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Run a Windows Test Machine in Hyper-V with Checkpoints

A virtual machine you can break on purpose: virtual switch, quick create, and a checkpoint that rolls a failed experiment back in seconds.

by@guidox updated:10/31/26 time:40 min level:Advanced tested on:Windows 11 24H2 works on:Windows 11 tools:Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, PowerShell as administrator
TL;DR

Enable **Hyper-V**, build a VM with **Quick Create**, attach it to the **Default Switch**, and take a checkpoint before each experiment so one command returns to a working state.

Before you start

Requirements

  • Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise
  • 16 GB RAM
  • Virtualization in the BIOS
  • Forty minutes
Step by step

Instructions

01

Check what the CPU already offers

Hyper-V needs VT-x or AMD-V enabled in the firmware. The second property tells you whether a hypervisor is already active, which matters because sandbox and WSL2 share it.

Get-ComputerInfo -Property HyperVRequirementVirtualizationFirmwareEnabled, HyperVisorPresent
02

Enable the feature

One command installs the management console and the virtual machine platform. Nothing starts before the reboot.

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-All -All
⚠ warningAn emulator that needs raw hardware access can refuse to start afterwards. VirtualBox and VMware Workstation handle it; older builds do not.
03

Let Quick Create build the first machine

The wizard downloads a ready image and configures CPU, memory and disk. It is the fastest path to a bootable Windows, and the result is an ordinary VM you can modify.

Hyper-V Quick Create
tipThe gallery image arrives as a VHDX without a licence. For real work, install your own Windows into a new VM instead.
04

Pick the right virtual switch

The Default Switch is a NAT network that needs no configuration and changes subnet on some reboots. An External switch binds to a real adapter and gives the guest its own address on the LAN.

Get-VMSwitch | Select-Object Name,SwitchType
05

Take a checkpoint before you experiment

A checkpoint captures disk, memory and device state. Restoring it returns the guest to that second, including open programs and half-finished dialogs.

Checkpoint-VM -Name TestVM -SnapshotName clean
tipA checkpoint of a running machine stores RAM too, so it survives a guest crash but stays tied to the host build it was made on.
06

Restore, then clean up the chain

Restoring discards everything written after the checkpoint, which is the point. Checkpoints accumulate as an AVHDX chain, so delete the ones you no longer need once the work is done.

Restore-VMSnapshot -VMName TestVM -Name clean -Confirm:$false
⚠ warningFiles you copied into the guest after the checkpoint are gone, and so is anything you needed from that session.
Troubleshooting

Common issues

The guest has no network

The Default Switch changed subnet after a host reboot. Release and renew inside the guest, or move the VM to an External switch.

Enhanced session mode is greyed out

It needs a supported Windows guest and the Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management service running. Linux guests need xrdp installed.

Not enough memory to start the VM

Dynamic memory is disabled or the startup amount is too high. Lower it to what the host can spare while it runs.

A checkpoint fails halfway

The volume holding the VHDX is full. Merging a chain needs free space equal to the largest delta file.

FAQ

Frequently asked

Is a checkpoint a backup?

No. It lives on the same disk as the VM, so a drive failure takes both. Copy the VHDX elsewhere for a real backup.

Can two VMs run at the same time?

Yes, and memory is the limit, not CPU count.

How to undo this

Remove-VM -Name TestVM -Force deletes the machine, and deleting its folder frees the VHDX space. Disabling Microsoft-Hyper-V-All turns the feature off after a reboot.

Changelog · 1 entry
  1. 2026-10-31
    First version
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