Enable Windows 10 virtualization. What is Hyper Threading? How to enable support in BIOS? Creating a virtual machine
Virtualization technology allows you to create several virtual computers with their own operating systems on one physical computer. Guest operating systems will use the resources of the real PC allocated to them within the established limits. In this case, there is no need to partition the disk and there is no danger of damaging the bootloader. The user's personal data is not affected and is safe. If you are interested in these opportunities, stay tuned. Today we will tell you how to enable virtualization in Windows 10.
A Microsoft-developed hypervisor called Hyper-V is included as an optional component. It can only be used in x64 bit OS Windows 10 Enterprise or Pro. In a corporate environment, Microsoft even recommends specific HP and Lenovo laptops. This option is not available to users of the Home edition and all x32 bit systems.
- You can quickly find out the parameters of your installed Windows using the keyboard shortcut Win + X. In the expanded menu, select the item marked with a frame.
- The window that opens contains two blocks of information. In the first, we look at the amount of installed memory and bit depth. Hyper V requires at least 4 GB of RAM. In the second block we pay attention to the OS release.
- According to system parameters, the computer is suitable for installing and running a Microsoft VM. Additionally, Hyper-V requires the processor to support nested SLAT paging. Intel implemented it in the Core i3/5/7 line, and AMD since the first 64-bit Opterons. The processor model is indicated in the device characteristics, so there is no need to check it in the BIOS or UEFI. We can verify the support of Hyper technologies using the command line. Enter the “systeminfo” command and look for the data block indicated in the screenshot.
As you can see, all the necessary requirements have been met and we performed the check without going to the BIOS. Having made sure that the hardware configuration is suitable for using the virtual machine, we can proceed to installation.
Installation
Hyper-V is a component of the operating system. It cannot be downloaded and installed separately. You can only enable use in a Windows environment. Let's look at several options for connecting Microsoft Virtual Machine.
Graphics mode
Let's start by using the graphic mode, as it is the most familiar to users.
- Using the Win + R key combination, open the “Run” dialog box and enter the “control” command in the text field as shown in the screenshot.
- The result of our actions will be the appearance of the classic Windows Control Panel. We look for the specified item and open it.
- In this window we will use the navigation menu, which is responsible for working with operating system components.
- Turn on Hyper-V. Expand the “Hyper” branch and make sure that all its components are checked. We complete the work in this section by clicking the “OK” button.
- Windows internally searches for and installs the ordered components.
- After completing changes to the software configuration, the system will prompt you to reboot.
This completes the installation and the PC is ready to use the built-in virtualization tools.
Command line
You can also install hypervisor components using command line capabilities.
- Open the Power User menu and launch PowerShell or CMD shell as administrator.
- Enter the following line in the window that opens:
- Windows processes the received command to install additional components.
- Finally, we will be asked to confirm the changes made and reboot. Enter the English letter “Y” in any case.
The computer will immediately exit graphical mode and display the standard update window. The system will start with Hyper-V enabled.
The last method involves using the Windows Image Deployment and Management Tool.
- Launch the command line with administrative rights. Enter the following line:
- After installing the components, DISM asks for confirmation.
Entering the letter "Y" immediately reboots the PC, during which the initial setup of Hyper-V is performed.
Usage
Once the installation is complete, you can begin creating a new virtual machine.
- The new component is located in the Administrative Tools section of the Start menu.
- Hyper-V Manager is a standard Windows management console. Enabling and configuring operations is done in the Action area. Select the marked item to launch the wizard.
- A three-item selection menu will open. Select the one indicated by the frame.
- The first window is informational. By placing a checkmark in the specified place, you will no longer see it during subsequent launches. To create a machine with your own configuration, select the button marked with a frame.
- Here we give the name of the machine being created and can change the storage location for its files.
- The generation should be selected based on the bit depth of the OS to be installed. For 32-bit versions we leave the first, but modern distributions belong to the second.
- The size of the allocated memory depends on the physical capabilities of the PC. The simplest solution would be to allocate 2 GB (2048 MB). This is the minimum amount required to run 64-bit Windows. It is enough to install any version of Linux.
- In the network settings, open the drop-down menu and select the specified option. VM Manager will automatically configure the connection for the virtual machine using your current Internet connection.
- The disk size that will be used for installation can be limited to 32 GB. This is enough to run a guest OS with a set of programs.
- We agree with the proposal to install the guest system later. This can be done using DVD media or an ISO image.
The virtual machine is ready. To disable Hyper-V and remove guests, you must disable this Windows feature in Control Panel.
Alternative
Windows Home owners who do not have access to Hyper-V can use a free alternative solution from Oracle. Unlike the Microsoft product, the VirtualBox application runs on 32-bit systems, has more features and is less resource-demanding. It does not require a special set of processor instructions.
Almost all existing operating systems will run in VirtualBox, which cannot be said about Hyper-V. In it, the choice is limited to several versions of Windows, and more recently also Linux.
Finally
To use virtual machines comfortably, do not forget that they consume physical computer resources. Ideally, a PC should have 8 GB of memory to ensure simultaneous operation of the current and guest OS with running applications.
Video
To help users who want to better understand Windows 10 virtualization settings, below are links to videos.
A virtualization server is a physical computer that has the necessary resources to run virtual machines. Using Hyper-V Manager, you can create, configure, and manage virtual machines on a virtualization server.
Using virtual machines you can perform various tasks. Each virtual machine runs in an isolated execution environment, allowing you to run different operating systems and applications on your computer.
This article will tell you how to enable Hyper-V virtualization in Windows 10. First of all, we will look at how to check the Hyper-V system requirements, and only then enable Hyper-V and configure the virtual machine.
So, if we talk about the system requirements for the operating system on which the hypervisor called Hyper-V will be deployed, then the Windows 10 Enterprise, Professional and Education editions are suitable. You must have a 64-bit version of the Windows 10 operating system, since 32-bit versions do not have the ability to use Hyper-V.
In addition, you will need a 64-bit processor that supports virtualization technologies, such as VM Monitor Mode Extension and support for Second Level Address Translation. It is recommended to use at least 4 GB of RAM, but if you run it on a smaller amount, then the virtual machine will not get anything.
It will also be necessary to enable these same virtualization technologies, as well as enable Hardware Enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP). Without this technology, you will not be able to run virtual machines. There are a number of features associated with a specific BIOS or UEFI model. Some technologies may compete with virtualization and therefore prevent you from running virtual machines.
The Windows 10 operating system has a tool for checking hardware compatibility with Hyper-V installations, which is useful for beginners. Using the systeminfo.exe utility, we will see the parameters for the requirements for Hyper-V.
At the bottom of the window, find the Hyper-V requirements item and check whether installing a virtual machine on your computer is supported. If you find the following value parameters, then you will not have any problems installing Hyper-V on this machine:
- Virtual Machine Monitoring Mode Extensions: Yes
- Virtualization enabled in firmware: Yes
- Second level address translation: Yes
- Data execution prevention available: Yes
How to enable Hyper-V on Windows 10
Control Panel
The installation of the components will proceed quite quickly and the system will request a system reboot. During the reboot process, the user will also see updates working.
Windows PowerShell
Installing and configuring Hyper-V
The wizard will help you create a virtual machine. Virtual machines can be used instead of physical computers for a variety of purposes. You can configure the virtual machine using a wizard or using Hyper-V Manager.
Before creating a virtual machine in Hyper-V, you need to download an operating system image. It can be done easily.
- Open the Hyper-V Manager, which appeared in the system after enabling the Hyper-V hypervisor component.
- Right-click on your device in Hyper-V Manager and select the item in the context menu New > Virtual Machine…
- In the virtual machine creation wizard window that opens, click the button Further to create a virtual machine with specific configuration settings.
- Set the name and location for this virtual machine and click Further(the values of the current window can be left as default if you have enough memory on the system disk).
- Depending on the bitness of the operating system that we will install on the virtual machine, we select the generation (the generation of the virtual machine you have chosen cannot be changed after creation).
- Next, indicate how much RAM you need to allocate for this virtual machine (when deciding on the amount of memory allocated to the virtual machine, you should take into account the purposes for which it will be used).
- Select a virtual switch from the available connections or leave the virtual machine's network adapter unconnected.
- Now let's create a virtual hard disk by specifying its name, location and size (we recommend freeing up memory on your hard disk in advance).
- Next, in the installation options, select Install an operating system from a boot image file and specify the desired operating system image.
- The last step in creating a virtual machine will be to check all the above parameters in the tab Summary and pressing a button Ready.
- Now in the Hyper-V manager you just need to start the created virtual machine by selecting Start in the context menu and connect to it by selecting To plug.
After connecting to the new virtual machine, a new window will open with the image that was selected earlier. Then it is enough to manage and follow the steps of installing the operating system.
Conclusion
You can enable Hyper-V virtualization on Windows 10 using the Create a Virtual Machine Wizard in Hyper-V Manager. But before turning it on, make sure that your computer meets the Hyper-V system requirements. Only then is it recommended to enable, install and configure the virtual machine in Hyper-V.
Hyper-V represents an operating system component that is disabled by default. To enable a component Hyper-V 64-bit production processor required Intel or AMD with support for NX and SSE2 instructions. The processor must support virtualization technologies ( Intel VT-x or AMD-V), as well as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) technology. You can check the processor for the presence of the necessary technologies using the Coreinfo utility from Sysinternals; the verification procedure is described in detail
Also, before enabling Hyper-V, you need to check whether these technologies are enabled in the BIOS/UEFI.
GUI
To enable the Hyper-V feature in the GUI, press the keyboard shortcut + R and in the window that opens, enter OptionalFeatures and press the key Enter↵
In the window that opens Windows components find the point Hyper-V. In addition to the Hyper-V platform itself, this includes tools for its management - graphics equipment Hyper-V Manager and module Hyper-V for PowerShell. Open it, mark all the components and press the button OK
To disable Hyper-V, uncheck the box next to Hyper-V
To complete the installation and make the requested changes, you must restart your computer.
Enable or disable Hyper-V using
Windows PowerShell
Hyper-V can be enabled using the Windows PowerShell console
As administrator and run the following command:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V –All
Y
To disable the Hyper-V component using Windows PowerShell, run the command:
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
To complete the operation, restart Windows by pressing the key Y
Enable or disable Hyper-V using DISM
To enable the Hyper-V feature using DISM, start a command prompt as administrator and run the command:
dism.exe /Online /Enable-Feature:Microsoft-Hyper-V /All
To complete the operation, restart Windows by pressing the key Y
To disable the Hyper-V component using >DISM, run a command prompt as an administrator and run the command:
dism.exe /Online /Disable-Feature:Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
To complete the operation, restart Windows by pressing the key Y
In one of the test tasks, it was necessary to install the Hyper-V virtualization component on a virtual machine running Windows 10 (applicable to Windows Server 2016) running on the VMWare ESXi hypervisor. Those. you need to organize nested virtualization Hyper-V on VMWare ESXi.
First, a few words about nested virtualization. Nested virtualization (Nested Virtualization) – the ability to run a hypervisor inside a virtual machine on another hypervisor. In Hyper-V, full support for nested virtualization appeared in Windows Server 2016 / Windows 10 Anniversary Update; in VMWare, nested virtualization technology has been working for a long time (appeared in ESXi 5.0).
We have: a VMWare ESXi 6.0 virtualization host, running a virtual machine with Windows 10 1709.
When you try to install the Hyper-V hypervisor role (a component called Hyper-V Hypervisor) using the enable/disable features feature in the classic Windows 10 Control Panel, this option was not available. The reasons given are:
Hyper-V cannot be installed: The processor does not have the required virtualization capabilities
To enable nested virtualization for this VM, open the virtual machine settings using the vSphere web client (the VM must be shut down). In the CPU section, enable the “” option (this option is not available in the “heavy” C# vCenter client)
Note. In older versions of ESXi that do not have this option, as well as in desktop VMWare Workstation, a similar effect is achieved by adding the following options to the virtual machine configuration file (*.vmx).
hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = “FALSE”
mce.enable = “TRUE”
vhv.enable= "TRUE"
In the vSphere client, these options can be added in the VM settings. Tab Options-> General -> Configure parameters. Add two new lines with these parameters (button Add Row).
We turn on the virtual machine with Windows 10 and try again to install the Hyper-V role. The system has now stopped detecting that it is running inside another hypervisor, but now another error has appeared:
Hyper-V cannot be installed: the processor dose not support second level address translation (SLAT).
Those. The virtual machine processor, in addition to supporting virtualization, must support the technology SLAT— the ability to virtualize memory pages and transfer them under the direct control of the guest OS. In Intel terminology, this feature is called Extended Page Tables ( EPT), AMD has Rapid Virtualization Indexing ( RVI).
Let's check the processor's support for SLAT using the command:
The command in the Hyper-V Requirements section should return that there is no SLAT support.
Second Level Address Translation: No
Second level address translation: No
In this case, you need to change the processor settings of the virtual machine. In the web client in the CPU/MMU Virtualization section you need to select Hardware CPU and MMU.
In the “classic” client, a similar option is located on the tab Options in section CPU/MMU Virtualization and is called "".
Start the Windows 10 virtual machine and verify that its processor now supports SLAT. Now you can install all components of the Hyper-V role and run your own virtual machines inside the Win10 virtual machine.
Hyper-V Manager provides tools and information that you can use to manage your virtualization server. Virtualization technology allows you to create several virtual machines on one physical computer and work with them in parallel. Some applications, in addition to the Hyper-V component itself, can also use virtualization technology.
This article will tell you how to turn off Hyper-V virtualization in Windows 10. Since this functionality is not necessary for everyone, but it is present. Although by default on the original build of the Windows 10 operating system, the Hyper-V component is disabled. Therefore, we have already considered earlier.
We recommend using Hyper-V Virtual Machine Manager to manage virtual machines. Hyper-V Manager allows you to create and configure virtual machines. Therefore, before disabling Hyper-V in Windows 10, you must first stop the previously created virtual machines.
First of all, we go to Hyper-V Manager and in the virtual machines section, right-click on the running new virtual machine and select the item in the context menu Switch off…
Programs and components
Windows PowerShell
Using Windows PowerShell, you can not only enable and disable system components, but also .
Command line
- Launch the command line by clicking Win+X and selecting the item Command Line (Administrator).
- Next we run the command: dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:microsoft-hyper-v-all.
- After completing the shutdown process, confirm restarting the computer by pressing the button Y.
Conclusion
It is possible to disable Hyper-V virtualization in Windows 10, since by default the Hyper-V component is disabled and virtualization is not used. And not many users need the ability to simultaneously use several virtual machines. Therefore, we looked at how to disable the virtual machine management service, and then the Hyper-V component itself.