Microsoft has been developing its own virtual machine application called Hyper-V to provide built-in virtual machine capabilities on Windows. Hyper-V is similar to other virtual machine applications because it allows users to run different operating systems on top of Windows. While that’s great, Windows 11 and Windows 10 Home Edition do not have the option to turn on or off the Hyper-V capabilities since Microsoft has made it available only for Windows Professional, Education, and Enterprise Editions. This post will guide you on how you can install and enable Hyper-V on Windows 11/10 Home.
Does Your Computer Support Virtualization?
Hyper-V requires Virtualization to be enabled in BIOS to create VMs. Here’s how to check whether Virtualization has been enabled in the BIOS or not.
- Pull up the Task Manager by either searching for the same in the Start Search Box or right-clicking on the Taskbar and choosing Task Manager from the drop-down.
- Navigate to the Performance tab and check for the text next to Virtualization, present right below the graphs.
- If it says Enabled, then you’re all set; however, if it says Disabled, head over to the BIOS and turn on Virtualization.
How to Install Hyper-V on Windows 11/10 Home
Since Windows Home doesn’t officially ship with Hyper-V built-in, there’s a workaround one needs to follow to get Hyper-V on the machine.
pushd "%~dp0"
dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\*Hyper-V*.mum >hyper-v.txt
for /f %%i in ('findstr /i . hyper-v.txt 2^>nul') do dism /online /norestart /add-package:"%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\%%i"
del hyper-v.txt
Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Hyper-V -All /LimitAccess /ALL
pause
- Start by copying the above-mentioned script to a new file in Notepad (Start Search Box > search for Notepad > Choose the main listed result).
- Now, head over to the File menu and choose to Save as from the drop-down.
- Name the file Enable Hyper-V.bat and save it on the Desktop.
- Now, select the file, right-click and choose Run as Administrator. With this, you should be able to find a new Command Prompt window making changes.
- Once done, you’ll be prompted for a restart. Make the restart and proceed.
How to Enable Hyper V on Windows 11/10 Home
Now that you’ve managed to install Hyper-V on your Windows Home PC, it’s time for you to enable it and get going.
- Bring up the Start Search Box and key in Turn Windows Features on or off. Next, select the main listed result.
- This will open the Windows Features. This is the place where you can turn on or off additional features bundled with Windows.
- Scroll down, find and check the checkboxes that say Hyper-V Management Tools and Hyper-V Platform.
- With this done, restart your PC to make changes, and you should be good to go.
Now that you have Hyper-V enabled, you’re now ready to create a new instance and start deploying a new operating system such as Windows 11 in the VM. Here’s how you can use Hyper-V to install Windows 11 on a computer.
That said, do let us know which operating system you plan to use with a virtual machine in Hyper-V by dropping a comment down below.
What Are the Benefits of Hyper-V? Should You Install It on Your Computer?
Hyper-V is software that helps virtualize a single hardware server into multiple virtual servers/machines. If you’re looking to try out new operating systems on your computer without compromising the host OS, Hyper-V could turn out to be helpful.
What Is the Purpose of Using Hyper-V in Windows?
Hyper-V is virtualization software that, you guessed it, virtualizes software. Operating systems, hard drives, network switches, and even whole computers can be virtualized with this technology.
Is Hyper-V Good for Gaming?
While you can play games on a virtual machine using Hyper-V, do not expect the same level of performance as the host operating system. It is recommended that you use the host operating system (Windows in this case) for gaming.
Does Hyper-V affect performance?
When a Virtual Machine is running, it does consume memory and resources. Thus, you might face performance issues with the host operating system.
Does WSL2 use Hyper-V?
Yes, the newest version of WSL uses Hyper-V architecture to enable its virtualization.
