If the RedPill bootloader has the Hyper-V synthetic drivers, your VM will now get a 1 Gbps connection. If it doesn't get an IP, revert to Legacy (and accept 100Mbps or switch to VMware).
On the "Connect Virtual Hard Disk" screen, choose and finish the wizard. Right-click your new VM and open Settings . Go to IDE Controller 0 , select Hard Drive , and click Add .
Save the resulting VHDX file into a secure directory on your host storage. This file acts as your virtual USB boot drive. Step 2: Configure the Hyper-V Virtual Machine
With the release of DSM 7, Synology introduced stricter hardware checks and a newer Linux kernel. The "Red Pill" loader was developed to bypass these checks by patching the kernel in memory during the boot process. Hyper-V provides a robust Type-1 hypervisor environment, making it an ideal candidate for hosting a virtual NAS. xpenology dsm 7 hyperv
This is currently the most popular and modern choice. It is a customized Redpill loader designed for DSM 7.x, known for its enhanced hardware support and a semi-automated, guided installation. It's actively maintained by its developer, with frequent updates for better hardware compatibility.
Hyper-V supports fixed or dynamic VHDX disks, making storage management flexible. Prerequisites Before starting, ensure you have the following:
If the limitations above give you pause, consider these alternatives: If the RedPill bootloader has the Hyper-V synthetic
: The standard .pat file matching your compiled model, downloaded directly from the Synology Download Center. Step 1: Prepare the Bootloader Image
Allocate a minimum of of memory. Uncheck Use Dynamic Memory ; DSM requires a fixed block of RAM. Select your active Virtual Switch on the networking page. Configure Virtual Hard Drives
: If you experience slow transfer speeds, ensure your virtual switch is utilizing a physical Gigabit or 10GbE network card interface, and disable "Large Send Offload (LSO)" in the Windows Host network adapter properties if dropouts occur. Right-click your new VM and open Settings
It is an excellent way to learn the Synology ecosystem or run a powerful media server (Plex/Photos) without buying expensive proprietary hardware. However, it requires a "tinker-first" mindset.
: Note the virtual MAC address assigned by Hyper-V; you may need to input this into the loader configuration to ensure the Synology Assistant can discover the NAS.
: Low overhead; Hyper-V handles resource allocation efficiently. ✅ The Pros Resource Sharing : Run DSM alongside Windows apps or other VMs.
Because an Xpenology on Hyper-V setup is walking off the beaten path, you will very likely encounter one or more of these common issues:
Log into your new DSM 7 dashboard, open , and initialize your storage pool. Choose SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) or RAID 1/5/10 depending on the number of virtual drives assigned. Disable Automatic Updates