Ubuntu 14.04 in a Generation 2 VM

Recently, Canonical released Ubuntu 14.04.  This is the first Linux release to support running inside of a Generation 2 virtual machine.  To get this working in your environment, you need to have Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2 installed.  Then you need to download an installation ISO from https://www.ubuntu.com/download.

You can download the Desktop or Server versions of 14.04, just make sure that you get the 64-bit versions.

Once you have done this – create a new Generation 2 virtual machine and configure it the way you want it.  Before you start the installation you will need to go into the virtual machine settings, change to the Firmware settings page and uncheck Enable Secure Boot.

image

You can then boot from the ISO image and select to Install Ubuntu.

image

The installation process is quite simple, and there are no tricks / special options to get it running well under Hyper-V.  I even noticed that dynamic memory was active during the installation process!

Soon you will be done - and you will have an Ubuntu Generation 2 virtual machine, with all the cool features (like dynamic memory, online backup and more) already enabled and ready to go:

image

Cheers,
Ben

Comments

  • Anonymous
    June 11, 2014
    And we have now RHEL 7 Generation 2. Neat!

  • Anonymous
    July 22, 2014
    Does Live Backup work with Ubuntu 14.04 Gen2 VMs?

  • Anonymous
    August 03, 2014
    Trying to install Ubuntu 14.04 on 8.1 Hyper-V version 6.3.   My setting tab does not have a "Firmware" option. In its place is a "Bios" tab which give the boot order. Don't know how to make it boot from the Ubuntu ISO.

    • Anonymous
      May 20, 2016
      It's under 'Security' not 'Firmware'
      • Anonymous
        May 27, 2016
        We changed the UI after this post was made :-)
  • Anonymous
    August 12, 2014
    Great write-up. Unfortunately, could not get networking to function within Ubuntu.  On top of that, my ethernet connection died. Ah, well, back to Virtualbox.

  • Anonymous
    September 04, 2014
    Thanks - this really worked well for me.

  • Anonymous
    October 10, 2014
    Is it possible to get it to support a resolution higher than 1152x864?

  • Anonymous
    November 25, 2014
    Would i be able to install this on Win2k12 Server NOT  (Win2k12 R2) ? Thank you.

  • Anonymous
    December 03, 2014
    i know this is long shot, but is it possible to install a version of Hyper-V via Ubuntu x32 Desktop?

  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2014
    I am working with Windows 10 Tech Preview and attempting to install Ubuntu 14.10.1 LTS in a a Gen 2 VM, but I have a problem or two...

  1. Shutdowns don't actually shutdown, they sort of just hang right before shutting down. The Ubuntu "Xylon Lights" just keep going, and going, and going. after 5 minutes, I decided something was wrong, so I forced it.
  2. No networking - I have an External Switch defined and connected the LAN adapter to the switch, but no connectivity. Before the install the OS I deselected the "Enable Secure Boot" option in the VM firmware. Any thoughts? Thanks!
  • Anonymous
    January 24, 2015
    @walkingby The reason you see "BIOS" instead of "Firmware" is because you created a generation 1 VM.  Create a new VM and select generation 2 and you will see "Firmware".

  • Anonymous
    January 24, 2015
    @Ken Were you able to resolve your connectivity issue?  I have the same problem...

  • Anonymous
    February 08, 2015
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 30, 2015
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 09, 2015
    Does Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 support Ubuntu 2014.04 x64?

  • Anonymous
    June 18, 2015
    I was also wondering about resolution issues. If you are monitoring the Virtual Machines in Hyper-V Manager, then you'll be limited to some very odd screen resolutions. The answer is to log in to your VM via RDP from a normal host - then you'll get the native screen res.

  • Anonymous
    June 18, 2015
    FWIW my installation of Ubuntu (Gen 1 & Gen 2) both hang in the same place, just after saying please install... (So I have a temporary VM of Ubuntu, but it doesn't seem to see any disks...)

  • Anonymous
    July 28, 2015
    I'm on Win8.1 Enterprise and I still get a login dialog when I try to connect, even with Secure Boot disabled.  What am I doing wrong?

  • Anonymous
    August 21, 2015
    I can't get the VM to shutdown either.  I followed some instructions here: baudlabs.com/how-to-install-hyper-v-integration-services-in-ubuntu-12-04-lts But I'm not sure it made any difference. Also read this article: technet.microsoft.com/.../dn531029.aspx and followed its instructions but nothing it was discussing seemed related to shutdown. I'm on a Windows 10 Pro machine with Hyper-V (feature added as part of Visual Studio install). I had enough problems on Windows Server 2012 R2 because that server has a wireless NIC, and Internet Connection Sharing wasn't ideal for me:

  • Anonymous
    August 23, 2015
    Chris Gomez: I had the same problem as you - wouldn't shut down. Have you tried clicking the cog-wheel / Power button icon - top right of Ubuntu desktop? Shutdown / reboot works fine for me.

  • Anonymous
    October 06, 2015
    hi how  do you install the Integration Services for Ubuntu 14.04, I see no status at all under my Hyper-V W2012 R 2 Nodes thanks a lot

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2015
    For ubuntu with kernels biggers than 3.16 we install next pacakges apt-get install hv-kvp-daemon-init linux-tools-virtual-lts-vivid linux-cloud-tools-virtual-lts-vivid

  • Anonymous
    November 11, 2015
    How can I install Ubuntu on SAN disk which is connected via SAN virtual switch and adaptor? lspci in installer shows no FC adaprors.

  • Anonymous
    November 16, 2015
    Hi, What about Ubuntu 14.04.3 (Gen1) and online backups? Everyone has it working? I'm having the following problem: social.technet.microsoft.com/.../ubuntu-14043-and-dpm-live-backups Cheers,

  • Anonymous
    December 15, 2015
    As Windows Server 2012 R2, Hyper-V does not virtualize audio hardware, what is the workaround to get Audio on to Ubuntu 14.04 console.  Hyper -V does not emulate any PCI sound card inside VM and Ubuntu does not appear to recognize audio at all.

  • Anonymous
    February 28, 2016
    You dont have to disable Secure Boot. You must however select the Microsoft UEFI Certificate Authority in the Security, Secure Boot section of the Virtual Machine Settings, as opposed to the Microsoft Windows template.It works yet it doesnt recognize the RemoteFX graphics adapter, its stuck at 1024x768, obviously there is no audio and you cannot connect with Remote Desktop to get that working and its US Intl keyboard layout doesnt work - notice I can use quotes and the t following it will be eaten as I demonstrate in this sentence.

  • Anonymous
    July 22, 2016
    Hi, I want to know If I can install other distribution os Linux on generation 2 disk at Hyper-V.Thanks

  • Anonymous
    April 06, 2017
    Any luck with a Gnome 16.10 edition? I get through the installation and the VM won't boot up. Gets locked at a text-mode screen.[OK] Started session c1 of user gdm[OK] Starting session manager for UID 121Stopping session manager for UID 121