Hyper-V feature is enabled to create Virtual Machines in Windows 10, it helps to extend the capabilities of your computer to run multiple operating systems simultaneously along with all the running applications on your PC. You don’t have to download any third-party software from the internet, it is just a built-in feature provided by Windows 10. So, in this article, I will guide you step-wise on how to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10.
Hyper-V Requirements
There are some requirements that you should preserve before enabling Hyper-V in Windows 10. These are listed below.
- You must have Windows 10 Enterprise, Education or Professional
- You must have 64-bit Processor and operating system (Windows) installed with (SLAT) Second Level Address Translation
- BIOS-level Hardware Virtualization support.
- Your PC must have 4 GB of RAM installed
Now let’s get started with the steps to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10.
1. Verify Virtualization Support on PC
Method 1: From Task Manager
In Windows 10 you can easily check if your processor supports Virtualization and if it’s enabled or not. To do that, right-click on the task-bar as shown above, now from the menu, select the Task Manager option as highlighted above.
From the Task Manger, under the Performance tab choose CPU option as shown above, in CPU section you can see the Virtualization option as highlighted above, against the option you can check if it says Enabled or disabled. If you don’t see Virtualization option at all, it means that your PC processor doesn’t support Virtualization.
Method 2: From System Information
Another way to check Virtualization of your PC is from System information.
From the Windows search, type in “system information”. Under the Best match click on the System Information Desktop app as shown above.
In the System Information Window, from System Summary, scroll to bottom of the item column you can see options listed for Hyper-V as highlighted above. From here you can check your computer’s VM Monitor Mode and Virtualization is Enabled or not.
Now that we are done with checking support and state of Virtualization. It is now time to enable Virtualization from the BIOS.
2. Enable Virtualization in BIOS
To enter the BIOS of your system first you have to shutdown your PC, now right after hitting the power button to turn on the Computer, when the first brand logo shows up press the F10 button (If you’re using HP probook) from the keyboard to enter the BIOS (the key can be change for brands, we recommend you to look up for your brand to enter the BIOS setup).
From BIOS, go to Security section (sometimes it is System Configuration section) and find the Virtualization option as shown above. Now, hit Enter to change Virtualization Settings.
Use navigation keys to select Intel (R) Virtualization Technology hit enter, and select the Enabled option as shown above. Now press F10 to Save and Exit the settings of BIOS. After save and exit your PC will automatically reboot.
3. Enable Hyper-V
Method 1: From Powershell
- Open Power Shell from Start Menu
- Now right click on the Windows PowerShell (x86) option and choose the Run as administrator option and shown below. Now, a windows warning pop up box will appear as shown below, click on Yes to proceed.
- PowerShell windows will launch as shown below
- Run following command by copying to powershell:
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online –FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All
- Windows will ask you to restart your PC, click on restart to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10 (as shown below).
This will restart your PC and Enable the Hyper-V in Windows 10.
Method 2: From Programs and Features
- Open Programs and Features
- Click on the “All Control Panel items” as highlighted below.
- click on the Programs and Features option as highlighted above.
- click on the Turn Windows features on or off as highlighted below.
- Expand the Hyper-V folder by clicking on the plus (+) sign. Make sure to check mark the checkbox of Hyper-V folder as shown above. Now click on OK button to apply changes.
Now wait until Windows apply changes of Hyper-V.
After the changes has applied successfully, the Windows will ask you to reboot the Windows to fully install the requested changes. Simply, click on the Restart now button to apply changes as shown below.
That’s it! Hope this helped you Enable Hyper-V in Windows 10.