How to Enable or Disable Hyper-V in Windows 10

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s virtualization platform built into Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. This guide shows you how to turn it on or off using Windows Features, PowerShell, or DISM, and what to do if you run into problems.

What You’ll Need

• Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education (Hyper-V is not available on Windows 10 Home).
• Administrator access to the PC.
• At least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB or more recommended for running virtual machines).
• 64-bit CPU with SLAT (Second Level Address Translation) and VM Monitor Mode extensions enabled in BIOS/UEFI.

Step-by-Step

Method 1: Using Windows Features (GUI)

1. Press Windows key + R, type optionalfeatures.exe, and press Enter.
2. In the Windows Features dialog, scroll down and find Hyper-V.
3. To enable: check the box next to Hyper-V. This automatically selects both Hyper-V Management Tools and Hyper-V Platform. You can expand the node to select only specific components if needed.
4. To disable: uncheck the Hyper-V box (or uncheck individual sub-items).
5. Click OK. Windows will search for required files and may ask you to restart your computer. Save any open work, then click Restart now.
6. After reboot, Hyper-V is ready (or removed) depending on your choice.

Method 2: Using PowerShell

1. Right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).
2. To enable Hyper-V, run:

   Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

3. To disable Hyper-V, run:

   Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V

4. If the command completes but asks for a reboot, type Y and press Enter. Otherwise, restart manually.

Method 3: Using Command Prompt (DISM)

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (search for “cmd”, right-click, and choose Run as administrator).
2. To enable:

   DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V /All

3. To disable:

   DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V

4. Wait for the operation to complete (it may take a few minutes). Restart when prompted.

Common Mistakes

• Using Windows 10 Home: Hyper-V is not included. You need Pro, Enterprise, or Education. A workaround is to use VirtualBox or VMware, but that is not the same as enabling Hyper-V.
• Not checking BIOS settings: Virtualization must be enabled in BIOS/UEFI. Even if you enable Hyper-V in Windows, it won’t work if VT-x/AMD-V is off.
• Conflicting with other hypervisors: If you have VirtualBox, VMware, or Android emulators that rely on their own hypervisor, they may conflict with Hyper-V. You may need to disable Hyper-V to use them, or enable Windows Hypervisor Platform.
• Not restarting: Hyper-V changes require a reboot. Skipping the restart leaves the feature half-installed.
• Disabling Hyper-V when other features depend on it: Windows Sandbox, WSL2, and Device Guard rely on Hyper-V components. Disabling Hyper-V will break those features.

Tips

• Use the Hyper-V Manager to create and manage virtual machines. It is installed automatically when you enable Hyper-V.
• If you only need WSL2, you don’t have to enable the full Hyper-V feature; you can install the “VirtualMachinePlatform” feature instead. That is lighter and uses less overhead.
• To check if Hyper-V is currently enabled, run systeminfo in Command Prompt and look for “Hyper-V Requirements”. If it says “A hypervisor has been detected”, Hyper-V is active.
• If you plan to run 32-bit guest OSes, ensure your CPU supports 32-bit virtualization (most modern CPUs do).
• Keep your Windows 10 updated. Some Hyper-V improvements and fixes are delivered via Windows Update.

Troubleshooting

• “Hyper-V cannot be installed: The processor does not have required virtualization capabilities.” – This means virtualization is disabled in BIOS or your CPU doesn’t support SLAT. Restart, enter BIOS (usually pressing F2, F10, or Del during boot), find a setting like “Intel Virtualization Technology” or “SVM Mode” (AMD), and enable it. Save and reboot.
• “An error occurred while applying your changes.” – Try running the same command from an elevated PowerShell or CMD. Also check if your Windows installation is corrupted: run sfc /scannow in an admin Command Prompt.
• Hyper-V Manager shows “Hyper-V is not running” – Ensure the “Hyper-V Host Compute Service” and “Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management” services are running. Open Services (services.msc), find these, and set their startup type to Automatic and start them.
• After enabling Hyper-V, your PC fails to boot or blue-screens – Boot into Safe Mode (shift + restart from the login screen, then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings). In Safe Mode, open an admin Command Prompt and run DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V to disable it, then reboot normally.
• VirtualBox/VMware won’t start after enabling Hyper-V – You have two options: disable Hyper-V when you need those tools, or enable “Windows Hypervisor Platform” (a separate feature) in Windows Features. The latter allows third-party VMs to use Hyper-V as a backend, but not all software supports it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hyper-V available on Windows 10 Home?

No. Hyper-V is only included in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education. Home users can use alternatives like VirtualBox or VMware, or upgrade to Pro.

Do I need to enable virtualization in BIOS before enabling Hyper-V?

Yes, your CPU must have virtualization extensions (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) and they must be enabled in BIOS/UEFI. Most modern PCs have this enabled by default, but some manufacturers disable it.

Can I enable Hyper-V and still use VirtualBox?

Yes, but only if you also enable the “Windows Hypervisor Platform” feature. Without that, VirtualBox and Hyper-V conflict because both try to use hardware virtualization.

Does disabling Hyper-V remove my virtual machines?

No. Disabling Hyper-V only turns off the hypervisor and management tools. Your virtual machine files (VHDX, VMCX) remain on disk and can be reattached after re-enabling Hyper-V.

How do I know if Hyper-V is enabled?

Run systeminfo in Command Prompt and look for “Hyper-V Requirements”. If it says “A hypervisor has been detected”, Hyper-V is active. Alternatively, check if Hyper-V Manager is present in the Start menu.

Will enabling Hyper-V slow down my PC?

It uses some system resources (especially memory) to run the hypervisor, but the impact is minimal for everyday use. You may notice a slight decrease in performance when running other hypervisors or heavy games, but most users won’t notice a difference.

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