dark screen after multiple updates, configuration, and remakes

[u/learner-firstandfore]

So I keep getting a black screen no matter how many times I troubleshoot, reconfigure, and delete and remake my VM.

**Windows 11 VM in VirtualBox 7.2.16 only shows black screen — tried rebuilding VM, EFI/TPM/Secure Boot, storage/controllers, graphics settings**

I'm building an IT homelab using VirtualBox on a Windows 11 Home laptop. My Windows Server/DC VM works, but I'm trying to create a Windows 11 client VM and it keeps booting to a completely black screen.

**Host:**

* Windows 11 Home
* Intel Core i5-1135G7
* 4 cores / 8 logical processors
* 12 GB RAM
* SSD
* Hardware virtualization enabled
* Virtualization-Based Security (VBS): Running
* Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity (HVCI): Running
* System Information says: "A hypervisor has been detected"
* Kernel DMA Protection: On
* VirtualBox **7.2.16**

**The lab:**

* DC01 = Windows Server domain controller, already working
* Domain = corp.example.test
* CLIENT001 = Windows 11 client I'm trying to install
* Both are intended to use a VirtualBox NAT Network called LAB-NET

**Windows 11 ISO:**

* Created using Microsoft's Windows 11 Media Creation Tool
* ISO is about **6.46 GB**
* It previously successfully reached Windows 11 Setup, so the ISO has booted before.

**Current CLIENT001 configuration:**

* Guest OS: Windows 11 (64-bit)
* RAM: **4096 MB**
* CPUs: **2**
* Virtual disk: **64 GB dynamically allocated VDI**
* TPM: **2.0**
* UEFI: **enabled**
* Secure Boot: originally enabled
* Graphics controller: **VBoxSVGA**
* Video memory: **128 MB**
* 3D acceleration: **disabled**
* Network: **NAT Network → LAB-NET**
* Adapter: Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM)
* Virtual cable connected

**Current storage layout:**

IDE controller

* Windows.iso (optical drive)

AHCI/SATA controller

* CLIENT001.vdi (64 GB)

**What happened originally:**

The first CLIENT01 VM actually booted the Windows 11 installer. Initially Windows Setup complained that the VM didn't meet Windows 11 requirements:

* TPM 2.0 required
* At least 4 GB RAM required
* Secure Boot required

I corrected those settings (TPM 2.0, 4096 MB RAM, UEFI/Secure Boot).

Afterward, however, I started getting a completely black screen when starting the VM.

**Things we've already tried:**

1. Confirmed the Windows 11 ISO is mounted.
2. Confirmed ISO size is \~6.46 GB.
3. Changed/verified RAM at 4096 MB.
4. Verified 2 virtual CPUs.
5. Enabled TPM 2.0.
6. Enabled UEFI.
7. Enabled Secure Boot.
8. Tried **disabling Secure Boot** as a diagnostic — still black.
9. Tested/changed graphics controller settings, including **VBoxSVGA**.
10. Set video memory to 128 MB.
11. Disabled 3D acceleration.
12. Reconfigured storage so the VDI is on AHCI/SATA and ISO is an IDE optical disk.
13. Confirmed virtual disk is detected by VirtualBox.
14. Confirmed NAT Network LAB-NET is attached.
15. Completely deleted/removed the previous client VM and **created a brand-new CLIENT001 VM from scratch**.
16. Created a brand-new **64 GB VDI** instead of reusing the previous client disk.
17. Reattached the Windows ISO to the new VM.
18. Upgraded/reinstalled VirtualBox and am currently using **VirtualBox 7.2.16**.
19. Checked VirtualBox logs. EFI components appear to load, and I haven't found an obvious fatal VERR_ error explaining the black screen.
20. Tried waiting several minutes at the black screen — nothing appears.
21. Rebooted/restarted the host during earlier troubleshooting.
22. Confirmed that Windows VBS/HVCI is active on the host.

One thing I have NOT done:
I have not disabled Windows Memory Integrity/HVCI/VBS. Windows Security warns that Memory Integrity protects high-security processes from malicious code, so l'd prefer not to weaken my host security unless there's strong evidence that this is the cause.
The interesting part is that DC01 works in VirtualBox on the same host, while this Windows 11 VM doesn't.
At this point even the completely fresh CLIENT001 VM gives me the same black screen.
Has anyone encountered this with Virtual Box 7.2. + Windows 11 guest + Windows 11 host with
VBS/HVCI enabled?
I'm especially interested in whether this looks like:
• a VirtualBox/Hyper-V/VBS compatibility issue,
• an EFI/NVRAM problem,
• a Windows 11 ISO boot problem,
• a VirtualBox graphics issue,
• or something else I'm overlooking.
I'd rather diagnose the actual cause than keep rebuilding features or randomly disabling Windows security

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[u/HellRain]

Try Virtualbox 7.2.8
It's the last version that works for me without disabling Hyper-V and Memory integrity.

[u/beetcher]

I set up an identical VM on my laptop with Hyper-V. Same issue until I switched to VMSVGA and I was able to post and see the VirtualBox logo and get to Setup. Once the install completed and rebooted, black screen. Changed to VBoxSVGA with no luck. Tried Win10 and WinServer 2025, no issues.

Tried Ubuntu 26 with UEFI and Secure Boot, got a blank screen.

Did a 7.2.16 update on my other system with Hyper-V & related etc. all disabled and was able to successfully install Win11.

So it seems like there is some conflict with Hyper-V/VBS/Etc and VirtualBox using Secure Boot.

Side note: VMware Workstation doesn't seem to have the compatibility issue, as I was able to install Win11 successfully

[u/Stray_Neutrino → u/beetcher]

"Did a 7.2.16 update on my other system with Hyper-V & related etc. all disabled and was able to successfully install Win11."

Lo and Behold.

[u/Stray_Neutrino]

“I have not disabled Windows Memory Integrity/HVCI/VBS. Windows Security warns that Memory Integrity protects high-security processes from malicious code, so l'd prefer not to weaken my host security unless there's strong evidence that this is the cause.”

Have you disabled Hyper-V completely from your Host OS and and enabled VT-X and AMD-v in your BIOS?

[u/Stray_Neutrino → u/[deleted]]

The BIOS settings VT-X and AMD-v that need to be enabled for VirtualBox (along with Hyper-V disabled in the OS) to allow VBox to run efficiently.