diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
index c4b415df4af5fc575cdba213ebf0473a14d41616..ffc7f36cc0a364144160c76a71f7dd4dafaaef84 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
@@ -985,7 +985,7 @@ func validateRequestedMemorySize(req int, drvName string) {
 	}
 }
 
-// validateCPUCount validates the cpu count matches the minimum recommended
+// validateCPUCount validates the cpu count matches the minimum recommended & not exceeding the available cpu count
 func validateCPUCount(drvName string) {
 	var cpuCount int
 	if driver.BareMetal(drvName) {
@@ -1019,6 +1019,22 @@ func validateCPUCount(drvName string) {
 
 	}
 
+	if si.CPUs < cpuCount {
+
+		if driver.IsDockerDesktop(drvName) {
+			out.Step(style.Empty, `- Ensure your {{.driver_name}} daemon has access to enough CPU/memory resources.`, out.V{"driver_name": drvName})
+			if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
+				out.Step(style.Empty, `- Docs https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/#resources`, out.V{"driver_name": drvName})
+			}
+			if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+				out.String("\n\t")
+				out.Step(style.Empty, `- Docs https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/#resources`, out.V{"driver_name": drvName})
+			}
+		}
+
+		exitIfNotForced(reason.RsrcInsufficientCores, "Requested cpu count {{.requested_cpus}} is greater than the available cpus of {{.avail_cpus}}", out.V{"requested_cpus": cpuCount, "avail_cpus": si.CPUs})
+	}
+
 	// looks good
 	if si.CPUs >= 2 {
 		return