Enabling Hardware Virtualisation on Windows 8.1

Yesterday this noob finally got down to setting up the CS50 Appliance to work on VMware. As always, my machine "so happened" was unable to install and immediately start running the two applications. I had to verify whether 'Hardware Virtualisation' was turned on in my system. After downloading the Microsoft Hardware-Assisted Virtualisation Detection Tool as recommended, I found out that the .exe did not support Windows 8! Arghhh!


So I had to google to get some answers, and found out that the 'Hardware Virtualisation' could be turned on through the BIOS. Since it was quite a feat for this noob, I'll share the steps I took to get it working with anyone who is looking for a solution:-

Accessing the BIOS on Windows 8.1

1. Go to Search in the charms bar (swipe the right side of your screen to open the charms bar and click 'Search').
2. Type in 'Change advanced startup options' in the search input box and click the magnifying glass button.
3. Go to 'Recovery' and then to 'Advanced Startup' on the right side window, and click 'Restart now'.
4. Select 'Troubleshoot' and then 'Advanced options' and then 'UEFI Firmware Settings'. Click 'Restart' and the PC will restart in BIOS.

Enabling Hardware Virtualisation on a HP System

1. Press F10 to configure BIOS.
2. Open the System Configuration tab using the arrow keys to navigate.
3. Select Virtualisaion Technology and press Enter.
4. Select Enabled and press Enter.
5. Press F10 to save settings and exit.
6. Select Yes and press Enter
7. PC will reboot. After it is done, shut down the PC and wait for a couple of minutes before turning it back on.
8. Try opening VMware and initialising the CS50 Appliance and it should be A-OK!