How to setup a virtual machine on windows 10

7 min readDec 9, 2022

A virtual machine is a software you run on a computer to make it seem like another system. It is a technique for building a computer within a computer.

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a computing resource that lets you run programs and deploy apps without a real computer. The user gets the same experience as if they were using a separate computer by utilising a virtual machine, which runs in a window on the host computer. Sandboxing isolates virtual machines from the host computer, and the virtual machine cannot affect the host computer in any way.

Running a virtual machine is a smart way to use an operating system without installing it on your computer. For instance, try out the most recent Ubuntu Linux distribution or the most recent version of windows risk-free using windows 10 without additional software.

You can use Hyper-V to configure, create, and manage a virtual machine on a virtualised server. Follow these instructions to build a virtual computer on your windows 10 operating system.

Prerequisites

Windows 10 Operating system
4 GB RAM
64-bit Intel or AMD processor
BIOS that supports virtualisation and is enabled
Hyper-V software,

How to check if you are using Hyper-V on your windows 10

If you are not sure if your windows 10 can run a virtual machine using Hyper-V, then you can check it using the process below:

On your windows, click Start
In the search bar, type PowerShell
Type “Systeminfo” in the command line and hit Enter.
Scroll down to find the Hyper-V Requirements.

How to interpret the findings:

If you see “Yes” next to the four Hyper-V requirements: Your PC can run a virtual machine.
If you see “No” next to the four Hyper-V requirements: Your CPU doesn’t support virtual machines, and you need to adjust settings in the BIOS.
If you see “No” next to “Virtualization Enabled in Firmware” in the results: You will need to reboot into the PC’s firmware and enable this feature. The setting’s label depends on your PC’s motherboard and BIOS version.
If you see “A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed” in the results: You’re already running Hyper-V in windows 10.

Bonus: BIOS that supports virtualisation not enabled.

If you cannot start Hyper-V on your computer or receive any error notice like this;

Windows sandbox cannot be installed: virtualisation support is disabled in the firmware.
“No next to “Virtualization Enabled in Firmware.”
The Virtual Machine Management Service (VMMS) is not present on this machine. Ensure that the “Hyper-V Services” feature is enabled.

These indicate that the virtualisation feature has been disabled on your PC.

To enable the virtualization feature, follow the process below:

Step 1: Go to Settings and click Update and Recovery

Step 2: Click Recovery and Restart Now.

Step 3: Select Troubleshoot and click Advanced Options.

Step 4: In the Recovery pane, click UEFI Firmware Settings.

It will appear like this;

Step 5: Click Boot into the BIOS and click System Configuration.

Step 6: Activate the virtualisation technology and ensure you save and exit.

How to Enable Hyper-V in windows 10

You won’t find any Hyper-V entries on the start menu because windows 10 PC doesn’t have Hyper-V features turned on by default. Follow these steps to get your virtual machine support up and running.

Step 1: In the taskbar’s search box, type “Hyper-V,” then hit Enter.

Step 2: Open the Turn windows features on or off in the results list.

Step 3: Tick all the Hyper-V selections and click OK.

Step 4: Apply changes and choose “Restart Now.” The computer will restart.

How to Create a Virtual Machine in Windows 10 Using Hyper-V

Step 1: Navigate to the Hyper-V Manager from the window search bar.

Step 2: Open the New Virtual Machine Wizard, click Action and Connect to server.

Step 3: Once the server is connected, click New and Virtual Machine.

Step 4: Click Next after reading the “Before You Begin” section.

Step 5: Specify a name for the virtual computer.

Note that this is not the computer name provided to the guest operating system you will install within the virtual machine, but rather the name Hyper-V used for the virtual machine.

Step 6: Select a place, such as c:virtualmachine, to store the virtual machine files. The provided default location is also an option. Once finished, click Next.

Step 7: Click Next after choosing the machine’s generation.

With the release of windows Server 2012 R2, generation 2 virtual machines were launched, offering a more straightforward virtual hardware approach and capability. On Generation 2 virtual machine, you may install only a 64-bit operating system.

You must turn off a secure boot if the new virtual machine is set up as Generation 2 and will be running a Linux distribution. See Secure Boot for further details on secure boot.

Step 8: Select Dynamic Memory and set Startup Memory to 2048 MB. Then click the Next.

The memory is shared between a Hyper-V host and the virtual machine running on the host. The amount of available RAM affects how many virtual machines can operate on a single host. Dynamic memory may also be set up on a virtual computer. Dynamic memory reclaims unused memory from the active virtual machine when enabled. This enables the host to operate additional virtual machines. Visit the Hyper-V Dynamic Memory Overview for additional details on dynamic memory.

Step 9: Choose a virtual switch for the virtual machine in the Configure Networking wizard and click Next.

Step 10: Give the virtual hard disk a name, decide where it will be located (or leave it at the default), and then give it a size. Once ready, click Next.

Similar to a conventional hard drive, a virtual hard drive offers storage for a virtual computer. You need a virtual hard drive to install an operating system on the virtual computer.

Step 11: Select Install an operating system from a bootable image file on the Installation Options wizard, then choose an operating system ISO file. After you’re done, click Next.

An ISO file is a single file that contains an identical duplicate of a whole optical disk, such as a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray. Operating systems like Linux, Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 are available for download in the form of an ISO image. They will even allow you to mount an ISO image as a virtual drive to ensure the machine’s hardware or operating system performs properly.

Download the ISO image file here.

Some operating system installation parameters may be set while constructing a virtual machine. There are three parameters:

Install an operating system later — this choice doesn’t change the virtual machine.
Installing an operating system from a bootable image file is comparable to putting a CD into a real computer’s CD-ROM drive. Choose an.iso image to customise this option. It will install this image on the virtual machine’s CD-ROM drive. The virtual computer is modified to start from the CD-ROM drive during bootup.
Install a network-based installation server as the operating system source — Unless the virtual machine is linked to a network switch, this option is not accessible. The virtual machine tries to boot from the network under this arrangement.

Step 12: Once you have reviewed the virtual machine’s configuration, click Finish.

Step 13: Click Connect.

Hurray! 🎊 You have successfully set up a virtual computer with your windows 10.

Conclusion

The steps to set up a virtual computer on a windows 10 PC are described in this article. For updates and additional releases, bookmark this blog. Don’t forget to click the “Clap” button or leave a comment if you have any questions about this article. Additionally, feel free to contact me on Twitter if you have any questions or would like to contribute to the discussion.