Setup Win11 Contoso evaluation in Hyper-V

setup.win11.ps1

# Check if running as Administrator
if (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)) {
    Write-Error "This script must be run as Administrator."
    exit 1
}

Import-Module Hyper-V

# Set variables for the VM creation
$VMName = "ContosoVM"
$VMPath = "C:\work\VMs\$VMName"
$ISOPath = "C:\Users\strix\Downloads\Contoso8_1_ENT.iso"
$VHDPath = "C:\work\VMs\$VMName\Virtual Hard Disks\$VMName.vhdx"

# Check if ISO file exists
if (-NOT (Test-Path $ISOPath -PathType Leaf)) {
    Write-Error "ISO file not found at $ISOPath"
    Write-Error perhaps get it from "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/download-windows-11-enterprise"
    exit 1
}

$HyperVService = Get-Service -Name vmms -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($null -eq $HyperVService -or $HyperVService.Status -ne 'Running') {
    Write-Error "Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management Service (vmms) is not running. Check BIOS/UEFI virtualization settings, Windows Features, and reboot."
    exit 1
}

# Check if base VM path exists (optional, as New-Item creates it later, but good for early failure)
$BaseVMPath = Split-Path $VMPath -Parent
if (-NOT (Test-Path $BaseVMPath -PathType Container)) {
    Try {
        New-Item -Path $BaseVMPath -ItemType Directory -Force -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null
        Write-Host "Created base VM directory: $BaseVMPath"
    } Catch {
        Write-Error "Failed to create base VM directory: $BaseVMPath. Check permissions."
        exit 1
    }
}

# Create directory if it doesn't exist
New-Item -Path (Split-Path $VHDPath -Parent) -ItemType Directory -Force

# Check if VHD already exists
if (Test-Path $VHDPath -PathType Leaf) {
    Write-Warning "VHD file already exists at $VHDPath. Skipping creation."
} else {
    # Create a new 60GB fixed VHD for better performance
    Try {
        New-VHD -Path $VHDPath -SizeBytes 60GB -Fixed -ErrorAction Stop
        Write-Host "Created VHD: $VHDPath"
    } Catch {
        Write-Error "Failed to create VHD at $VHDPath. $_"
        exit 1
    }
}

# Create VM with enhanced settings
New-VM -Name $VMName -MemoryStartupBytes 6GB -Generation 2 -Path $VMPath -VHDPath $VHDPath
Set-VMProcessor -VMName $VMName -Count 4 -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true
Add-VMDvdDrive -VMName $VMName -Path $ISOPath
Set-VM -VMName $VMName -AutomaticCheckpointsEnabled $false -CheckpointType Disabled

Set-VMFirmware -VMName "ContosoVM" -EnableSecureBoot On
Set-VMKeyProtector -VMName "ContosoVM" -NewLocalKeyProtector
Enable-VMTPM -VMName "ContosoVM"

$dvd = Get-VMDvdDrive -VMName "ContosoVM"
Set-VMFirmware -VMName "ContosoVM" -FirstBootDevice $dvd

# Start VM
Start-VM -Name $VMName

# Set up external switch for Ethernet if not already present
$ethernetAdapter = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq "Up" -and $_.Name -eq "Ethernet" }
if ($ethernetAdapter) {
    $switchName = "ExternalSwitch"
    $existingSwitch = Get-VMSwitch | Where-Object { $_.SwitchType -eq "External" -and $_.NetAdapterInterfaceDescription -eq $ethernetAdapter.InterfaceDescription }
    if (-not $existingSwitch) {
        New-VMSwitch -Name $switchName -NetAdapterName $ethernetAdapter.Name -AllowManagementOS $true
    } else {
        $switchName = $existingSwitch.Name
    }
    # Connect VM to the external switch
    Connect-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName $VMName -SwitchName $switchName
} else {
    Write-Warning "No active Ethernet adapter found for bridging."
}