Windows 8.1 Pro/Enterprise or Server 2012 R2
Both Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 come with a vast number of additional cmdlets, some of which can be used to manage virtual disks. However, before you can find and use these cmdlets, you need to activate the “Hyper-V role” (note that Hyper-V support on the client side requires Windows 8.1 Pro or Enterprise. It is not included in the “Home” versions).
In Windows 8.1, you need to do this manually: go to Control Panel, and then to Programs/Programs and Features. You can also enter “appwiz.cpl” in PowerShell to get there.
Next, click “Turn Windows features on or off”. This opens up a dialog with all available features. Identify the node “Hyper-V”, and enable it. Then click OK. If the node “Hyper-V” is missing, then your version of Windows does not support Hyper-V on the client side. If the option “Hyper-V Platform” is grayed out, then you need to enable virtualization support in your computer BIOS settings.
The feature installation takes a couple of seconds. Once it is completed, you have a whole new bunch of cmdlets available:
PS> Get-Command -Module Hyper-V
CommandType Name ModuleName
----------- ---- ----------
Cmdlet Add-VMDvdDrive Hyper-V
Cmdlet Add-VMFibreChannelHba Hyper-V
Cmdlet Add-VMHardDiskDrive Hyper-V
Cmdlet Add-VMMigrationNetwork Hyper-V
Cmdlet Add-VMNetworkAdapter Hyper-V
(...)
