If you meet the OS requirement, have a 64-bit processor and at least 4GB of RAM, follow these steps to enable Hyper-V and set up your first virtual switch.
- Go to Start, and type “Powershell”. Rightclick on Powershell, run it as an administrator, and type the following command: DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /All /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V
- You should see something like this. You may be prompted to restart your computer.
- Open Hyper-V Manager. It should look like this:
- Next, click on “Virtual Switch Manager”. This will let you create a virtual switch to allow your VMs to connect to each other, your host machine, and/or the Internet.
- In the Virtual Switch Manger, select “External”, and then click “Create Virtual Switch”. As described on screen, the External virtual switch will let any VMs connected to it access your physical network as any other device would. If you want to restrict what your VM can access, select Internal or Private before clicking the “Create Virtual Switch” button.
- Next, name your virtual switch. Leave the other settings at their default selections, and click OK.
That’s it! Your installation of Hyper-V Manager is ready to use. You can sit and admire it, or you can start setting up your own VMs!