Windows 11 is yet to come into the public domain; most people have started installing and testing it on VirtualBox. While many people are installing on a virtual, a few folks have installed Windows 11 and using it as the primary OS. Since Windows 11 is still in the Beta stage, Microsoft does not recommend installing and use on a primary PC.
If you want to install Windows 11 without compromising your primary work PC, the best way is to use Hyper-V or VirtualBox. Hyper-V is a built-in feature of Windows that allows you to install Linux Distros, Windows Development version, and any other Windows version. In this gearupwindows post, we will guide you to install Windows 11 using Hyper-V in Windows 10.
What is Hyper-V, and how can I use it?
Hyper-V technology offers a virtual environment to install an operating system and use physical computer resources. It is a safe way to test any operating system or software over it. Using Hyper-V, your primary operating system will not be affected. Further, there is no need to make your PC dual boot. Simultaneously you can use the host and guest operating systems on a single machine. By default, Hyper-V remains turned off on Windows PC, which means you need to enable it to use it.
How to Check if my PC support Hyper-V?
To run Hyper-V, your computer must meet minimum hardware specifications:-
- 64-bit processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT).
- A processor must support VM Monitor Mode Extension (VT-c on Intel chips).
- Minimum 4GB RAM.
In addition to the above requirement, you need to check whether the Virtualization Technology and Hardware Enforced Data Execution Prevention options are enabled on system firmware. To confirm, do the following:-
Step 1. Press
Step 2. In the Run box, type the following and hit
cmd
Step 3. In the Command Prompt window that opens, type the following and hit
systeminfo
Under the Hyper-V Requirements section, check results, all should be Yes.
How to Enable or Turn On Hyper-V in Windows?
Note: Hyper-V virtualization platform is available on the Pro and higher editions. It is not a part of Windows 11/10 Home edition.
The process of enabling Hyper-V on any Windows operating system is similar. To do that, you need to perform the following:-
Step 1. Press
Step 2. In the Run box, type
Step 3. Check the Hyper-V and all its components in the Windows Features.
Step 4. Finally, click on the
Step 5. Click on the
How to install Hyper-V on Windows 11 or 10 Home?
Hyper-V is not a part of Windows 11 or 10 Home edition. To enable the same, do the following:-
Step 1. Open Notepad.
To do that, press the
Step 2. Paste the following in the notepad:-
pushd "%~dp0" dir /b %SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\*Hyper-V*.mum >hv.txt for /f %%i in ('findstr /i . hv.txt 2^>nul') do dism /online /norestart /add-package:"%SystemRoot%\servicing\Packages\%%i" del hv.txt Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Hyper-V -All /LimitAccess /ALL pause
Step 3. Navigate to File > Save as.
Step 4. Name the file as
Step 5. Finally, right-click the file and choose
Once you complete the above steps, Hyper-V will be installed on your PC.
How to Install Windows 11 Using Hyper-V in Windows?
Step 1. Download Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft server.
Step 2. Open the Hyper-V Manager.
To do that, type Hyper-V in the Start Menu, and then click on the Hyper-V Manager in the search result.
Step 3. Under Hyper-V Manager, you will see the computer name. Right-click on it and then select
Step 4. On the new window that appears, click on the
Step 5. Name the virtual machine as Windows 11 and then click on the
Note: If you do not have enough space in the primary drive, then before clicking the Next button, check the checkbox
Step 6. Next, select
Step 7. Click
Step 8. Now, assign more than 4GB of memory and click the
Note: 1GB = 1024 MB.
Step 9. Under Configure Networking screen, select the option
Step 10. Now, under Connect Virtual Hard Disk, set the Virtual HDD Location, Name, and Size. Click
Step 11. Choose the second option, Install an operating system from a bootable CD/DVD-ROM. Then, select the Windows 11 ISO file from your computer. Once done, click the
Step 12. You will be greeted with a summary that you have set up in previous steps in the next window. Click on the
Step 13. Now, in Hyper-V Manager, under Virtual Machines, you will see Windows 11. Right-click on it and select
Finally, Windows 11 installation will start. You can follow the on-screen instructions. If you are totally new to Windows, you can refer to steps 23 to 41 of this post for further process.