Hyper-V comes preinstalled in Windows 11 Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions, and only needs to be enabled. However, in other editions, such as Windows 11 Home, the option to enable Hyper-V is missing. That said, there is still a method you can install and enable Hyper-V on Windows 11 Home edition. In this guide, we are going to show you how to install Hyper-V on Windows 11 Home, and then how to enable it successfully. The enablement method is the same for all Windows 11 editions.
Check Hardware Virtualization Compatibility
Not all computer hardware is designed to run hypervisors. Therefore, you must first confirm if your hardware supports it at all. There are four basic requirements for Hyper-V to be installed on a Windows 11 computer:
VM Monitor Mode ExtensionsVirtualization enabled in firmwareSecond Level Address Translation (SLAT)Data Execution Prevention
All four of these requirements can be easily checked through a Command Prompt cmdlet. Run the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt and obtain the results on the four requirements: This will generate a list, and you will find the section “Hyper-V Requirements” at the end of the list containing the details of the 4 requirements, as in the image below:Check Hyper-V requirements If these requirements are met, the results will display “Yes.” However, if you find that “Virtualization Enabled In Firmware” states “No,” you need to enable it using the guide below.
Enable Virtualization in Firmware/BIOS
Before you can install/enable Hyper-V on your Windows 11 PC, make sure that it is enabled from the system BIOS. In the steps above, if you found that “Virtualization Enabled In Firmware” states “No,” then you need to enable it. Here is how: When it reboots, continue with the following steps to install and enable Hyper-V.
How to Install Hyper-V in Windows 11 Home
Note: Since Windows Home edition comes without Hyper-V, you must first install it. If you have the Pro, Education, or Enterprise editions, then you may skip this step and proceed to the next section of this article. To check which edition you have, type in winver in the Run Command box and obtain your operating system’s details. If you have Windows 11 Home edition, then follow these steps to install Hyper-V: Once rebooted, Hyper-V will have installed and automatically enabled on your Windows Home. Hyper-V Enabler for Windows 11 (384 bytes, 73 hits) It may take some time to complete the installation. Please let it complete without interruption. The computer will now reboot and update.
How to Enable Hyper-V on Windows 11 (Pro, Enterprise, Education)
The method given above automatically enables Hyper-V as well as installing it on a Windows Home. However, if you are running Windows Pro, Education, or Enterprise edition, then you can enable Hyper-V using any one of the following methods.
Enable Hyper-V from Optional Features
Since Hyper-V is an optional feature that one can enable when needed, you can enable it from the Optional Features applet. Here is how: Hyper-V will now be installed and enabled. You can now access the Hyper-V manager by searching for it in the search box in the taskbar or through the Start menu. Alternatively, you can also use the other 2 command-line methods to enable Hyper-V on Windows 11.
Enable Hyper-V from Command Prompt
Follow these steps to enable Hyper-V using the DISM command tool in the Command Prompt:
Enable Hyper-V from Windows PowerShell
If you’d rather prefer to use Windows PowerShell, here is how to enable Hyper-V: The computer will now restart, When it does, Hyper-V should be enabled successfully. These are the 3 methods to enable Hyper-V in Windows 11, provided that the hardware is supported and Hyper-V is installed. When the computer reboots, Hyper-V will have installed successfully.
How to Disable Hyper-V in Windows 11 (Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education)
If you no longer use Hyper-V, you can disable it using any one of the 3 methods you used to enable it in the first place.
From Optional FeaturesOpen the Optional Features applet by typing in optionalfeatures in the Run Command box.Open Optional Features appletUncheck the box next to Hyper-V and click Ok.Disable Hyper V from Optional FeaturesWhen done, click Restart now to finalize the changes.Restart PCFrom Command PromptRun the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt to disable Hyper-V:DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-allDisable Hyper V from Command PromptFrom PowerShellRun the following cmdlet in an elevated PowerShell to disable Hyper-V:Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-AllDisable Hyper V from Windows PowerShell
Closing Thoughts
A hypervisor may only be needed by IT professionals, developers, and people that need to perform secluded testing without putting their own operating systems at risk. On the other hand, a regular home user may not need a hypervisor and the software will only take up space on their hard drive, like any other bloatware. Run the following cmdlet in an elevated Command Prompt to disable Hyper-V: Run the following cmdlet in an elevated PowerShell to disable Hyper-V: This is why Microsoft only provides Hyper-V capabilities on selected Windows editions. That said, you can still install and enable Hyper-V on other non-supported editions of Windows using the given guide above, provided that your system’s hardware supports it. Also see:
How To Enable Hyper-V On Windows 10 (Home & Pro)How To Enable Virtualization In Windows 11/104 Ways To Enable/Disable Optional Windows FeaturesHow To Enable Sandbox Mode In Windows 10 Home EditionHow to Enable Local Security Policy (secpol.msc) in Windows 11 (Home + Pro)
