Quick Links

We have previously shown you how you can easily dual-boot your Windows 8 PC with Linux, but if you don’t want to mess around with partitions and still want to try out Linux, a virtual machine is the answer.

Note: If you haven’t installed Hyper-V, now is a good time to see if your CPU supports SLAT and install Hyper-V.

Creating a Ubuntu Virtual Machine in Hyper-V

Open the Hyper-V Management console from the Start Screen.

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On the right hand side, in the actions pane, click on New and then select Virtual Machine from the context menu.

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If this is your first time using Hyper-V, a Before You Begin screen will appear, just click next to continue, then give your virtual machine a name and click next.

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You can choose how much memory you want to assign to your virtual machine, if you want decent performance I wouldn't recommend giving your virtual machine any less than 1GB of RAM.

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If you have set up network connectivity previously, perhaps for other virtual machines, you will be able to select one of the networks now. Then click next.

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Go ahead and use the new VHDX type virtual hard disks, these allow for up to 16TB virtual hard drives, so choose a size within that range and click next to continue.

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You will likely be using an ISO to install the OS, so switch the radio button to an Image file and hit the browse button.

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Then go ahead and select your Ubuntu ISO.

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Now click the Finish button and wait a few seconds while your virtual machine is created.

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Now you will need to start the virtual machine which can be done from the right-click context menu.

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Once you see your virtual machine start, double click on it to open the console.

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That’s all there is to it. You now have a running copy of Ubuntu in Windows.