If you think that to try a program or a new tool you need to install a virtual machine manager, with Windows 10 you have the possibility to use Hyper-V. It is a hidden program that Microsoft has integrated into Windows 10, which can be activated on any modern PC to have a virtualization system of operating systems.
With Hyper-V you can easily create a virtual machine, that is to use another operating system on Windows, which works independently as if it were another computer.
If we fear for example that the new downloaded program is a virus or a dangerous program, just start it inside the virtual machine created with Hyper-V to remove all doubts.
Once the test has been carried out, just turn off the virtual machine and go back to "normal" Windows 10, without any kind of interference or integration.
In this guide we will see together how to enable Hyper-V, create and run a virtual machine on the Windows 10 PC.
READ ALSO: Best programs for the virtualization of operating systems
The requirements for running Hyper-V are the same as for any systems virtualization program: a multi-core processor, at least 8 GB of RAM, at least 200 GB of free disk space and Windows 10 activated and updated regularly.
The only real parameter to keep in mind is the RAM memory: whatever the quantity in your possession we try not to allocate more than half of the available memory to the machines in Hyper.V, to avoid full-bodied slowdowns both to the virtual machine and to that real.
1) How to activate Hyper-V on Windows 10
To activate Hyper-V you must first install it on Windows, since it is not present by default.
However, there is no site to reach: we turn on the PC with Windows 10 and open Control Panel from the Start menu, that is the old utility to manage every aspect of the system.
As soon as the control panel is opened, click on the Programs menu, then click on the Enable or disable Windows feature item.
Wait a few seconds and, in the new window, look for the Hyper-V program, then enable it by clicking on the box next to the item.
Click OK, wait for the installation to complete (files will be downloaded from the Internet) then restart the computer.
At the restart we will already have Hyper-V active, we will have to configure it as described in the following chapter.
2) Network configurations for Hyper-V
We can find the Hyper-V Management Console program by looking for its name in the Start menu or by going to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools .
After opening it, we immediately create a virtual network card so that the virtual machine that we are going to create can access the Internet using a "bridge" network card (ie able to connect with active connections on the PC).
To do this, select the PC from the left column and click on the item Virtual switch management, present in the right column.
Check in the new window that there is a connection called Default Switch and that the name of the network card used on the PC is present.
If this item is missing, click on New virtual network switch, select the Foreign network card, then click on Create new virtual switch.
A new section will open at the bottom, where you can select the network card you are using and tick the Allow network card sharing checkbox.
Press OK to save the changes and if a warning message appears, click on the YES button to continue.
Now all the virtual machines that we are going to create with Hyper-V will use the indicated network card (Ethernet or Wi-Fi based on what we use to connect to the Internet).
3) How to create a Hyper-V virtual machine
Once this configuration is complete, we create the virtual machine by right-clicking on the computer name in the left column (under the Hyper-V manager) and selecting the New -> Virtual machine option.
All you have to do is follow the guided procedure to be able to create the virtual machine:
- We write the name of the new virtual machine and specify a different path where to save the machine file;
- We select the generation of the virtual machine, Generation 1 if you want to use a 32 bit system or a Linux system, Generation 2 if you use a 64 bit installation and we want to emulate UEFI too;
- We assign the amount of RAM memory for the virtual machine (minimum 2 GB, 4 GB recommended);
- Select the connection to use to connect the virtual machine to the Internet, choosing the one created previously;
- We create the virtual disk that will host the machine;
- Choose how to install the operating system from ISO image or from CD / DVD disc.
For this last step we remind you that we can download the ISO of each Windows version for free as well as you can download one of the many Linux distro for free.
We always recommend using ISO images, so as to proceed with a very quick installation.
After all the configuration of the machine we can start it by pressing on it with the right button (in the left column) and clicking on Connect .
A new window will open which is in fact a "monitor", behaving like a separate PC: at the first start, the installation of the operating system chosen in the configuration phase will start and, after following all the steps, we will have a new system with hardware virtualized, ready to be used for testing purposes or to make screenshots for your blog guides.
To open the configuration settings of the created virtual machine, just click on its name with the right button, while to stop it just turn off the virtual machine as if it were a real PC or stop the Hyper-V service click on Stop service on the right side of the window.
4) Conclusions
Hyper-V is really easy to use and above all it is optimized to take advantage of all types of hardware on Windows 10; if you want you can also import virtual machines already created with other virtualization programs.
From virtual machines you can also create Control Points, a sort of recovery point of the entire state of the machine, very useful for canceling changes after an experiment or a block of the machine (perhaps because the tested program has detected a virus) .
If, on the other hand, we are looking for a guide to configure VirtualBox, we advise you to read our dedicated guide below.
READ ALSO -> VirtualBox Guide to create, start and manage virtual machines on PC
