Switch easily between VirtualBox and Hyper-V with a BCDEdit boot Entry in Windows 8.1

Hanselman describes a way to switch between Hyper-V and VirtualBox without disabling Hyper-V through Add/Remove Features. He creates a boot menu copy named “No Hyper-V” with BCDEdit, then uses that entry when he needs GenyMotion and VirtualBox.

Reading notes

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• He uses GenyMotion for Android development with Visual Studio and Xamarin, but GenyMotion depends on VirtualBox.
• VirtualBox and Hyper-V cannot both be active at the same time.
• Instead of removing Hyper-V support through Windows features, he copies the current boot entry from an administrative command prompt and names it “No Hyper-V.”
• He changes that copied entry with hypervisorlaunchtype off.
• Because Windows 8.x starts very quickly, he says you need a full shutdown path to reach the alternate boot menu.
• To get there, he opens Settings, then Power, then Restart while holding Shift.
• In the blue recovery-style screen, he chooses Other Operating Systems and then the “No Hyper-V” entry.
• With that boot choice, VirtualBox works and the Acceleration tab in VM system settings is no longer grayed out.
• A normal reboot brings Hyper-V back.
• He shows Android running in VirtualBox through GenyMotion and notes that touch support works too.