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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [BUG] Cowork unavailable on standard user accounts - VM Platform not enabled error misleads to reinstall

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Error Message

On domain-joined Windows 11 endpoints where Virtual Machine Platform is not pre-enabled, Cowork shows as unavailable. The UI presents a "requires newer installation" prompt with a reinstall button that does nothing for standard users. The reinstall button is non-functional and the error message is misleading — the issue is not the installation version, it is that VM Platform has not been configured on the endpoint.

Error Messages/Logs

No error log produced. UI displays: "Cowork requires a newer installation" with a reinstall button that triggers no action on standard user accounts.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Workaround confirmed: Temporarily granting local admin rights allows VM Platform setup to trigger on next Claude launch. After reboot, removing local admin rights and logging off/on restores standard user context with Cowork fully functional.

Code Example

No error log produced. UI displays: "Cowork requires a newer installation" with a reinstall button that triggers no action on standard user accounts.

Workaround confirmed: Temporarily granting local admin rights allows VM Platform setup to trigger on next Claude launch. After reboot, removing local admin rights and logging off/on restores standard user context with Cowork fully functional.

Related to closed issue #25055
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Preflight Checklist

  • I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
  • This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
  • I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

On domain-joined Windows 11 endpoints where Virtual Machine Platform is not pre-enabled, Cowork shows as unavailable. The UI presents a "requires newer installation" prompt with a reinstall button that does nothing for standard users. The reinstall button is non-functional and the error message is misleading — the issue is not the installation version, it is that VM Platform has not been configured on the endpoint.

What Should Happen?

The prompt should clearly state that Virtual Machine Platform must be enabled on the device and that this requires administrator intervention. A suggested message would be: "Cowork requires Virtual Machine Platform to be enabled on this device. This is a one-time setup requiring administrator privileges. Please contact your IT administrator to enable this feature."

Error Messages/Logs

No error log produced. UI displays: "Cowork requires a newer installation" with a reinstall button that triggers no action on standard user accounts.

Workaround confirmed: Temporarily granting local admin rights allows VM Platform setup to trigger on next Claude launch. After reboot, removing local admin rights and logging off/on restores standard user context with Cowork fully functional.

Related to closed issue #25055

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Domain-joined Windows 11 machine with standard user account (no local admin rights)
  2. Virtual Machine Platform not pre-enabled on the endpoint
  3. Install Claude Desktop as standard user
  4. Launch Claude Desktop
  5. Navigate to Cowork
  6. "Requires newer installation" prompt appears
  7. Click reinstall button — nothing happens
  8. Cowork remains unavailable regardless of reinstall attempts

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

Unknown - latest available at time of download from https://claude.ai/download

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Windows Terminal

Additional Information

No response

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