Windows 8 : Creating and using Hyper-V virtual machines (part 2) - Creating a new virtual machine

Press and hold or right-click the Hyper-V Server in Hyper-V Manager to launch the Hyper-V settings.

The wizard opens and displays the Before You Begin page, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The New Virtual Machine Wizard starting the virtual machine creation process

To create a virtual machine with a custom configuration, tap or click Next to open the Specify Name And Location page, shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The virtual machine name and location selected in the wizard

Type the name of the virtual machine; remember that it should match the computer name assigned to it.

Select the Store The Virtual Machine In A Different Location check box to specify a location path. When this check box is selected, the Location text box becomes available, as shown in Figure 3. Type the path to identify the designated folder for the virtual machine files, and then tap or click Next.

Figure 3. The virtual machine configured to be installed on the D drive, removable media

Type the amount of memory you are allocating to the virtual machine on the Assign Memory page, as shown in Figure 4. The Windows 8–based computer memory will be used directly to provide the memory for the virtual machine.

Figure 4. The virtual machine configured with 1 GB of memory

To conserve memory, you can select the Use Dynamic Memory For This Virtual Machine check box.

Dynamic memory provides a base amount of memory that Windows needs at startup and then increases as needed. This is known as startup memory and might not be as much as the defined amount of memory in the New Virtual Machine Wizard.

Tap or click Next to open the Configure Networking page, as shown in Figure 5. In addition to Not Connected, there are three types of networking options for Hyper-V virtual machines in Windows 8. Select one of these options:

Figure 5. The virtual machine networking configuration determining where the virtual machine will reside

Tap or click Next to open the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, as shown in Figure 6.

You can create a new disk, use an existing VHD or VHDX disk, or attach a disk later. (Adding a disk later might be a good choice when selecting advanced tasks, such as specific sizing and disabling thin provisioning, are needed.

Figure 6. The virtual machine files and locations set

When you create a new disk, by default, the wizard uses the virtual machine name and location you set in step 4 to determine the name and location of the virtual machine’s virtual disk files and the default format, VHDX. The wizard will provision one virtual disk; additional disks can be added later.

Make your selections and tap or click Next.

The wizard opens the Installation Options page, as shown in Figure 7, which presents the final configuration step. You can choose to install an operating system later or to install and start now from a CD/DVD, a floppy disk, or a network location.

Figure 7. Virtual media set in the last actionable task of the wizard

Make your selections and tap or click Next.

The wizard displays a summary (see Figure 8) of the configuration for the virtual machine you are creating. This is the last step of the virtual machine–creation process for a Hyper-V virtual machine.

Figure 8. The New Virtual Machine Wizard providing a summary of the configuration

Click Finish.

The wizard will complete processing and create the virtual machine on the computer running Windows 8 with the Hyper-V feature enabled.