How to Install and Use Hyper-V on Windows 10

Here is how to enable Hyper-V on Windows 10. This tool allows you to create and use virtual machines. Hyper-V can be turned on in a few ways like PowerShell, using the Windows 10 control panel, or the DISM tool. This article mentions each option. Hyper-V is is not downloaded. It is automatically built into windows.

Check Requirements

Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education

64-bit Processor with Second Level Address Translation.

CPU support for VM Monitor Mode Extension.

Minimum of 4 GB memory.

Hyper-V on Windows 10 is not available on Windows 10 Home, at all. You can upgrade from Windows 10 Home edition to Windows 10 Pro by opening up Settings > Update and Security > Activation.

Enable Hyper-V on Windows 10 using PowerShell

Open a PowerShell console as Administrator.

Run the following command:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

Make sure you’re running PowerShell as an Administrator, or the command may not be found.

Reboot after completing the installation.

Enable Hyper-V with CMD and DISM

The Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool (DISM) configures Windows images. It has several applications, and can enable Windows features while the system is running.

To enable the Hyper-V role using DISM:

Open up CMD or Powershell as an Administrator.

Try this command here:

DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /All /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V

Enable Hyper-V through Settings

Right click on the Start/Windows button and select ‘Apps and Features’.

Select Programs and Features on the right under related settings.

Choose Turn Windows Features on or off.

Then pick Hyper-V and click OK.

You will be prompted to restart your computer once the installation has completed.

Now to Play With Hyper-V

Now you have Hyper-V on Windows 10, and you can try it out. Open Hyper-V and find Action. Choose New, Virtual Machine, and this will bring up the New Virtual Machine Wizard. From here you review the information given and click Next, then give the new machine a name. You can then choose where you want the files to be stored for your virtual machine.

Now, select a Generation for the new virtual machine. Generation 2 VMs can only be 64 bit operating systems, and have some basic additional functionality. Microsoft has an article about Generation 2 Virtual Machines.

Select the RAM availability for the new machine. Enabling Dynamic memory will enable your system to grab back unused memory from a virtual machine, freeing up RAM for the host computer’s processes and for other VMs to run.

Choose your networking options, if you want the VM to be able to get online. Or you can simply leave this not set, and have a safe testing area for software that can’t get out on the internet.

Then you give the virtual hard drive a name, which will name the virtual machine VHD or VHDX files on the host computer. You also have the option of using an existing VHD or VHDX file here, if you downloaded a drive or have one already.

If you chose to create a new drive, now it’s time to install something on it. Now, you can choose an ISO image of any operating system you like, or choose a network based installation server to install when the machine first boots up.

Once all this is done and the wizard is complete, there’s nothing left to do but boot the new virtual machine and run through the operating system installation process. I hope you’ve found this article helpful, and have fun tinkering out there!