Fixing the error "The Secure Boot feature prevented the operating system from starting" when launching your Windows 11

If you are encountering the message 'The Secure Boot Feature prevented the operating system from starting' when attempting to launch your Windows 11 virtual machine:

There are several workarounds to this situation:

Important: If your Windows virtual machine uses BitLocker encryption, please ensure you have your BitLocker recovery key readily available before proceeding. After applying either workaround below, Windows may prompt for this key during startup. You can check how to locate your recovery key in this Microsoft article.

Before you start: Create a snapshot.

Before making any changes, we recommend creating a snapshot to preserve your current virtual machine state:

1. Right-click the Parallels Desktop icon in your Mac dock and select Control Center.
2. In Control Center, right-click your virtual machine and choose Manage Snapshots...
3. Click New... to create a snapshot.
4. Close the snapshot window when finished.
   For more details on snapshots or reverting to a previous state, refer to KB 5691.

Option 1: Remove and re-add the TPM chip

Note: If this resolves the issue, please do not proceed to Workaround 2.

1. Right-click the Parallels Desktop icon in your Mac dock and select Control Center.

2. Click the gear/cog icon next to your virtual machine.
   

3. Select Hardware.

4. Click TPM Chip in the left sidebar.

5. Click the "–" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the TPM chip, then confirm by clicking Remove.
   

6. Start the virtual machine. The virtual machine will start but for better security, please proceed with the next steps.

7. Shut down the virtual machine completely.

8. Return to Hardware, click the "+" (plus) button, and select TPM Chip to re-add it.
   

9. Close the configuration window and start the virtual machine again.

10. You may reduce disk space usage by removing the previously created snapshot, as shown in KB 5691.

Option 2: Disable Secure Boot via boot flag

Note: Only proceed if Workaround 1 does not resolve the issue.

1. Right-click the Parallels Desktop icon in your Mac dock and select Control Center.
2. Click the gear/cog icon next to your virtual machine.
3. Select Hardware.
4. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click Boot Order.
5. Click Advanced...
   
    
6. In the boot flags field, enter:
   
    vm.efi.secureboot=0
7. Click OK, then close the configuration window.
   
    
8. Start your virtual machine.
9. You may reduce disk space usage by removing the previously created snapshot, as shown in KB 5691.

After applying either workaround, your virtual machine should start successfully.

If you continue to experience issues or have any questions, please let us know by opening a Support Ticket from your Parallels Account, by referring to KB 6571.