Do this once before training · Just follow the steps

AI training — pre-course setup guide

Claude Desktop · Cowork Exercises

  • Install → Test → Self-troubleshoot
  • About 40 min
  • On Windows

To keep hands-on exercises on schedule, install and test everything before training day. Follow the steps in order; if something goes wrong, look for the same symptom under Troubleshooting.

🎒 What to prepare
  • Company or personal laptop (Windows 10 or later, administrator rights)
  • Paid Claude account (Pro or higher recommended)
  • Stable internet connection
  • Git (installed in STEP 3)
⚠ The most common mistake — arriving without Git installed

Without Git, the early exercises run fine, so you may not realize it’s missing until the final stage of the hands-on session (undoing work, version control, deployment), where everything stops. Installing it on the spot, while also dealing with company-PC permission issues, causes long delays. Please complete STEP 3 before the training.

Take 30 seconds first: which path fits your PC?

Path A · RecommendedPractice on your own PC

A laptop running Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education that allows software installation

Go through STEP 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 in order

Start with STEP 1 →
Path B · If your company PC is locked downPractice in the cloud

A Home edition, or a work PC with virtualization blocked, is fine — just run Cowork tasks in the “cloud” (see Troubleshooting A-1).

After STEP 1 (installation), just choose ‘Cloud’ for a new task — no Git installation needed

See how to run in the cloud →
STEP 1

💻 Install Claude Desktop

Download and install

  1. In your browser, go to claude.com/download ↗ → download the Windows version⬇ Download Claude Desktop ↗
  2. Run the downloaded installer → installation complete
  3. Launch Claude from the Start menu → log in with your account
Cowork prerequisites — check only if Cowork doesn’t work
Cowork prerequisites
FeatureRequirementsHow to check
Operating systemWindows 10 or later (Windows 11 Pro recommended for Cowork)Settings → System → About
EditionPro / Enterprise / Education (Home can’t run Cowork locally)Settings → System → About
VirtualizationEnable BIOS virtualization + Virtual Machine PlatformTask Manager → Performance → CPU → “Virtualization: Enabled”
AccountClaude paid planLog in at claude.ai ↗ and check in Settings

Even if you have a Home edition or a company PC with virtualization blocked, you're fine — you can run Cowork tasks in the 'cloud' (see Troubleshooting A-1).

✅ You pass this step when
  • Install Claude Desktop and log in — the app launches and you can chat
STEP 2

🤝 Cowork test

  1. Launch Claude Desktop → click the [Cowork] tab below the input box
  2. When asked to connect a working folder, have it create a new folder named “AI Practice” on your desktop and connect it
  3. Type the following in the input box
    Create a hello.txt file in this folder and write “Test successful” in it
  4. If hello.txt appears in the folder with the right content, the test passes

If the [Cowork] button can’t be clicked or an error bubble appears → go to Troubleshooting A

✅ You pass this step when
  • Set up the practice folder — the “AI Practice” folder on your desktop
  • Cowork test — hello.txt created successfully
STEP 3

🔧 Install Git ★ Must be done before any coding work

★ Most often missed
Why you need this

The code Claude creates is tracked with version history in Git. Reverting your work to an earlier state, comparing changes, and splitting work into parallel tracks all rely on Git. Without Git, the early exercises run fine, but you will hit errors at the undo and version-control steps and won’t be able to continue from there.

Install (about 5 min)

  1. In your browser, go to git-scm.com/download/win ↗ → download the 64-bit Git for Windows Setup⬇ Download Git for Windows ↗
  2. Run the installer → click [Next] and keep every option at its default (do not change anything)
  3. After installation, close every open command window and Claude Desktop — if you skip this, the new installation won’t be recognized

Verify your installation

  1. Press Win + R → type cmd → click OK
  2. Enter the following, then press Enter
    git --version

👉 git version 2.xx.x — if a version such as git version 2.xx.x appears, the installation is complete

One-time user registration

If you don’t register your name and email, you’ll get an error when you save (commit). Replace the two lines below with your own details and run them.

git config --global user.name "Hong Gildong"
git config --global user.email "hong@company.com"

It doesn’t have to be a work email. It is never made public and is used only for record-keeping.

✅ You pass this step when
  • Git installation ★ — git --version shows a version number
  • Git user setup ★ — name and email config entered
STEP 4

🧪 Coding Task Test

In the Cowork tab, check that coding tasks work by following the steps below. (Do this after finishing STEP 3, Git installation.)

  1. Claude Desktop → [Cowork] tab → start a new task with the “AI Practice” folder connected
  2. Type the following in the input box
    Create a web page (gugudan.html) in this folder that prints the multiplication table
  3. Double-click the generated gugudan.html in the folder → if the multiplication table appears in your browser, you pass
  4. Then enter
    Undo the last task
    → If it completes without errors, Git integration is working too
✅ You pass this step when
  • Coding task test — run gugudan.html in your browser
  • Undo test ★ — the “undo” instruction completes without errors

🎉 If STEP 2 (hello.txt), STEP 3 (Git), and STEP 4 (gugudan.html + undo) all succeed, you are ready for every hands-on exercise on training day.

🩺 Self-Troubleshooting

Click the row that matches the error message on your screen to expand it.

A. Cowork (collaboration) issues

A-1. "Missing HCS services: HNS, vmcompute, vfpext" error (most common)

Windows virtualization is turned off. Follow these steps in order.

  1. 30-second diagnosis: check your edition (if Home, go straight to option 4) and confirm “Virtualization: Enabled” in Task Manager
  2. Win + R → optionalfeatures → check all four: Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Hypervisor Platform, and Containers → you must choose "Restart" — shutting down and turning the PC back on does not work
  3. Run the command below in PowerShell (Administrator), then restart
    wsl --shutdown
wsl --update
net start vmcompute
net start hns
Get-Service vmcompute, hns   # Both services showing Running means it’s working
  4. If none of the above solves it → run your Cowork task in the 'Cloud': when you start a new task, choose 'Cloud' in the run-location selector at the top right of the screen ("Run this task"). The task runs on a cloud server instead of your PC, so it works immediately regardless of virtualization features. If choosing it every time is a hassle, turn on Settings → Cowork → 'Run new tasks in the cloud'.
A-2. The Cowork (collaboration) tab is missing
  1. Update Claude Desktop to the latest version → quit completely and relaunch
  2. If that doesn’t help, uninstall and reinstall from claude.com/download ↗
A-3. Settings screen stuck on a loading spinner
  1. Turn off your VPN and antivirus briefly and retry; on a corporate network, test with a personal hotspot
  2. If you use Docker Desktop, quit it and try again (network resource conflict)

B. Git issues ★

B-1. “'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command…”
  1. The most common cause is not reopening the windows after installation. Fully quit the command window and Claude Desktop, then launch them again.
  2. If it still doesn’t work, restart your PC. That resolves most cases.
  3. If the error persists after a restart, Git wasn’t actually installed → look for Git in the Control Panel “Apps” list, then reinstall it
B-2. Installation is blocked because you lack admin rights (company-standard PC)
  1. Choosing "Only for me (current user)" during installation often lets you install without administrator rights.
  2. If you’re still blocked, ask your IT team to install Git. It’s widely approved as a general business tool, not just a developer tool.
  3. If you truly can’t install it, go to step 4 (cloud execution) in Troubleshooting A-1. Git is already set up in the cloud, so you can complete every exercise without installing anything on your PC.
B-3. Error asking for your name and email when saving (committing)
  1. This happens when you skipped the user registration in STEP 3. Enter the two lines under “One-time user registration” in STEP 3 to fix it.
B-4. SSL certificate error or connection failure on a company network
  1. Your company firewall is intercepting the connection. Switching to a personal hotspot and retrying resolves it in most cases.
  2. If you need to keep using it on the company network, ask your IT team to apply the corporate certificate. We don’t recommend turning off security verification.

C. Coding task issues

C-1. Files are created, but the content looks wrong or won’t run
  1. In the same task window, continue with “It doesn’t show when I open it in the browser. Please fix it.” (Claude makes the fix too)
  2. Start a new task and retry the same instruction
C-2. No file is created in the folder
  1. In the Cowork tab, check that the “AI Practice” folder is connected, then try again
  2. Avoid OneDrive and company-synced folders; use a regular folder on your desktop

D. Common issues

Network error
  1. Allow Claude in your antivirus and firewall. If your company network blocks it, ask IT to allow the claude.ai ↗ / anthropic.com ↗ domains
Repeated login prompts
  1. Clear your browser cookies and log in again, or use a different browser
Plan questions
  1. Cowork is available on paid plans (Pro and above)

✅ Final checklist (by the day before training)

Check items off one by one. Your checks are saved only in this browser.

Even if items 3, 7 and 8 are never resolved, you can still take part in the training. As long as item 4 (running in the cloud) checks out, every hands-on exercise will work.

Items 5 and 6 (Git) apply only if you’ll practice on a local PC. If you run in the cloud, you don’t need to install Git.

🤖 Still stuck? Ask the AI directly

If none of the above works, the fastest fix is to capture the error screen and ask an AI directly. This is also a rehearsal for the 'using AI at work' skills the training itself covers.

How to

  1. Take a screenshot — capture the screen showing the error message. (Windows: Win + Shift + S → select area → copied automatically)
  2. Open an AI service — choose whichever you prefer: ChatGPT (chatgpt.com ↗), Gemini (gemini.google.com ↗), or Claude (claude.ai ↗).
  3. Paste an image + ask a question — paste your screenshot (Ctrl + V) and enter the question template below with it.
  4. Follow the answer, then report back if it still fails — if the first fix doesn’t work, reply with “I did that, but now I see this screen.” That greatly improves your chances of solving it.

Question templates you can copy as-is

The attached screenshot shows an error from the Cowork feature in Claude Desktop, or from installing Git, on a Windows PC.
· My setup: Windows [10 / 11], [Home / Pro] edition, company laptop (administrator rights: [yes / no])
· What I’ve already tried: [e.g., turned on Hyper-V, ran wsl --update, reinstalled Git and rebooted]

Please explain what causes this error and give me step-by-step instructions to fix it that a beginner can follow.
If any commands are needed, tell me where to enter them and how.

If your company’s security policy blocks installations or settings changes, AI can’t fix that either. In that case, don’t force it — use option 4 (cloud execution) in Troubleshooting A-1, and your hands-on session won’t be affected.

Note: Before uploading, make sure no internal system details, account information or customer data appear in the screenshot.

Written by John Kim, Nanum Consulting

FAQ

Key takeaways

  • A step-by-step guide to installing and testing Claude Desktop, Cowork (collaboration) and Git before the AI training exercises — with fixes for common errors and a final checklist.

What should I prepare before the training?

A Windows 10 or later laptop (with admin rights), a paid Claude account (Pro or higher recommended), a stable internet connection, and Git. Install Claude Desktop → test Cowork → install Git → test a coding task. The whole process takes about 40 minutes.

Do I really have to install Git?

If you practice on your own PC, you must install it. Without Git, the early exercises still work, but you will hit errors at the undo and version-control steps and progress will stop. After installing, check that git --version shows a version number, and complete the one-time name and email registration.

What if virtualization is blocked on my company PC, or I am on Windows Home?

Run your Cowork tasks in the 'Cloud'. When you start a new task, choose Cloud as the run location. It works regardless of virtualization features, and Git is already available in the cloud, so you can do every exercise without installing anything on your PC.