Windows 11 has been released with a fresh coat of paint on Windows 10 with a substantial redesign and many great features like the Snap Layout, redesigned Start menu, dark mode, just to name a few.
If you’re worried whether your day-to-day programs would work on Windows 11, installing the new operating system inside a Virtual Machine would be the first thing you should consider.
What is a Virtual Machine? What is it Primarily Used for?
A Virtual Machine replicates a physical computer to run and deploy computer applications inside a real machine. Unlike a physical computer, a virtual machine is hosted on a physical host machine, thus completely dependent on it. A virtual machine can never exist without a host machine.
A user can create multiple virtual machines with different operating systems running separately on each of them. A user can also simultaneously run multiple virtual machines, as if they have physical access to multiple computers at once.
What are virtual machines primarily used for?
- A virtual machine allows you to test an operating system without formatting and reinstalling the existing operating system.
- If you suspect a file or application is a malware and can potentially harm your host machine or the data stored on it, you may run the file or the application onto a virtual machine without affecting your host machine.
- A virtual machine facilitates developers to test their applications in various operating systems and developmental environments, system configurations, thereby improving the compatibility and stability.
- A virtual machine allows you to experiment with complex Windows tools and functionalities (for example, Group Policy Editor, Registry Editor, Command Prompt) without affecting the real machine.
- A virtual machine can also be used to navigate the Internet in a sandboxed environment, without hassle for accidentally executing malicious files.
- In large organizations, the IT departments might use virtual machines to consolidate their computing resources, access emails and data obtained from untrusted senders.
- Many popular cloud services companies use virtual machines to provide a safe cloud environment for their cloud applications and services to safeguard their servers against cyber attacks.
Installing Windows 11 into a Virtual Machine
- Download the VMWare Workstation Player and install it on your computer.
Important: Make sure to install the latest version of VMWare that ships with a Virtual TPM feature. The older versions do not support adding an operating system that has a mandatory TPM requirement. For installing Windows 11 on such versions, additional configurations may be required.
Installing the VMWare - Click on the Player menu, select File > New Virtual Machine.
- Select the second option: Installation disk image (iso).
- Click on Browse and select the ISO image you have downloaded.
- Click on Next.
- In the Guest Operating System, select Microsoft Windows.
- In the Version drop-down menu, select Windows 10 and later x64.
- Click on Next.
Selecting the Guest Operating System - In the Virtual Machine Name, specify a name for your virtual machine (for example, Windows 11 x64) and then click on Next.
- Set at least 70 GB as the Maximum disk space (64 GB is the minimum required as per Microsoft’s documentations).Select the Store Virtual Disk as a single file option and then click on Next.
Selecting the virtual disk capacity - Click on Customize Hardware.
- A new dialog will open.
- In the Memory for virtual machine, set at least 4096 MB (4 GB). For maximum performance, we recommend setting 8 GB, if you’ve got a larger RAM.
- Click on Close.
- Select the checkbox for the option Power on this virtual machine after creation.
- Click on Finish.
- Your Windows 11 virtual machine will load by itself. Press Enter, Spacebar or any other key when you’re prompted to press any key.
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Raza Ali Kazmi works as an editor and technology content writer at Sorcim Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to pen down articles on a wide array of technology related topics and has also been diligently testing software solutions on Windows & Mac platforms. If you have any question about the content, you can message me or the company's support team.