Hyper-V is a virtualization technology that is created by Microsoft. Hyper-V provides to create, run, delete, revert virtual systems, machines, environments. Hyper-V is also an alternative for other virtualization products and technologies like VMware, VirtualBox, Linux KVM, Citrix, etc.

Prerequirements To Enable/Install Hyper-V

In order to install or enable Hyper-V, there are some requirements to meet. First of all, Hyper-V cannot be install on Windows 10 Home edition which means it should be upgraded into higher versions like Enterprise, Pro or Education. Hyper-V also requires 64 processors with the 64-bit operating system where Second Level Address Translation simply SLAT is available. But SLAT is provided with most of the modern CPUs. CPU should provide the VM Monitor Mode Extension or VT-d or equivalent for AMD. VT-d also supported by most of the modern CPUs. Also at least 4 GB memory should be provided by the system.

• Windows 10 Enterprise, Pro or Education or Windows Server 2012 and later
• 64-bit CPU with SLAT
• CPU with VT-d support
• Minimum 4GB memory

Enable/Install Hyper-V using PowerShell

Perhaps the easiest way to install Hyper-V is using the PowerShell command with PowerShell command-line interface. We will install the Hyper-V as a Windows optional feature which is named Microsoft-Hyper-V. We will use Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature PowerShell cmdlet. This cmdlet requires Administrative rights like Administrator login. So we will open the PowerShell as Administrator.

From the start menu, we will just type powershell which will list the windows PowerShell shortcut like below. Then we will click to the Run as Administrator with Administrator rights.

Alternatively, we can open the PowerShell with Administrative rights like below. Type powershell to the start menu where the Windows PowerShell will be listed. Then right-click to Windows PowerShell item and click to Run as administrator like below.

We will see a dialog box to proceed to the PowerShell with admin rights where we will click to Yes like below.

Then we will type the following command to the PowerShell which will start the installation of Hyper-V feature or module.

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

During the Hyper-V feature and module installation, we will see the following progress bar. The Hyper-V module and related libraries and files will be installed.

When the Hyper-V module or feature installation is complete we will see the following screen which simply asks us to reboot the system. In order to use Hyper-V, we will reboot the system by simply typing Y for yes and enter.

Enable/Install Hyper-V using DISM via Command Line

Hyper-V feature can be installed by using DISM or Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool. We will open the command line with Administrative rights which is explained in the previous part. We can use PowerShell or MS-DOS without a problem.

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

Enable/Install Hyper-V using Windows Features

We can also use the Windows Features GUI tool in order to install/enable the Hyper-V. We will type windows features into the start menu where the Windows Features app will be listed below. We will just click on and open it.

We will see a screen like below which will list the Windows features. We will select the Hyper-V. Optionally we can specifically specify the submodules we want to install like the GUI Management tool, Hyper-V Services, etc.

Open Hyper-V Manager GUI

Now we have installed the Hyper-V feature and related tools like Hyper-V Manager which is a GUI tool in order to manage Hyper-V easily with the graphical user interface. We can open the Hyper-V Manager from the start menu typing hyper where the Hyper-V Manager will be listed as below.

Alternatively, it can be opened from the listed programs Windows Administrative Tools->Hyper-V Manager like below.

The Hyper-V Manager is like below. where it consists of a menu and three panes to list, manage and take actions for VMs.

Create VM (Virtual Machine)

We can create a Virtual Machine or VM from the left pane. We will select the Hyper-V host we want to use and click right which will open a menu. From this menu, we will select New and Virtual Machine like below.

We will see the following welcome screen for the VM creation. We will simply click to the Next. We can also do not show this page by checking Do not show this page again checkbox.

Specify Name and Location

The following screen is named Specify Name and Location where we will specify the name of the VM. Optionally we can set the VM files location where C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V is the default one.

Specify Generation

In this step, we will specify the generation of the VM where Generation 1 is the default. Generation 2 is selected to use UEFI-based firmware.

Set Memory Size

In this Assign Memory screen, we will set the memory size of the VM. We will set the VM ram as 2048MB

Configure Network

In this step, we will configure the network where we will select the switch. We will select the Default Switch which is a NAT to connect the internet.

Set Hard Disk File and Size

This step is the most complex step where we will specify the VM hard disk name, Size, and location. We do not change the default size which is 127GB.

Select Installation Media/ISO

In this step, we can specify an installation media like CD-ROM or ISO file. In this case, we skip by choosing Install an operating system later option.

Complete New VM Creation

In this step, we will review the new VM configuration and click on the Finish in order to create a new VM.