Today, we are going to talk about how to set up your Virtual Machine on Windows 10. We will be working with Hyper-V. But, why does the need to have a virtual machine arise?
What Is a Virtual Machine?
A virtual machine is another computer. No, it is not a physical computer, but a virtual computer. Hence, the name. You can install anything you want on it. You can have a copy of LINUX, Windows 10 or even MAC OS. It does not need to be the same as your computer.
Does this ring a bell? Sound like Windows Sandbox? No, it is not the same.
How Are They Different?
A sandbox is a lightweight virtual machine. Yes, you can download files and applications on it. But, they go away the moment you close the SandBox. This is basically for files which same shaddy and you are not comfortable with opening on your computer.
What Does Hyper-V Do?
Unlike SandBox, Hyper-V has a lot to offer. Nowhere near the sandbox. The files and applications persist even after you close it down once. Secondly, you have so much more options.
For instance, you can allocate CPU or memory to the machine.
What System Requirements Are Needed?
To check if your current system requirements are fit for Hyper-V, open:
Search > Type System Information > Open it
Here, we will be focusing our attention on two main things:
- System Type: X64 based PC
- OS name: Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is to check if you have enabled virtualization. This can be done when you switch on the computer. When you boot up, press F12, or Escape key. There, you can see an option of Virtualization and you are supposed to enable that.
Want to Run Hyper-V on Your Windows 10 Home?
Time for an upgrade.
Search > Type Activation > Upgrade to Professional
How to Turn on Hyper-V?
Search > Type “turn Windows features on/off”
Here, click on Hyper-V. Check it. Reboot the system.
Once done, type Hyper-V manager in the search bar.
Hyper V-Manager > Other Server or Your Computer (i.e server)
Today, we will be working on our computer and create a virtual machine on it.
Once you click on your computer name, different screen and options will pop up.
Click Quick Create > Specify details > Install an operating system
We will go with Ubuntu 20.04. Download it. Lastly, click create Virtual Machine and the process has started.
In the main panel you can see the new virtual machine and turn it on. Once it starts, you can see how much CPU it is consuming and how much uptime it has.
Here, you can see some checkpoints. This is a fail safe. If you want to roll back to that point, you can easily do it and start from this point.
Settings allow you to modify the different options for your virtual machine.
When you are done, double click and your machine is up and running.
Conclusion
Something that goes on the virtual machine, stays there. Best of all, you can create multiple virtual machines. You can delete it also if needed. So, what are you waiting for, get exploring.
