Getstarted with Windows 8 Client Hyper-V the right way
By Greg Shultz in Windows and Office, June 20, 2013, 1:26 AM PST
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Set up Client Hyper-V the right way and avoid the frustrations experienced by others.
Microsoft announcedthattheyareending support for Windows XP SP3 on April 8th 2014. Sincethat official announcement I have beenreceiving a lot of email from Windows XP usersmaking the move to Windows 8 and wonderingabout support for somethinglikeWindows 7's XP Mode. In otherwords, theywant to beable to move to Windows 8 and take Windows XP with them so thatthey have something to fall back on as theygetused to Windows 8.
Well, unfortunately Microsoft did not incorporateanythingsimilar to XP Mode in Windows 8. However, if youarerunning a 64-bit version of Windows 8 Professional or Windows 8 Enterprise, these versions of the operating system come with a new virtualizationtoolcalled Client Hyper-V thatyoucanuse to run a virtual Windows XP machineinside of Windows 8.
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Of course, in order to beable to run Client Hyper-V, your system must meetseveral hardware requirements. For instance, the 64-bit CPU in your system must support Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) technology and your system must have at least 4GB of RAM. (Thereareseveralother system requirementsthat must be in place as well, but I'll cover these in a moment.)
In most cases, the procedure of setting up is Windows 8's Client Hyper-V is relativelystraightforward. However, as I have corresponded with varioususersperforming the necessary steps, I'velearnedthat the procedure canbe tricky and confusing - especially if the userswere not sure how to getstarted or ran into problems along the way.
One of the most common problems peoplewereencountering has to do with a keyvirtualization feature beingdisabled in the computer's firmware and them not knowing it. Unfortunately, youcan'tinstall Client Hyper-V withoutthese features beingenabled and as youcan imagine the problem just snowballs from there.
As I workedthroughthis problem, I developed a set of steps thateventually led theseusers to success. To save otheruserswhomaybethinking of incorporating Client Hyper-V from frustration, I decided to write an articleshowingyouhow to getstarted with Windows 8's Client Hyper-V the right way.
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Requirements
Let mebegin with a brief reiteration of the most obviousrequirements. As I mentioned, Windows 8's Client Hyper-V is onlyavailable in the 64-bit versions of Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise. It is not available in the 32-bit versions nor is it available in Windows 8 basic or in Windows RT.
Again, your system must have at least 4GB of RAM and your 64-bit CPU must support Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) technology. Most of the currentcrop of 64-bit CPUs from Intel and AMD provide SLAT support.
Checking System Information
Beforeyouattempt to install Windows 8's Client Hyper-V, youneed to verifythateverything in your system is ready to run a virtualizedenvironment. Unbeknownst to many Windows 8 users, Microsoft added new information gathering features to the old System Information toolthusmaking it veryeasy to verifywhetheryour Windows 8 system can run Client Hyper-V.
To launch System Information in Windows 8, use the [Windows] + Q keystroke to access the Apps Search page. Then, type msinfo32 in the textbox and click msinfo32.exe, as shown in Figure A. If youprefer, youcanuse the [Windows] + R keystroke to bring up the Run dialog box, type msinfo32 in the Open textbox, and click OK.
Figure A
Accessing the System Information from the Start screen is easy.
Eitherwayyoulaunch the System Information, once it is up and running, you'llwant to remain on the System Summary screen, whichappears by default. Now, scroll to the bottom of the right panel. Whenyou do, you'llseefourkeypieces of information aboutyoursystem'sability to run Hyper-V. As shown in Figure B, all of themshould have a value of Yes.
Figure B
In order to successfullyinstall Windows 8's Client Hyper-V, all thesevalues must beset to Yes.
Now, if any of the keyvirtualization features aredisabled in the computer's firmware, System Information will alert you to thatfactimmediately. My test system for thisarticle is an HP Pavilion P2-1124 and when I ran System Information, I discoveredthat the VirtualizationEnabled in Firmware had a value of No, as shown in Figure C. Whatthismeans is that the system has the capability to provide virtualization support, but the feature is disabled in the firmware. So, you just have to enable it.
Figure C
This indicatesthat the system has the capability to provide virtualization support, but the feature is disabled in the firmware.
In general, if either the VirtualizationEnabled in Firmware or the VM Monitor Mode Extensions areset to No, youcanenablethose features in the firmware. However, if the Second Level Address Translation Extensions or the Data ExecutionProtectionsettingsareset to No, thenyouwill not beable to use Windows 8's Client Hyper-V.
Enabling the Virtualization support
As youcan imagine, thereare a widevariety of interfaces and namingconventionswhen it comes to accessing and changing the Virtualization support in a computer's firmware, so youmaywant to begin by investigating the technical support section of your computer manufacturer's Web site to learnmoreabout the specifics of yourparticularsystem's firmware
As I mentioned, my test system for thisarticle is an HP Pavilion P2-1124 and the onlysettingthatneeds to be changed is the VirtualizationEnabled in Firmware. However, if on your system the VM Monitor Mode Extensions arealsoset to No, youshouldbeable to enablethem in the firmware. Again, check the technical support section of your computer manufacturer's Web site.
To accessmy HP computer's firmware Setup Utility, I must press the [Esc] when I am prompted to do so as the system is booting up. I thensaw the Startup Menu and selected the Computer Setup item, as shown in Figure D.
Figure D
On the HP Pavilion P2-1124, I see the Startup Menu afterpressing [Esc].
Once in the Hewlett-Packard Setup Utility, I pulleddown the Security Menu and selected System Security. When I saw the System Security dialog box, I used the arrowkeys to change the Virtualization Technology setting from Disable to Enable. This procedure is illustrated in Figure E.
Figure E
In the Hewlett-Packard Setup Utility, the Virtualization Technology setting is on the Security menu.
To put the settingintoplay, I pressed [F10] and thenselected the Save Changes and Exit command from the File menu. I thenencountered an Are you sure prompt and selected Yes. The system thenrebooted.
Installing Client Hyper-V
With the Virtualization Technology settingnowenabled, I caninstall Client Hyper-V correctly on myexample system. While Client Hyper-V is builtinto the 64-bit versions of Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise, it is not installed by default. However, youcan do so easily from the Programs and Features tool.
To install Client Hyper-V, youbegin by pressing [Windows] + X to access the WinX menu and thenselect Programs and Features. When the Programs and Features dialog boxappears, youselectTurn Windows features on or off. You'llthensee the Windows Feature dialog box and willlocate the Hyper-V in the list. This process is illustrated in Figure F.
Figure F
Youinstall Windows 8's Client Hyper-V from the Programs and Features tool.
If youexpand the Hyper-V tree, you'llseethat all the items in the treeareselected, as shown in Figure G.
Figure G
Whenturning on Hyper-V it is best to enable all of the features.
Whenyouclick OK, Windows Features willinstall Client Hyper-V and then prompt you to Restart your system. This process is illustrated in Figure H.
Figure H
Installing Client Hyper-V requires a Restart.
As the operating system processes the installation, you'llseemessages on the screen similar to the oneshown in Figure I, bothbefore and after the initial restart.
Figure I
Onceyouinitiate the restart, you'llsee a message on the screen similar to thisone.
When Windows 8 completes the installation, you'll find you'll find twotiles on the Start Screen for Hyper-V, as shown in Figure J. The Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection is a Remote Desktop-liketoolthatyouwilluse to connect to your virtual machineafter it is created and the Hyper-V Manager launches the management consolethatyou'lluse to create and manageyour virtual machine.
Figure J
Hyper-V placestwotiles on the Start Screen
Creating a new Hyper-V Virtual Machine is a detailed and intricate procedure in and of itself. As such, I plan to cover the process in detail in several future articles. Staytuned.
What'syourtake?
Have youattempted to install Windows 8's Client Hyper-V and encountered problems? Are youplanning on installing Windows 8's Client Hyper-V in the future? As always, if you have comments or information to shareaboutthistopic, pleasetake a moment to drop by the TechRepublicCommunity Forums and let ushear from you.
Alsoread:
- Set up yourfirst Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Host
- Install Windows XP in Windows 8 Client Hyper-V
- Configure a Hyper-V VM for automaticstartup