How To Enable Hyper-V On Windows 10 (Home & Pro)

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s virtualization platform. It is available on Windows Server operating systems and Microsoft has also added the Hyper-V functionality to Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Unfortunately, the Hyper-V feature is only available in Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions. You can’t install it on Windows 10 Home edition by default.

However, using the steps in this article, we’ll show you how to enable Hyper-V in the Windows 10 Home edition.

Does Your System Support Virtualization?

Before moving forward, we need to check if our system supports virtualization. Hardware virtualization is required for Hyper-V to function correctly. Otherwise, you can use other virtualization platforms like Virtualbox and VMWare.

There are four basic requirements for Hyper-V to be installed on a Windows 10 computer:

  • VM Monitor Mode Extensions
  • Virtualization enabled in firmware
  • Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
  • Data Execution Prevention

All four of these requirements can be easily checked through a Command Prompt cmdlet. Run the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt and obtain the results on the four requirements:

systeminfo

This will generate a list, and you will find the section “Hyper-V Requirements” at the end of the list containing the details of the 4 requirements, as in the image below:

Check Hyper-V requirements

If these requirements are met, the results will display “Yes.” However, if you find that “Virtualization Enabled In Firmware” states “No,” you need to enable it using the guide below.

Enable Virtualization in Firmware/BIOS

Most modern computers support all the requirements of Hyper-V. But some systems have virtualization disabled from BIOS. You can go to the BIOS setup computer at the startup and enable Virtualization using the following steps:

  1. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS setup using the hotkey.

  2. Here, look for the “Virtualization” tab and click on it, or use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight it and press Enter.

  3. Now enable Virtualization.

    Enable virtualization from BIOS

  4. Now save the new settings and exit BIOS. The system will now reboot normally.

When it reboots, continue with the following steps to install and enable Hyper-V.

Install Hyper-V in Windows 10 Home

Note: Since Windows Home edition comes without Hyper-V, you must first install it. If you have the Pro, Education, or Enterprise editions, then you may skip this step and proceed to the next section of this article. To check which edition you have, type in winver in the Run Command box and obtain your operating system’s details.

Follow the steps below to install and enable Hyper-V in Windows 10 Home:

  1. Download Hyper-V Installer by clicking on the following link:

      Hyper-V installer and enabler for Windows 10 Home (317 bytes, 35,208 hits)

  2. Once downloaded, right-click on the file and select Run as Administrator from the context menu. This will trigger the installation script.

    Run as admin

  3. If prompted with a UAC, click Yes.

    Click Yes on User Access Control

    It may take some time to complete the installation. Please let it complete without interruption.

  4. Once complete, press Y to continue.

    Press Y to continue

    The computer will now reboot and update.

Once rebooted, Hyper-V will have installed and automatically enabled on your Windows Home.

How to Enable Hyper-V on Windows 10 (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

The method given above automatically enables Hyper-V as well as installing it on a Windows Home. However, if you are running Windows Pro, Education, or Enterprise edition, then you can enable Hyper-V using any one of the following methods.

Enable Hyper-V from Optional Features

Since Hyper-V is an optional feature that one can enable when needed, you can enable it from the Optional Features applet. Here is how:

  1. Open the Optional Features applet by typing in optionalfeatures in the Run Command box.

    Open the Optional Features applet

  2. Now look for the “Hyper-V” option from the list and check the box next to it. Then click Ok.

    Enable Hyper V from Optional Features

  3. You will now see a window applying the changes. Click Close when it is done.

    Close installation window

Hyper-V will now be installed and enabled. You can now access the Hyper-V manager by searching for it in the search box in the taskbar or through the Start menu.

Source: us.suanoncolosence.com

Open Hyper V Manager

Alternatively, you can also use the other 2 command-line methods to enable Hyper-V on Windows 10.

Enable Hyper-V from Command Prompt

Follow these steps to enable Hyper-V using the DISM command tool in the Command Prompt:

  1. Run the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt:

    DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /All /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V
    Enable Hyper V from Command Prompt

  2. When asked, enter Y to restart the computer:

    Enter Y

The computer will now restart, When it does, Hyper-V should be enabled successfully.

Enable Hyper-V from Windows PowerShell

If you’d rather prefer to use Windows PowerShell, here is how to enable Hyper-V:

  1. Run the following cmdlet in an elevated PowerShell:

    Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All
    Enable Hyper V using PowerShell

  2. When asked, enter Y and hit Enter to restart the computer:

    Enter Y

    When the computer reboots, Hyper-V will have installed successfully.

These are the 3 methods to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10, provided that the hardware is supported and Hyper-V is installed.

How to Disable Hyper-V in Windows 10 (Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education)

If you don’t want this functionality on your computer, you can always disable it. There are three ways to disable it:

  • From Optional Features

    1. Open the Optional Features applet by typing in optionalfeatures in the Run Command box.

      Open Optional Features applet

    2. Uncheck the box next to Hyper-V and click Ok.

      Disable Hyper-V from Optional Features

    3. When done, click Restart now to finalize the changes.

      Restart PC

  • From Command Prompt

    Run the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt to disable Hyper-V:

    DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-all

    If asked for a reboot, enter Y for Yes.

    Disable Hyper V from Command Prompt

  • From PowerShell

    Run the following cmdlet in an elevated PowerShell to disable Hyper-V:

    Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All

    If asked for a reboot, enter Y for Yes.

    Disable Hyper V from Windows PowerShell

Closing Thoughts

Sometimes Hyper-V is very useful even for home users. It can be used to test and evaluate new software without hurting the host system. But there are times when enabling virtualization support or installing Hyper-V is not recommended.

Hyper-V requires some system resources to run its virtual machines. For example, if you have 4 GB RAM, you won’t be able to give any resources to the virtual machine. So it would not be wise to enable Hyper-V functionality.

For what purpose do you want to enable Hyper-V functionality on your Windows 10 Home computer? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Related posts:

  • How To Enable Hyper-V In Windows 11 (Home & Pro)
  • How To Enable Virtualization In Windows 11/10
  • 4 Ways To Enable/Disable Optional Windows Features
  • How to Enable Local Security Policy (secpol.msc) in Windows 11 (Home + Pro)
  • How To Enable Nested Virtualization (VT-x) On Hyper-V, VMWare, VirtualBox VMs In Windows

Source: https://www.itechtics.com/enable-hyper-v-windows-10-home/

Article post on: us.suanoncolosence.com

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