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 launch 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.
Virtualization technology can improve your computer's performance and make Nox App Player run smoother and faster.
1. Does your computer support virtualization technology (VT)?
To check if your computer can support VT, simply download LeoMoon CPU-V. This will not only detect whether your processor can support hardware virtualization, but will also detect whether Hardware Virtualization is enabled in the BIOS or not.
If the scan result shows a green check mark under VT-x Supported, it means your computer supports virtualization. If it is a red X, then your computer does not support VT, but you can still install Nox under the installation requirements.
1.If the test result shows a green checkmark under VT-x enabled, then this means that VT is already enabled in your BIOS. If it is a red X, then follow these steps to enable it.
2. Determine your BIOS type: Press Win + R to open the “Run” window, type “DXDiag” and click the “OK” button. After this, you will see the BIOS information as shown in the image below.
3.Then find on Google what exactly needs to be done to enable VT for this specific BIOS. Typically, to enter the BIOS you have to press a certain key several times when your computer boots. The assigned key can be any function key or ESC key based on the brand of your computer. After entering BIOS mode, look for VT-x, Intel Virtual Technology or something similar that says "Virtual" and enable it. After that, turn off your computer, then turn it on again. Now virtualization is enabled and Nox App Player performance is even better.
Attention!!!
- If you are running Windows 8 or Windows 10, there may be a conflict between VT and Microsoft Hyper-V technology. Please disable Hyper-V by following these steps: Go to Control Panel->Programs and Features->Turn Windows features on or off>uncheck Hyper-V.
- 2.If VT is enabled in the BIOS, but the LeMoon scan result still shows a red cross under VT-x Enabled, then there is a high possibility that your antivirus is blocking this function. For example, let's take Avast antivirus! What you need to do to solve this problem:
1) Open Avast antivirus >> Settings >> Troubleshooting
2)Uncheck Enable virtualization with hardware, then restart your computer.
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Among the top three leaders in the software market for virtualization of operating systems – VMware, VirtualBox and Hyper-V – the latter hypervisor occupies a special place. This special place is due to the fact that Hyper-V is a standard component of Windows server systems and some versions of Windows for desktop PCs. While inferior to VMware Workstation and VirtualBox in functionality, cross-platform, and partly in ease of use, Hyper-V, however, is not without its advantages. And the main thing is higher performance of guest operating systems.
Below we will talk about activating Hyper-V in Windows 10 and creating a virtual machine using this hypervisor.
1. Hyper-V - standard hypervisor from Microsoft
The Windows 10 system inherited the standard Hyper-V component from versions of Windows 8 and 8.1, and in them the hypervisor migrated from Windows Server. Both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 include optional Hyper-V in the Pro and Enterprise editions. The hypervisor can only work on 64-bit systems.
For a long time, Hyper-V did not support any guest operating systems other than Windows. However, relatively recently, Microsoft took care of hypervisor support for Linux guest OS. And today, using Hyper-V, you can test some Linux distributions, in particular the popular Ubuntu.
2. Requirements for running Hyper-V
The minimum amount of RAM on a physical computer to run Hyper-V is 4 GB.
The computer processor must support SLAT technology (Intel EPT or AMD RVI). Almost all modern processors meet this requirement.
Another requirement for the processor, also provided for by many modern models, is support for hardware virtualization technology and, accordingly, its active state in the BIOS. In the BIOS of motherboards for Intel processors, this technology (depending on the version) can be called differently - Intel-VT, Intel Virtualization Technology, Intel VT-x, Vanderpool or Virtualization Extensions. AMD's hardware virtualization technology is called AMD-V or SVM (Secure Virtual Machines). For example, in AMI BIOS version 17.9, the AMD processor hardware virtualization function can be found under the path Cell Menu – CPU Feature – SVM Support.
AMD processors usually have hardware virtualization enabled by default. Whether a specific processor model supports hardware virtualization can be found out on the websites of Intel and AMD.
3. Activation and launch of Hyper-V
Hyper-V is optional with Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. Initially, the standard hypervisor is disabled. It is turned on in the “Programs and Features” section of the control panel. The fastest way to get there is an internal search.
Run “Turn system components on or off.”
In the small window that appears, check all the sub-items of the Hyper-V item. Click "Ok".
The system will apply the changes for a couple of seconds and ask to reboot. After the reboot, look for the shortcut to launch the Hyper-V Manager. You can immediately pin the Hyper-V Manager shortcut to the Windows 10 Start screen by finding it in the Start menu Administrative Tools.
The Hyper-V Manager shortcut can also be accessed using an in-system search.
Launch Hyper-V Manager.
4. Setting up network access
In Hyper-V Manager, the network is configured in a separate step, and first you need to create a virtual switch - the parameter that provides access to the network. Click on the name of the physical computer, and on the right side of the window select “Virtual Switch Manager...”.
The virtual switch creation wizard will launch, where the first thing you need to do is select the network type. There are three of them:
- External – This type uses the network card or Wi-Fi adapter of the physical computer and connects the virtual machine to the same network as the physical computer. Accordingly, this is a type of network that allows a virtual machine to access the Internet;
- Internal - this type provides a network between the physical computer and Hyper-V virtual machines, but does not provide their access to the Internet;
- Private - this type allows you to create a network between Hyper-V virtual machines, but there will be no physical computer on this network, nor will there be Internet access.
In our case, virtual machine access to the Internet is necessary, so we will choose the first type - an external network. Click “Create a virtual switch.”
In the properties window of the virtual switch, give it a name; it can be any name, for example, “Network card 1”. If necessary, you can add a note to the virtual switch. If a physical computer has both a network card and a Wi-Fi adapter on board, the specific device through which the virtual machine will connect to the network can be selected from the drop-down list in the “Connection type” column. After making the settings, click “Apply” at the bottom of the window.
5. Create a virtual machine
Now you can proceed directly to creating a virtual machine. On the left side of the Hyper-V window, the selection should still be on the name of the physical computer. In the top right corner, click “Create”, then click “Virtual Machine”.
In the welcome window of the launched wizard, click “Next”.
Give the virtual machine a name; You can also change its location on the disk of a physical computer by specifying the desired disk partition and the desired folder using the browse button. Click “Next”.
One of the relatively new features of Hyper-V is the choice of virtual machine generation. In our case, generation 2 was selected.
What does it mean? Generation 1 are virtual machines that support 32- and 64-bit Windows systems. Generation 1 is compatible with previous versions of Hyper-V.
Generation 2 – new format virtual machines with built-in UEFI-based software. Such virtual machines support a number of new features and can provide a small performance increase. On generation 2 virtual machines, only 64-bit versions of Windows 8.1 and 10, as well as server versions of Windows Server 2012, Server 2012 R2 and Server 2016 are installed as guest operating systems.
The UEFI platform imposes another requirement for using Generation 2 virtual machines - UEFI boot media. This point needs to be clarified by downloading an ISO image with a Windows distribution from third-party sources on the Internet. But it’s still better to download Windows distributions from official Microsoft sources. Thus, the Media Creation Tool utility, which downloads Windows 8.1 and distribution kits from the Microsoft website, creates a bootable ISO image that supports the UEFI environment.
If you install Windows 10 as a guest OS, this is the recommended method for obtaining an ISO image of the system. Windows 10 includes a lazy-input installation process. In our case, Windows 8.1 will be installed as the guest OS, and its official distribution, obtained using the Media Creation Tool utility, requires entering the product key during the installation process. The TechNet Trial Center website can help you support the UEFI environment and take advantage of the free opportunity to test Windows 8.1. On this site you can download the English edition of 64-bit Windows 8.1 Enterprise and test the system for free for 3 months. The problem with the lack of support for the Russian language after installing the system can be solved separately by installing a language pack and setting Russian as the main language of the system.
We return to the virtual machine creation wizard. In the memory allocation window, leave the preset parameters if the physical computer has no more than 4 GB of RAM. If it is more than 4 GB, you can increase the amount allocated when starting the virtual machine. For guest Windows XP, the RAM indicator can, on the contrary, be reduced to 512 MB. Click “Next”.
In the network settings window, select the previously created virtual switch from the drop-down list. Click “Next”.
In the virtual hard disk connection window, give the virtual machine a name, indicate the location on the physical computer’s disk, and indicate the size. These are the options for creating a new hard drive. The second point of this wizard step is used when the computer already has a virtual hard disk, in particular, with a guest OS installed. If you select a Generation 2 virtual machine, the virtual hard disk file must be in VHDX (not VHD) format, and the guest OS must support the UEFI boot environment. Click “Next”.
If in the previous step of the wizard you selected the option to create a new virtual hard disk, the next step will be to specify the path to the Windows distribution. Generation 2 virtual machines no longer allow booting from a physical CD/DVD drive. The only sources for downloading the guest OS distribution can be the network and ISO image. In our case, this is an ISO image. Click “Next”.
The final stage of the wizard is to click “Finish”.
6. Connecting a virtual machine
Having created the virtual machine, return to the Hyper-V Manager window. Now you need to connect it. To do this, there is the “Connect” command, among other commands in the context menu called on the virtual machine. The “Connect” command is also present on the right side of the Hyper-V Manager window. To connect, you can also double-click with the left mouse button on the preview window of the selected virtual machine.
In the connection window that opens, click the green start button.
The normal Windows 8.1 installation process will follow, just as it would on a physical computer.
As soon as the installation files begin copying, you can close the virtual machine connection window and do other things.
Closing the connection window will free up some resources of the physical computer to perform other tasks, while the virtual machine will continue to work in the background. Its performance will be displayed in Hyper-V Manager.
You can connect to the virtual machine as needed to perform actions in it.
That's it - Windows 8.1 is installed. You can turn off, pause, save a virtual machine, or reset its state using commands in the Hyper-V manager and buttons on the top panel of the connection window.
7. Boot priority
In order to avoid wasting time on the boot window from a CD/DVD when starting a virtual machine in the future, you need to open the settings window when it is turned off and remove the path to the ISO file with the distribution kit. This is done in the DVD drive tab of the virtual machine hardware settings.
An alternative option is to raise the hard drive in boot priority above the DVD drive (but not above the “bootmgfw.efi” file). This is done in the “Firmware” tab of the hardware settings.
In both cases, the changes made are saved with the “Apply” button at the bottom.
8. Bypass Hyper-V connection window restrictions
The Hyper-V hypervisor focuses on the performance of virtual machines, not functionality. Unlike its competitors - VMware and VirtualBox - Hyper-V virtual machines do not work with connected flash drives, do not play sound, and interaction with a physical computer is carried out only by inserting text copied into the main OS inside the guest OS. This is the price of performance of Hyper-V virtual machines. But this is if you work with the usual Hyper-V connection window.
Full integration of a physical computer and a virtual machine can be achieved using the standard remote desktop connection utility.
This utility allows you to flexibly configure connection parameters, in particular, to make available within the virtual machine not only USB drives connected to the physical computer, but also individual hard drive partitions.
Connecting to a virtual machine in this way will provide audio playback and two-way file transfer in the guest OS.
Have a great day!
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.
- 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.
Virtualization may be necessary for those users who work with various emulators and/or virtual machines. Both of them can work quite well without enabling this parameter, however, if you require high performance while using the emulator, you will have to enable it.
Important Warning
Initially, it is advisable to make sure whether your computer supports virtualization. If it is not there, then you risk simply wasting your time trying to activate it through the BIOS. Many popular emulators and virtual machines warn the user that his computer supports virtualization and if you enable this parameter, the system will work much faster.
If you do not receive such a message when you first launch an emulator/virtual machine, this may mean the following:
- Virtualization is already enabled by default (this rarely happens);
- Your computer does not support this setting;
- The emulator is not able to analyze and notify the user about the possibility of connecting virtualization.
Enable virtualization on an Intel processor
Using these step-by-step instructions, you can activate virtualization (only relevant for computers running on an Intel processor):
Enable virtualization on an AMD processor
The step-by-step instructions in this case look similar:
It is not difficult to enable virtualization on your computer; all you need to do is follow the step-by-step instructions. However, if the BIOS does not allow you to enable this function, then you should not try to do this using third-party programs, as this will not give any result, but may worsen the performance of the computer.
We are glad that we were able to help you solve the problem.
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Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) in Windows 10 Enterprise
Windows 10 Enterprise (and this edition only) introduces a new Hyper-V component called Virtual Secure Mode (VSM). VSM is a protected container (virtual machine) running on a hypervisor and separated from the host Windows 10 and its kernel. Security-critical system components run inside this secure virtual container. No third party code can be executed inside VSM, and the integrity of the code is constantly checked for modification. This architecture allows you to protect data in VSM, even if the kernel of the host Windows 10 is compromised, because even the kernel does not have direct access to the VSM.
The VSM container cannot be connected to the network, and no one can gain administrative privileges on it. Encryption keys, user authorization data and other information critical from the point of view of compromise can be stored inside the Virtual Secure Mode container. Thus, an attacker will no longer be able to penetrate the corporate infrastructure using locally cached domain user account data.
The following system components can run inside VSM:
- LSASS (Local Security Subsystem Service) is a component responsible for authorization and isolation of local users (thus the system is protected from “pass the hash” attacks and utilities like mimikatz). This means that passwords (and/or hashes) of users registered in the system cannot be obtained even by a user with local administrator rights.
- Virtual TPM (vTPM) is a synthetic TPM device for guest machines, necessary for encrypting the contents of disks
- OS code integrity monitoring system – protecting system code from modification
To be able to use VSM mode, the environment must meet the following hardware requirements:
- UEFI, Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) support for secure key storage
- Hardware virtualization support (at least VT-x or AMD-V)
How to enable Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) in Windows 10
Let's look at how to enable Virtual Secure Mode in Windows 10 (in our example, Build 10130).
Checking VSM operation
You can make sure that VSM mode is active by the presence of the Secure System process in the task manager.
Or by the event “Credential Guard (Lsalso.exe) was started and will protect LSA credential” in the system log.
VSM Security Testing
So, on machines with VSM mode enabled, register under a domain account and run the following mimikatz command as a local administrator:
mimikatz.exe privilege::debug sekurlsa::logonpasswords exit
We see that the LSA is running in an isolated environment and user password hashes cannot be obtained.
If the same operation is performed on a machine with VSM disabled, we obtain an NTLM hash of the user's password, which can be used for “pass-the-hash” attacks. 