Hyper-V gives you a throwaway Windows or Linux machine in about twenty minutes. Enable the feature, build an internal NAT switch, create the VM from cmdlets and take a snapshot you can roll back to.
Enable **Microsoft-Hyper-V-All**, build an **Internal** switch with a NAT route, create the disk and VM with **New-VM**, then take a **Checkpoint-VM** before the first boot so you can roll back in one command.
**Get-ComputerInfo** reports the virtualisation flags the hypervisor needs. If either VMMonitorModeExtensions or VirtualizationFirmwareEnabled is false, the BIOS setting is the blocker.
Get-ComputerInfo -Property HyperV*,CsNumberOfLogicalProcessors,CsTotalPhysicalMemory | Format-List
systeminfo | findstr /i "Hyper-V"**Microsoft-Hyper-V-All** installs the management tools and the hypervisor in one step. The feature is unavailable on Home editions, and the cmdlet says so instead of failing silently.
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All -All -NoRestart
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All | Select-Object State
Get-VMHost | Select-Object ComputerName,VirtualMachinePath,VirtualHardDiskPathAn **Internal** switch keeps the guest off your LAN until you decide otherwise. **New-NetNat** then gives that switch an address range so the VM reaches the internet through the host.
New-VMSwitch -Name 'LabNet' -SwitchType Internal
$if = Get-NetAdapter -Name 'vEthernet (LabNet)'
New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 192.168.77.1 -PrefixLength 24 -InterfaceIndex $if.ifIndex
New-NetNat -Name 'LabNat' -InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix 192.168.77.0/24
Get-NetNat | Select-Object Name,InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix**New-VHD** creates a dynamically expanding disk, and **New-VM** attaches it with the memory and generation you ask for. Generation 2 is the UEFI variant and the right default today.
New-Item -ItemType Directory C:\VMs\Lab01 -Force | Out-Null
New-VHD -Path C:\VMs\Lab01\disk.vhdx -SizeBytes 60GB -Dynamic
New-VM -Name Lab01 -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB -Generation 2 -VHDPath C:\VMs\Lab01\disk.vhdx -SwitchName 'LabNet'
Set-VMProcessor -VMName Lab01 -Count 2
Set-VMMemory -VMName Lab01 -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true -MinimumBytes 2GB -MaximumBytes 6GBThe DVD drive is added as a virtual device, then the boot order is set so the installer runs first. **Start-VM** with **Connect-VM** gives you the console window.
Add-VMDvdDrive -VMName Lab01 -Path D:\iso\Windows11.iso
$dvd = Get-VMDvdDrive -VMName Lab01
Set-VMFirmware -VMName Lab01 -FirstBootDevice $dvd
Start-VM -Name Lab01
vmconnect.exe localhost Lab01A checkpoint freezes the disk and memory state, so a broken driver or a bad policy is one **Restore-VMSnapshot** away. Take it after the guest is installed and before you change anything.
Checkpoint-VM -Name Lab01 -SnapshotName 'clean-install'
Get-VMSnapshot -VMName Lab01 | Select-Object Name,CreationTime,SnapshotType
Restore-VMSnapshot -VMName Lab01 -Name 'clean-install' -Confirm:$falseThe feature name is wrong for this build. List the available names with Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object FeatureName -like '*Hyper*'.
Check that the switch name matches and that the guest has an address in 192.168.77.0/24. New-NetNat only routes that prefix.
Generation 2 firmware needs the DVD drive first in the boot order and the ISO attached to a DVD device, not to a SCSI disk slot.
The host cannot allocate the startup memory. Lower it, or cap the dynamic maximum below half of physical RAM.
Windows Sandbox is lighter for a single throwaway app test. Hyper-V is the better choice when the guest must keep state across reboots or run its own services.
It adds a thin hypervisor layer under the host. Games lose a few percent in some titles, which is why the dual-boot and gaming crowd often disables it again.
Yes. Shut it down, copy the folder, then register it with Import-VM -Path on the new host. The virtual switch name must exist there too.
Remove the VM with Remove-VM -Name Lab01 -Force and delete C:\VMs\Lab01. Then remove the NAT with Remove-NetNat -Name LabNat, delete the switch with Remove-VMSwitch -Name 'LabNet' -Force, and disable the feature with Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All -NoRestart.
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