This article is a work-in-progress. Please help correct and extend it. It is the Wiki way! NOTE: The ability to run Hyper-V on a laptop is provided in the Windows "8" Consumer Preview as "Client Hyper-V" Read about it in the Client Hyper-V Survival Guide. If you are not running Windows 8 CP, read on.
Hyper-V is an enterprise IT technology included in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. As such the documentation on TechNet and MSDN is on enterprise IT use, on a server. However, some may wish to use Hyper-V on a laptop or a desktop computer. Perhaps to learn about Hyper-V, or create training material such as demos, for development purposes, or just for fun. Sometimes, because of company IT policy and management practice for servers, running Hyper-V on a laptop is the only way you can develop or document something.
This article is meant to assist those who are using Hyper-V in this "non-standard way". For example, a frequently occurring issue in this scenario is documented here: After you deploy a Sysprep prepared image, the Hypervisor layer service does not start automatically in Windows Server 2008
Ensure that your laptop will run Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Hyper-V role enabled. Hyper-V requires processor virtualization extensions (Intel-VT and AMD-V) and requires those features to be enabled along with the No-Execute (NX) feature. If your laptop CPU is from AMD download and run the AMD Virtualization Technology and Microsoft Hyper-V System Compatibility Check Utility. If your laptop CPU is from Intel download and run the Intel Processor Identification Utility. For more CPU and other Hyper-V tools see http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/hyper-v-tools.aspx. See also http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx
If your constraint is organizational IT or licensing restrictions you can run the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on your laptop.
Hyper-V does not support wireless NICs, because Data Center servers typically do not use them. Likewise, Hyper-V does not treat power-saving features the same way was as laptops do. Running Hyper-V on your laptop with a wireless NIC is not supported by Microsoft, but you can do it following the instructions in this article.
Alternatively, you can dual boot using boot to VHD. See great instructions here: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/LessVirtualMoreMachineWindows7AndTheMagicOfBootToVHD.aspx
If this is not allowed because of your IT organization's policy, you can set up RRAS to use your wireless connection, using these instructions http://sqlblog.com/blogs/john_paul_cook/archive/2008/03/23/using-wireless-with-hyper-v.aspx
If you choose your laptop carefully, you do not have to choose between Windows 7 and Hyper-V. It is possible to have both, though not at the same time as physical machines. Using a laptop with an eSATA port or USB, you can boot from external disk. For example, the laptop's internal disk will boot with Windows 7. For demonstrations and labs, you can attach an external disk and install Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V or Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on that. Your laptop's POST boot menu will allow you to choose which disk to boot from. You can also boot from a VHD file stored on a USB flash key.
This example will use enabling Hyper-V as a role on a Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 full installation. Before installation, ensure your laptop satisfies the minimum/recommended requirements.
To enable a virtual machine to be linked to a wireless adapter, create a bridge between a virtual “internal only” network and the actual physical wireless adapter, if your IT environment allows this (often if you are not joined to the domain).
For example, the physical wireless adapter installed on the system is named Wireless Network Connection:
Certificates and VMs starting errors: http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2010/03/17/fixing-hyper-v-virtual-machines-sticking-at-6-starting.aspx
How to Run Hyper-V on HP EliteBook 8450w
Hyper-V on the TechNet Library http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753637%28WS.10%29.aspx
TechNet Forum: laptop models that work with hyper-v
Infoworld Blog: laptops that run Hyper-V (see comments)
MSDN Blog: Using Windows Server 2008 as a SUPER workstation OS Using Wireless with Hyper-V
http://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsServerFeedback/feedback/details/527817/hyper-v-install-blue-screen-video-tdr-failure
This article is available in other languages, including Italian.
Here's how I did to run Hyper-V on an Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (Brazilian Portuguese) (Aqui descrevo como instalei o Hyper-V em um Lenovo ThinkPad T61)
Carsten Siemens edited Revision 52. Comment: Fixed misspelling
Horizon_Net edited Revision 43. Comment: added language tags
Jewel Lambert edited Revision 40. Comment: corrected spelling typos
tonysoper_MSFT edited Revision 39. Comment: +chvsg
TejasJ edited Revision 38. Comment: tags edit.
Jeff Centimano_MSFT edited Revision 25. Comment: Clarified point about how Hyper-V is required to run 64-bit virtual machines
Tony Soper_MSFT edited Revision 23. Comment: VGA driver issue added
tonyr edited Revision 20. Comment: another correction that has NOT been made
Tony Soper_MSFT edited Revision 18. Comment: removed enable PS settings info because results aretoo unpredictable per JH
Francisco edited Revision 16. Comment: minor spelling correction (becuase-->because)
Nice Info, Thank You
Nice article !!!
GREAT ARTICLE!!
Great article, thanks
This listing is a good one, under rare cases yes I do this; but I'm not a voter for HyperV on a laptop.
Scares of RAM & HDD spindles,
Vmware ?
Very helpful. Was looking for similar article since I have Win7 and win2k8 on laptop, going to try Win 8 on USB disk now.
Thanks.
Nice sharing thanks
Great artcle! Keep up with the good work!
And translated it into italian :-)
I added a little image of the Network Bridge and a detail about keeping CTRL key during the selection of the two network interfaces (the image is from Keith Combs' blog blogs.technet.com/.../wireless-networks-for-hyper-v-virtual-machines.aspx)
I hope I have done a useful thing :-)