Hyper-V allows the isolation of the guest Linux system by using a dedicated virtual partition on the Windows machine.

You can run your favorite Linux applications using Hyper-V, given you have got the necessary Windows license. Hyper-V will enable users to make better use of their hardware and run different operating systems virtually. It can virtualize a substantial number of POSIX operating systems, including Linux and BSD variants. Hyper-V, formerly known as Microsoft Windows Server Virtualization, is a robust hypervisor system that allows Windows users to run multiple operating systems in their system.

Cygwin allows running Linux shells, file and sys utilities, terminals, remote login, and file transfers, text processing, compression, and servers directly in Windows.

An extensive collection of Linux and BSD programs have been ported to Cygwin, including the X Window System, K Desktop Environment, Apache, GNOME, and TeX.

It comes pre-packed with a robust runtime (cygwin1.dll) that directly offers solid POSIX API functionality inside Windows.

Cygwin doesn’t allow native Linux apps to run on Windows instead, it provides a mechanism to rebuild them for Windows.

It is among the best Linux emulators for Windows users who want up-to-date emulation solutions. It is a robust POSIX-compatible environment with an extensive collection of GNU and Open Source tools for providing functions similar to many Linux systems.Ĭygwin works on most x86 32 bit and 64-bit versions of Windows and is maintained regularly. CygwinĬygwin is a powerful and innovative Linux simulator for Windows that allows users to run Linux software in Microsoft Windows by recompiling them on Windows. Thus, we’ll mostly focus on “ways” you can run Linux software in Windows.

As Windows and Linux systems vary in their design and implementations, it’s almost impossible to find an emulator that will let users run standalone Linux programs perfectly in Windows.

Windows 7 emulator for linux