0x80370102 Windows Origin: Platform & cloud Last updated 13 Oct 2026

WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80370102 (virtual machine could not be started)

WSL 2 can’t start its VM because hardware virtualization or the Virtual Machine Platform feature isn’t enabled.

Exact message you may see WslRegisterDistribution failed with error: 0x80370102The virtual machine could not be started because a required feature is not installed
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Seen on: Windows

Meaning

WSL 2 needs CPU virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V) enabled in BIOS and the Virtual Machine Platform Windows feature. Inside a VM, nested virtualization must be enabled.

Common causes

  • Virtualization disabled in BIOS/UEFI
  • Virtual Machine Platform feature not enabled
  • Running Windows inside a VM without nested virtualization
  • Hypervisor launch type off (bcdedit)

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Enable VT-x/AMD-V (SVM) in BIOS
  2. Enable Virtual Machine Platform and reboot
  3. Set hypervisorlaunchtype auto

Detailed fix by platform

PowerShell

  1. powershell
    dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto
systeminfo | findstr /i "Virtualization"

How to diagnose

  1. Firmware — Virtualization Enabled in Task Manager?
  2. Features — VMP enabled?
  3. VM — Nested virtualization?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Platform & cloud. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

0x80004005 — Windows Error 0x80004005 (E_FAIL): Unspecified error (Windows)0x800040050x80070002 — Windows Error 0x80070002: The system cannot find the file specified (Windows)0x800700020x80070005 — Windows Error 0x80070005 (E_ACCESSDENIED): Access is denied (Windows)0x800700050x8007000D — Windows error 0x8007000D (The data is invalid) (Windows)0x8007000D0x80070020 — 0x80070020: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process (Windows)0x80070020System has not been booted with systemd — System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate. (Linux)System has not been b…The emulator process for AVD was killed — Android Emulator: The emulator process for AVD x has terminated / was killed (hypervisor not available) (Android)The emulator process …WSL 2 installation is incomplete — Docker Desktop: WSL 2 installation is incomplete / WSL update required (Docker)WSL 2 installation is…0x80370102

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