If you experience a drop in gaming performance after upgrading to Windows 11, don’t fret. If you’ve tried everything already and nothing seems to work, VBS may be the culprit behind your low frame rates. As such, let’s explore how to disable VBS and squeeze the maximum amount of performance from your system.
Does VBS Really Reduce Performance?
PC Gamer and Tom’s Hardware dove in deep to learn about the drop in performance after enabling VBS. Both findings revealed performance drops ranging from 5-25 percent. Popular titles like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Shadow of the Tomb Raider suffered massive FPS drops.
Surprisingly, the CPU and GPU frequency remained unchanged. But these components were drawing less power. There haven’t been any detailed findings about what is actually causing it. But if you want to get maximum performance in games and applications, VBS is likely standing in your way.
What Are the Repercussions of Disabling VBS on Your System?
Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) works with Windows Hypervisor to create an isolated memory region. This isolated region securely stores login credentials, crucial Windows security code, and more. HVCI is a feature that uses VBS to conduct integrity checks on programs.
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. If you are a gamer or use resource-intensive apps, disabling VBS will minimize the performance drop.
How to Disable VBS to Increase Performance in Windows 11
If you want to disable VBS, here are a few tricks you can try.
1. How to Disable VBS From the Windows Settings
Perform the following steps to disable VBS from the Settings app.
Press Win + I to launch the Settings app. Navigate to the left-hand side menu and click on the Privacy and Security option. Click on Windows Security and then click the Open Windows Security button. Windows Security app will launch. Go to the left-hand side menu and select Device Security. Find the Core isolation section and click on the Core isolation details option. Now, check whether the Memory Integrity toggle is active or not. If it is active, click on it to disable the feature. Restart your system. Test some apps and games to check their performance.
2. How to Disable VBS With the Command Prompt
You can also disable VBS using the command prompt. Keep in mind that you must grant administrator access before executing the commands.
To turn off VBS using the command prompt, repeat the following steps:
Press Win + R to launch the Run command box. Now type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch the command prompt with elevated permissions. Type bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off in the text area. Press the enter key to execute the command. Wait for the execution to complete. Restart your system. VBS won’t bother you anymore.
3. How to Turn Off Windows’ Virtualization Features
VBS can run on your system only if virtualization is active. If you shut off all the Virtualization features of Windows, VBS won’t work. So, you have to uninstall a few Windows features.
To turn off Virtualization features in Windows 11, do as follows:
Press the Win key, type Control Panel and open the first result. Find the Program and Features option and then click on Uninstall a Program option. Navigate to the top left-hand side and click on the Turn Windows Features on or off option. Windows Features will launch. Find Microsoft Defender Application Guard, Virtual Machine Platform, and Windows Hypervisor Platform in the list. Uncheck all these features and then click on the OK button. Wait for the setup to disable these features on your device. Click on the Restart Now button to apply changes. Revisit the Windows Features to check whether all Virtualization features are inactive or not.
4. How to Disable VBS From the Local Group Policy Editor
You can use the Group Policy Editor to turn off VBS permanently. Keep in mind that GPE is not available for Windows 11 Home users. You need to run a batch script to enable GPE. Check out our complete Group Policy Editor guide for more information on this.
To disable VBS using the Group Policy Editor, do as follows:
Press Win + R to launch the Run command box. Type gpedit. msc and hit the enter key to launch the Group Policy Editor. Navigate to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Guard. Under Device Guard, find the Turn On Virtualization Based Security policy and double-click on it. Click on the Disabled radio button in the policy window. Then, click on the Apply button. Click on the OK button and exit the Group Policy Editor. Restart your system to apply changes. To re-enable VBS, click on the Enabled radio button in the Turn On Virtualization Based Security policy.
5. How to Disable Virtualization via the BIOS
The last option is to disable virtualization technology from the system BIOS. As mentioned before, VBS won’t work if you disable virtualization features. So, by doing this, you can ensure that VBS doesn’t turn on ever again.
To turn off virtualization technology from BIOS, repeat the following steps:
Restart your system. Press the corresponding F-key to access the BIOS setup (usually it is the F2 or F12 key). Once you are inside the BIOS, go to the advanced settings page. Remember that each OEM has a different BIOS appearance and settings layout. Find the Virtualization Technology option under advanced settings. Click on it to disable the feature on your system. Now, press the F10 key to save the changes. Exit the BIOS setup and continue the OS boot process. Check the Memory Integrity option in Windows Security. It will appear grayed out.
VBS Won’t Throttle Your System Performance Anymore
VBS is a pretty cool feature that is available in both Windows 10 and 11. However, the drastic performance drops surely make it less enticing for gamers. Firstly, start by disabling the Memory Integrity feature in Windows Security. Then turn off VBS using the Group Policy Editor.
After that, move to other steps to disable virtualization features such as MDAG, and Virtual Machine Platform. Lastly, disable the virtualization technology from the BIOS. Features like VBS won’t work without it.
