Virtualization Create Windows 11 Virtual Machine with Hyper-V


Windows_11_banner2.png

This tutorial will show you how to set up and create a Windows 11 virtual machine with Hyper-V on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.

Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes with new tools, sounds, and apps. Every detail has been considered. All of it comes together to bring you a refreshing experience on your PC.

Hyper-V enables running virtualized computer systems on top of a physical host. These virtualized systems can be used and managed just as if they were physical computer systems, however they exist in virtualized and isolated environment. Special software called a hypervisor manages access between the virtual systems and the physical hardware resources. Virtualization enables quick deployment of computer systems, a way to quickly restore systems to a previously known good state, and the ability to migrate systems between physical hosts.

Hyper-V is only available on 64-bit versions of Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education. It is not available on the Home edition.

Hyper-V Enhanced Session Mode is only available if you installed Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education as the VM.

Windows 11 minimum system requirements:
References:
techcommunity.microsoft.com

How to run a Windows 11 VM on Hyper-V | Microsoft Community Hub

Happy new year everyone! Last month, before the holidays I wanted to run a Windows 11 VM on Hyper-V to run a few tests on Windows containers in a different...
techcommunity.microsoft.com techcommunity.microsoft.com
techcommunity.microsoft.com

Step-By-Step: Enabling Hyper-V for Use on Windows 11

Want to use Hyper-V on Windows 11? Hyper-V is a virtualization technology that is valuable not only for developers and IT Professionals, but also for college...
techcommunity.microsoft.com techcommunity.microsoft.com

You must be signed in as an administrator to create a Hyper-V virtual machine.



Here's How:

1 The following items will need to be enabled in the system BIOS/UEFI:
  • Intel ("Intel VT" or "VT-x") or AMD ("AMD-V") CPU virtualization.
  • Hardware Enforced Data Execution Prevention.
docs.microsoft.com

Windows 11 Hyper-V System Requirements

Learn about the system requirements for Windows 11 Hyper-V.
docs.microsoft.com

2 If you haven't already, you will need to download a Windows 11 ISO file.

3 If you haven't already, you will need to enable Hyper-V. (see screenshot below)

Hyper-V_feature.png

4 Open Hyper-V Manager (virtmgmt.msc).

5 Right click or press and hold on the host computer (ex: "BRINKDESKTOP") in the left pane of Hyper-V Manager, click/tap on New, and click/tap on Virtual Machine. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-1.png

6 Click/tap on Next in the "New Virtual Machine Wizard". (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-2.png

7 Type a name (ex: "Windows 11 VM") you want for this virtual machine. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-3.png

8 Perform the following steps if you want to specify a different location to store this virtual machine: (see screenshots below)

Click/tap on Next instead if you do not want to change the location.


  1. Check Store the virtual machine in a different location.
  2. Click/tap on the Browse button.
  3. Navigate to and select the drive or folder you want to store the virtual machine.
  4. Click/tap on Select Folder.
  5. Click/tap on Next.
Windows11_Hyper-V-4.png
Windows11_Hyper-V-5.png

9 Select (dot) Generation 2, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-6.png

10 Specify the memory size in MB (ex: "4096") you want, check (default) or uncheck Use Dynamic Memory for this virtual machine, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Windows 11 requires a minimum of 4 GB (4096 MB) of RAM (memory)

If you uncheck Dynamic Memory, all the specified memory size is allocated from the host computer.

If you check Dynamic Memory, the specified memory size is only allocated from the host computer as needed.


Windows11_Hyper-V-7.png

11 Select Default Switch for the virtual machine network connection, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-8.png

12 Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-9.png

13 Perform the following steps to select the Windows 11 ISO file from step 2: (see screenshots below)
  1. Select (dot) Install an operating system from a bootable image file.
  2. Click/tap on the Browse button.
  3. Navigate to and select the Windows 11 ISO file.
  4. Click/tap on Open.
  5. Click/tap on Next.
Windows11_Hyper-V-10.png
Windows11_Hyper-V-11.png

14 Click/tap on Finish. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-12.png

15 In Hyper-V Manager (virtmgmt.msc), right click or press and hold on this virtual machine's name (ex: "Windows 11 VM") from step 7, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-13.png

16 Perform the following steps in Security Settings: (see screenshot below)
  1. Click/tap on Security in the left pane of Settings.
  2. Check Enable Secure Boot.
  3. Check Enable Trusted Platform Module.
  4. Click/tap on Apply.
Windows11_Hyper-V-14.png

17 Perform the following steps in Processor Settings: (see screenshot below)
  1. Click/tap on Processor in the left pane of Settings.
  2. Specify at least 2 for the Number of virtual processors.
  3. Click/tap on Apply.
Windows11_Hyper-V-15.png

18 Perform the following steps in Checkpoints Settings: (see screenshot below)

Checkpoints can be useful to revery virtual machines to a previous state if needed like a system image.

Checkpoints can use a lot of disk space, so you may want to disable (uncheck) checkpoints for this virtual machine if you do not want to use checkpoints to save space.


  1. Click/tap on Checkpoints in the left pane of Settings.
  2. Check (default) or uncheck Enable checkpoints for what you want.
  3. Click/tap on OK.
Windows11_Hyper-V-16.png

19 In Hyper-V Manager (virtmgmt.msc), double click/tap on this virtual machine's name (ex: "Windows 11 VM") from step 7 to connect to it. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-17.png

20 Click/tap on Start in the virtual machine. (see screenshot below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-18.png

21 When you see Press any key to boot from CD or DVD., press any key to boot from the ISO specified in step 13. (see screenshot below)

You will only have a few seconds to do this.

If you miss the time to press any key and see >>Start PXE over IPv4 like below, then perform the steps below to restart the virtual machine and try again:

1) Click/tap on Action on the menu bar of the virtual machine, and click/tap on Reset.
2) Click/tap on Reset in the confirmation prompt.
Windows11_Hyper-V-20.png Windows11_Hyper-V-21.png


Windows11_Hyper-V-19.png

22 When Windows Setup starts in the virtual machine, you can continue at step 5 in this tutorial (click on link) to install Windows 11. (see screenshots below)

Windows11_Hyper-V-22.png
Windows11_Hyper-V-23.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
ESXi is great, you should try it !

Besides, to keep things really simple, here is a drawing of Type-1 Hypervisors:
hypervisor-diagram.png


This is overly simplified but this is the core idea, and I think it's great. I love Hyper-V and ESXi. All Type-1 Hypervisors, including Hyper-V and ESXi work using this principle. Actually, if you enable the Hyper-V Role in Windows 10/11 it makes changes to the kernel, and it starts behaving more like ESXi would. Of course no visual difference will be obvious as OS that used to be the host OS, up until this point, will run as one of the "VMs" so to say.

So technically, with Hyper-V enabled your PC is transformed into a Type-1 Hypervisor, with Windows being just one of the OSes running. You can run Linux, or anything you like not within Windows, but in parallel to Windows.

Resources are shared naturally, but Hyper-V takes exclusive control of the bare-metal virtualization engine of the CPU (Intel VT-X, AMD-V etc.)
That said, any other VM engine is out of order at this point (including VMWare Workstation's own engine, or Intel's HAXM (that is used for example Android Studio's emulator. However, these can also utilize Hyper-V)

Using the host Hyper-V's engine to power VMWare Workstation (instead of its own virtualization engine) really seems like a crazy idea, but it yields some benefits, including a potential performance gain with some OSes and at the same time, meaning easier+better plug-and-play options than Hyper-V's remote desktop approach. Of course it is not without problems, VMWare Workstation's own engine seems to be stabler in VMWare Workstation than using Hyper-V to power it.

I presume it loads at the bios level rather like running Linux via grub?
Click to expand...
Well, think of it like a full operating system (which it is), with its own boot-loader and everything. It does not run at firmware level (Intel ME does that, anything beyond that is OS level)
It does not necessarily use GRUB , and doesn't play well along other OSes (it is meant to be an only OS), although it is not impossible to bring it into a dual-boot configuration, if somebody so desires.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

One more question: For now I used virtualized OS (Windows 10 Pro) in VMware Workstation Pro for my working environment (separate work) with installed specific software. Easily can be moved between machines (PCs) and make a backups (I use WinRAR) while simple communication (move data - copy/paste) between host and guest. Can run more VM's at once. It is similar with ESXi? thx
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 21H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    AMD
    CPU
    Ryzen 5
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL
    Keyboard
    MS
Yes. Actually both are VMWare products and as such, you can easily move the VM to it. No conversion needed, it supports vmdk virtual hard drive files. Some minor reconfiguration might be needed, however, as ESXi is a Type-1 hypervisor, you will not have drag-and-drop functionality between VMs as there is no "host OS". (well, technically there is but that is ESXi itself)

It can definitely run more than one virtual OS, yes. With much better performance than any Type-2 hypervisor.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

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