How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (2025)

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (1)

A security setting that's on by default in Windows 11 and at least some installs of Windows 10 could be slowing performance in some by as much as 15 percent. Virtualization-based security, aka VBS, allows Windows to create a secure memory enclave that's isolated from unsafe code. Another built-in feature called Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity (HVCI) uses the capabilities of VBS to prevent unsigned or questionable drivers and software from getting into memory. Together VBS and HVCI add a layer of protection that limits how much damage malware can do, even if it gets past your antivirus software.

Unfortunately, VBS and HVCI have a significant performance cost, particularly when it comes to gaming. In our tests, we found that games ran as much as 15 percent slower with these settings on as with them off. This is true whether you're using an old graphics card or even a speedy RTX 4090. It used to be the case that simply upgrading from Windows 10 to 11 would not enable VBS, but lately we've seen it get turned on after updates so you should not assume that it's disabled on your system, even if you had it turned off before.

For most users and applications, the performance deltas with VBS on and off are 5 percent or less and likely not noticeable in everyday tasks such as web browsing or editing documents. However, if you want the best possible performance and are willing to sacrifice an added layer of security, here's how you disable VBS in Windows 11 or 10.

How to Check if VBS is Enabled in Windows 11 or 10

Before you start thinking about turning off VBS, you need to find out if it's on in the first place.

1. Open system information. The easiest way to do that is by searching for "system information" in Windows search and clicking the top result.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (2)

2. Scroll down to find the "Virtualization-based security" row. If it says "running," VBS is enabled. But if it says "not enabled," then you're done.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (3)

How to Disable VBS / HVCI in Windows 11 or 10

1. Search for Core Isolation in Windows search and click the top result.

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How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (4)

2. Toggle Memory Integrity to off, if it was on. If it is not on, skip ahead to step 6.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (5)

3. Reboot your PC as prompted.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (6)

4. Check system info again to see if virtualization-based security is listed as "not enabled." If so, you are done. If not, go to step 6 where you'll disable VBS in the registry.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (7)

5. Open regedit. The easiest way is by hitting Windows + R, entering regedit in the text box and click Ok.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (8)

6. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (9)

7. Open EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity and set it to 0.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (10)

8. Close regedit and reboot your PC.

9. Check system information again to see if Virtualization Based Security is listed as "not enabled."

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (11)

If VBS is still enabled try the method of disabling it below.

How to Disable Windows VBS By Uninstalling Virtual Machine

If you still see that VBS is running, you can get rid of it by uninstalling the "Virtual Machine" feature in Windows. Note, however, that if this is the feature that's enabling VBS for you, losing it may cost you the ability to run Windows Subsystem for Linux. Here's how you do it.

1. Open Turn Windows Features on or Off by searching for it.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (12)

2. Uncheck Virtual machine and click Ok.

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (13)

3. Reboot your PC.

4. Check system information again to make sure virtualization based security is listed as "not enabled."

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (14)

Avram Piltch

Avram Piltch is Tom's Hardware's editor-in-chief. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you'll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test.

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17 CommentsComment from the forums

  • cvzone

    If even the registry setting does not work for you, try "bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off" in cmd as admin.

    PS: If registry settings wont help, there might be an UEFI lock active. Delete secure boot keys, restart Windows and turn off the settings, then set secure boot keys.

    Reply

  • waltc3

    I have it turned off--I wonder if just turning off SVM in the bios would accomplish the same thing...? And yes I have noticed a slight performance uplift with SVM disabled (I don't need it for anything else, atm.) I recall reading awhile back that DeviceGuard is something Microsoft has devised so that Defender and third-party AV programs can run simultaneously without tripping all over each other and generating a lot of false positives and other undesirable things. But as I'm not a big believer in running more than a single (competent) AV program simultaneously, Defender is all I need and seems to be doing a thorough job so far.

    Reply

  • stairmand

    When you install Windows 11 it askes how you would like the PC optimised. (gaming, creative etc) you would think the gaming setting would disable it automatically.

    Reply

  • rassilon007

    cvzone said:

    If even the registry setting does not work for you, try "bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off" in cmd as admin.

    Thank you for this. The options in the article did nothing, as core isolation was disabled and there was no such entry in the registry. Microsoft forced Virtualization on when I tried the Amazon App Store beta and didn't turn it off when the app was removed.

    Reply

  • RodroX

    stairmand said:

    When you install Windows 11 it askes how you would like the PC optimised. (gaming, creative etc) you would think the gaming setting would disable it automatically.

    After this step, you gave Windows the hint to know where and how should focus data collection. (y)

    Reply

  • stairmand said:

    When you install Windows 11 it askes how you would like the PC optimised. (gaming, creative etc) you would think the gaming setting would disable it automatically.

    Why would you think that? VBS is for security, and with all those games with online multiplayer, leaderboards, content sharing, etc. security is the last thing I'd expect to be compromised in a gaming machine.

    Reply

  • kerberos_20

    theres no need to tinker with registry
    you can disable virtualisation in bios or disable hyper-v in BCD, that will disable VBS just fine

    you can also disable it through group policies
    Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Guard\Turn On Virtualization Based Security , set it to disabled there

    Reply

  • umeng2002_2

    Yes, turning off VM extensions in your BIOS will kill this feature.

    Reply

  • Darkbreeze

    Funny, because I just check my three primary machines. One of them was a clean install of Windows 11 about six months ago, one was a clean install of Windows 10 a year ago and the other was a clean install of Windows 10 two years ago but was upgraded to Windows 11 about three months ago. None of them had this enabled. Checked my mom's 2 year Windows 10 installation and it wasn't enabled on there either. Maybe it was only the lab machine that had it enabled. LOL.

    Reply

  • ArtemS

    rassilon007 said:

    Thank you for this. The options in the article did nothing, as core isolation was disabled and there was no such entry in the registry. Microsoft forced Virtualization on when I tried the Amazon App Store beta and didn't turn it off when the app was removed.

    I second this. Also I had to reboot.
    Instantly got my average CPU usage on idle drop from like 25% to 5%.

    Reply

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How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10 (2025)

FAQs

How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11 or 10? ›

To disable VBS, open the start menu and double click “Settings”, type “core isolation” and click in. In this section, you will find the “Memory integrity”. Make sure to turn off the “Memory integrity” and then restart your PC and afterwards the VBS is turned off.

Does disabling VBS increase performance? ›

Not really. VBS offers a good deal of extra protection, and in most cases, you're not going to see more than a five percent increase in performance across Windows and apps. Some users have reported up to 15 percent increases in performance when disabling the feature, although your mileage may vary.

Does Windows 11 VBS affect performance? ›

Testing with the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark showed a small performance difference with VBS on versus off, particularly in CPU-limited scenarios, but the real-world impact was negligible and not noticeable in gameplay. It's generally recommended to leave VBS on for the security benefits.

How do I disable VBScript in Windows 10? ›

If it's Running, you can use the following steps to disable VBS:
  1. Open a command prompt and run it as an admin.
  2. Paste this command and press Enter: bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off.
  3. Restart your computer.
  4. Check msinfo32 again to confirm that Virtualization-based security is Not Running.
Jun 29, 2023

Is VBS enabled by default in Windows 11? ›

VBS/HVCI must be enabled. This should be enabled on Windows 11 or later by default. See Enable virtualization-based protection of code integrity for more information. Windows 11 or later or Windows Server 2019 or later.

Is it safe to turn off VBS in Windows 11? ›

However, when VBS is turned on, it will have some negative effects on PC performance. The vast majority of ordinary users do not actually need VBS protection, so after installing Windows 11 or purchasing a Windows 11 computer, the first thing that must be done is to turn off VBS to improve computer performance.

What does disabling VBS do? ›

Disabling the feature can improve performance -- albeit at the cost of exposing security solutions to vulnerabilities and exploits. Here is the process to disable VBS/HVCI in Windows 10 and 11: Search for "Core Isolation" in Windows search or open it from System Settings. Turn off Memory Integrity (if it was on).

How do I stop VBS from running? ›

To prevent any VBScript code from running, hold down the SHIFT key. For example, hold down SHIFT while you open an item to prevent the VBScript code for the Open event from running.

Is VBS obsolete? ›

In October 2023, Microsoft announced that VBScript will be deprecated. In future releases of Windows, VBScript will be available as a Feature On Demand before its removal from the operating system. scripting language developed by Microsoft. Apps -> Optional features.

How can I make Windows 11 performance better? ›

If you have Windows 10, see our Windows 10 speed tips.
  1. Disable programs that run on startup. ...
  2. Use Efficiency Mode. ...
  3. Use automatic Windows maintenance. ...
  4. Kill adware and bloatware. ...
  5. Turn off search indexing. ...
  6. Clean out your hard disk. ...
  7. Disable shadows, animations, and visual effects. ...
  8. Disable transparency.

What will replace VBScript? ›

Scripting options for web development and task automation are modernizing. To provide you with the most modern and efficient options, we are replacing VBScript with more advanced alternatives such as JavaScript and PowerShell. Find out what VBScript deprecation means for you and how you can get ready.

How do I stop a VBScript running in the background? ›

Start Task Manager, click on the Processes tab, right-click on wscript.exe and select End Process, and confirm in the dialog that follows. This will terminate the wscript.exe that is executing your script.

How to disable VBScript? ›

Registry settings
  1. Click Start > Run, type regedt32 or regedit, and then click OK.
  2. To disable VBScript execution in Internet Zone, locate the following registry subkey in Registry Editor: ...
  3. Right-click the appropriate registry subkey, and then click Modify.
  4. In the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value dialog box, type 3.

How do I know if VBS is running on Windows 11? ›

How to Check if VBS is Enabled in Windows 11 or 10
  1. Open system information. ...
  2. Scroll down to find the "Virtualization-based security" row. ...
  3. Search for Core Isolation in Windows search and click the top result.
  4. Toggle Memory Integrity to off, if it was on. ...
  5. Reboot your PC as prompted.
Mar 15, 2023

Is it safe to turn off virtualization? ›

However, if you don't plan on using virtualization, there's no need to enable it in the BIOS. In fact, some users may choose to disable it for security reasons, as enabling virtualization may increase the attack surface of the system.

What is the VBS virus? ›

Windows 10, like any operating system, is not immune to malware attacks, and Trojans that use VBS (Visual Basic Scripting) as a delivery mechanism can exploit vulnerabilities or manipulate user behavior to compromise a system.

Does disabling virtualization improve performance? ›

Disable Security Virtualization to Improve Performance

But disabling them temporarily, when you need a boost in gaming performance, is definitely worth trying. If and how much these changes will improve performance is hard to predict, but every bit of speed and smoothness helps when gaming.

Does disabling Secure Boot increase performance? ›

While turning off Secure Boot doesn't directly affect system performance, it can indirectly lead to performance degradation if malicious or poorly designed software is loaded at boot time.

Should I turn on VBS? ›

In simple words, attackers have a tough time when VBS is active. So, turning it off leaves you exposed to kernel-level attacks. If you are someone who uses their system for confidential official work, it is best to keep VBS enabled.

Does disabling services improve performance? ›

Yes, disabling certain non-essential services can improve your computer's speed.

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