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How to Enable or Disable Hyper-V in Windows 10 & 11

Hyper-V lets you create virtual machines inside Windows. Here is how to enable or disable Hyper-V in Windows 10 and 11.

Windows Pro and Enterprise editions have a built-in virtualization software called Hyper-V. You can create and install virtual machines with just a few clicks. For example, if you want to try Linux, you can download the ISO, create a virtualized environment in Hyper-V (a virtual machine), and install Linux. After that, you can use the newly installed Linux OS in the virtual machine as if you installed it directly. No need to dual-boot or do crazy experiments.

To good thing is that each virtual machine exists in an isolated environment called Hypervisor. This means any changes made inside the virtual machine don’t affect the physical host. Virtual machines in Hyper-V are perfect for trying new operating systems, testing software, and more.

As good as Hyper-V is, it is disabled by default. To start using Hyper-V, you should first enable it. Thankfully, it is easy to enable Hyper-V in Windows 10 and 11 operating systems. All it takes is selecting a checkbox, and you are good to go.

So, without further ado, let me tell you the minimum requirements to use Hyper-V and how to enable Hyper-V in Windows, and how to disable Hyper-V in Windows.

Table contents:

Hyper-V requirements

To enable and use Hyper-V, you can computer needs to meet the below requirements. If it doesn’t satisfy one or more of the below requirements, you cannot enable Hyper-V. Here are the requirements for Hyper-V.

  1. Should be running Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition.
  2. The system should be 64-bit.
  3. Has at least 4GB RAM (memory).
  4. Virtualization should be enabled in BIOS/UEFI (support for Intel VT/VT-x or AMD-V).
  5. Should support Hardware Enforced Data Execution Prevention tech.

Enable Hyper-V in Windows 10 & 11

You can enable Hyper-V from the Windows Features tool. All it takes is selecting a single checkbox, and you are good to go. Let me show you the exact steps.

  1. Press the Start key on the keyboard.
  2. Search and open “Turn Windows features on or off.”
  3. Choose the “Hyper-V” checkbox.
  4. Click the “Ok” button.
  5. When prompted, click the “Restart Now” button.
  6. After rebooting, you can open “Hyper-V” from Start.

Steps with a bit more detail and screenshots:

First, we need to open the Windows Features tool. For that, open the Start menu by pressing the Start key on your keyboard. After that, search and open “Turn Windows features on or off.”

open turn Windows features on or off

After opening the tool, find the “Hyper-V” checkbox. Next, select the “Hyper-V” checkbox and click the “Ok” button.

enable hyper-v in Windows

Windows may download and install additional components required to turn on Hyper-V as soon as you do that.

applying changes

Once done, Windows will prompt you to restart the system. Click the “Restart Now” button to complete the process.

restart to enable hyper-v

After restarting, you can search and open “Hyper-V” from the Start menu. You are done turning on Hyper-V in Windows 10 and 11.

Disable Hyper-V in Windows 10 & 11

To disable Hyper-V in Windows, you have to uncheck the “Hyper-V” checkbox in the Windows Features tool. Let me show you the exact steps.

  1. Press the Start key on the keyboard.
  2. Search and open “Turn Windows features on or off.”
  3. Uncheck the “Hyper-V” checkbox.
  4. Click the “Ok” button.
  5. When prompted, click the “Restart Now” button.
  6. After rebooting, Hyper-V is disabled in Windows.

With that, you have disabled Hyper-V in Windows 10 and 11.

That is all. It is simple to enable or disable Hyper-V in Windows 10 and 11.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.

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