How to Enable Hyper-V and Create a Virtual Machine on Windows 11 & 10

There are several benefits of using virtual machines. You can safely test applications, and enjoy old or new operating systems without troubling your main PC. There are several third-party software available online like VirtualBox, VMWare, etc., using which you can create virtual machines on your PC. However, if you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can enable the built-in Hyper-V feature and create a virtual machine.

Please note that your machine should be running Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education Edition. If you are running the Home version of Windows 11 or Windows 10, the Hyper-V feature is not generally available. So, you must make some changes to your PC to enable it before proceeding further.

SEE ALSO: How to install Google Play Store in Windows 11 and run Android Apps?

Enable Hyper-V Feature and Create a Virtual Machine on Windows 11 or Windows 10

So, in this tutorial, we are going to explain how to enable the Hyper-V feature on Windows 10 & 11 and create a virtual machine after that. You won’t require any third-party software as we are using the native Hyper-V feature of Windows. We have divided this tutorial into parts for better understanding. Let’s start.

A) Enable Virtualization in BIOS/UEFI and Hyper-V in Windows Features

Hyper-V is not enabled by default in Windows 10 or 11 and you have to manually enable it in Windows Features. There is one more thing you need to take care of, i.e. you will have to enable virtualization in BIOS or UEFI settings if not enabled already. So, let’s start with virtualization.

Step 1: Enable Virtualization in BIOS/UEFI Settings

You can enable virtualization in BIOS/UEFI settings on your computer. The virtualization setting may vary depending on the make and model of the motherboard. We have a detailed tutorial on how to enable virtualization (VTx/AMD-V) in BIOS or UEFI settings.

Step 2: Enable Hyper-V Support in Windows 11 or Windows 10 Optional Features

After enabling virtualization from BIOS/UEFI settings, we have to enable the Hyper-V feature on Windows 11 or 10. We can do so in optional Windows Features. So, launch RUN by pressing the Windows + R keys, type optionalfeatures , and press Enter.

Now, scroll down and look for the Hyper-V feature. Make sure to enable all the checkboxes under Hyper-V and click OK.

After installing the necessary packages, it will ask you to restart the computer. So, restart your computer and you have now successfully enabled Hyper-V on your Windows 10 or 11 PC.

SEE ALSO: How to Bypass TPM 2.0 and CPU Requirements to Upgrade to Windows 11?

B) Create a Virtual Machine on Windows 11 or 10 using Quick Create

Now, you are ready to create a virtual machine on Windows 11 or Windows 10. There are two ways of creating the virtual machine in Hyper-V. The first method is Quick Create and the second method is lengthy and advanced. So, we will check the Quick Create option first.

Step 1: Launch Hyper-V Manager and Select Quick Create

Go to Start and search for Hyper-V. Select the Hyper-V Manager application from the search results and open it. It will open the Virtual Machine Manager console on your Windows 10 or 11 PC.

Now, you will see the Hyper-V Manager console. Here, click on the Quick Create option from the right panel. You can use this option to quickly create a VM in Hyper-V on Windows 10 & Windows 11.

Step 2: Select OS Installation Source for Virtual Machine

In the Quick Create Virtual Machine window, you will see the list of operating systems. If you select any of the listed operating systems, Hyper-V Manager will download and install it on the virtual machine. The great thing is that Hyper-V also supports Linux (Ubuntu) out of the box.

However, you can also choose a local Windows ISO image if you have already downloaded it. So, to install OS from the local ISO file, select Local installation source from the left pane and click on the Change installation source button.

Now, browse and select the Windows ISO you have downloaded and select it. Finally, click on the Create Virtual Machine button and let the process complete.

Step 3: Connect and Install OS on the Virtual Machine

After the VM has been created successfully, click on the Connect button to connect the newly created virtual machine via the console.

In the virtual machine console, click on Start to power on the VM. Now, you can boot from the attached Windows ISO and install OS on it. We have used Windows 11 ISO for this VM so, you can install Windows 11 on it. If you are installing Windows 11 Home, check this tutorial to create a Local Account during setup.

NOTE: If you see the “Start PXE over IPv4” error, simply select Reset from the Action menu. After that, press any key to boot from ISO and it will work fine.

SEE ALSO: How to Speed up your Windows 11 and Windows 10 PC?

C) Create a Virtual Machine Manually using Detailed Steps

When you use the Quick Create option to create virtual machines, you get almost no options to set for VM. So, if you want to create the VM with customized settings, e.g. Generation 1 VM for Linux or older OSes, custom RAM, HDD size, etc., follow these steps. We are creating a Windows 10 VM in this section.

Step 1: Start New Virtual Machine Wizard

So, to create a customized VM, select New > Virtual Machine from the right pane in the Hyper-V Manager console.

The new Virtual Machine Wizard will start. Click Next on the Before You Begin screen.

Step 2: Type a Name and Select Generation of VM

On the next page, provide a name for your Windows 10 Virtual Machine. You can also change the location for storing Virtual Machine files. But you can leave it to default without any issues.

Now, you will be on the Specify Generation page. Here, select the generation of your VM. If you are creating a VM for old operating systems like Linux or Windows XP, select Generation 1. However, if you are creating a VM for operating systems that support UEFI and secure boot, you can select Generation 2. It also depends on your computer’s hardware.

Since in this tutorial, we are creating a Windows 10 virtual machine on Hyper-V, we will use Generation 2 to enable Secure Boot. After making your selection, click Next.

SEE ALSO: How to Increase Virtual Memory in your Windows 11 or 10?

Step 3: Select RAM, Network, and HDD for New VM

Now, you will be on the Assign Memory tab. Here, select the amount of RAM to assign to this new VM and click Next.

On the Configure Networking tab, select Default Switch to provide internet connectivity to the VM. If you select Not Connected, the virtual machine won’t have internet connectivity. After selecting your desired option, click Next.

Now, on the Connect Virtual Hard Disk tab, enter the Name, Location, and Size of the virtual hard disk for the virtual machine. You can allocate as much size as you want based on the available free space on your PC. In this tutorial, we have used 50 GB for our Windows 10 virtual machine. Click Next to continue.

Step 4: Select OS Installation Media and Create a Virtual Machine

Now, we are almost there. So, on the Installation Options page, choose “Install an operating system from a bootable CD/DVD-ROM” and then browse and select Windows 10 ISO image. After that, click Next to continue.

Finally, click Finish to create a Windows 10 virtual machine on Hyper-V in Windows 11 or 10 PC.

Step 5: Connect the Virtual Machine and Install Windows 10

After successfully creating, the Windows 10 VM will show up in the Hyper-V Manager console. Double-click or right-click and select Connect to connect this Virtual Machine.

After that, click Start to turn on your virtual machine and install the Windows 10 operating system using the ISO you have selected in the previous steps.

SEE ALSO: How to Run Android on Linux using Virtual Machine?

Complete Guide on Virtual Machine Creation on Windows 11 and Windows 10

So, that was our guide on how to enable Hyper-V and create a virtual machine in Windows 11 and Windows 10. We have explained two methods to create VMs – Quick Create and Detailed Steps method. So, if you are a noob and don’t have a good understanding, you can go for the Quick Create option. However, if you are well versed with Windows 10 or 11, you can go for detailed steps for creating a VM.

Remember, you must enable virtualization in BIOS/UEFI settings to use the Hyper-V feature. Well, we hope you had a good time following this guide. Feel free to share your queries and suggestions in the comment section below. You may also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates directly into your inbox.