx.minVmMemPct = "100" winols 451 vmware fix
In many cases, the error 451 will now disappear. Chapter 4: Advanced Fix – Hardware Agnostic Mode If the basic .vmx edits don’t work, WinOLS 451 might still be detecting VMware via the CPUID instruction. You need hardware-agnostic masking . Additional .vmx Parameters Add these lines to your .vmx file: monitor_control
If you still experience issues, consider switching to with VBoxVGA graphics and disabling the Guest Additions – but the community generally agrees that VMware Workstation with the above patches offers the best stability for ECU tuning workflows. What is VMware Unlocker
(Notepad, Notepad++, or VS Code).
# Disable VMware backdoor I/O port isolation.tools.setVersion.disable = "TRUE" isolation.tools.getVersion.disable = "TRUE" monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = "TRUE" smbios.reflectHost = "TRUE" hw.model = "MacBookPro11,3" bios.vendor = "American Megatrends Inc." bios.version = "5.11" Disable VMware-specific CPUID cpuid.1.ecx = "0:----:---:---:----:----:----:----:----" cpuid.1.edx = "---:----:---:----:----:----:----:----:----" Hide VMware from DMI/SMBIOS tables SMBIOS.noOEMStrings = "TRUE" mce.enable = "TRUE" Fake disk and network vendor strings disk.enableUUID = "FALSE" ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"
If you are seeing error code , a “License not found” message, or a crash on startup inside VMware Workstation or VMware ESXi, you have encountered the classic WinOLS 451 anti-VM protection .