A recurring complaint about Windows has always been its price. Hence, since time immemorial serial numbers, licenses and patches several to have the Microsoft operating system for free. And although from Redmond they have tried to solve this issue by offering the windows 11 update if you already had Windows 10, they have not yet taken the step of offering Windows 11 as they do Apple with macOS, iPadOS, or iOS or how does Google with Android. But there is an intermediate solution: the Virtual machines.
For years, Microsoft has provided developers with the ability to test Windows 11 and other components own, as Visual Studio, UWP, Azure either .NET, safely through a virtual machine. Without having to download an ISO and install the operating system from scratch. The virtual machine comes already prepared. You download it and work. And although it is intended for developers to use, anyone can get hold of one
Obviously, the idea behind these virtual machines with Windows 11 is that you can test the operating system and the updates you are receiving every few months. Without fear of spoiling the configuration of your computer or lose your files and documents. You can have a previous version of Windows configured to your liking and, through the virtual machine, use Windows 11 in your day to day with the security offered by virtual machines. If something goes wrong, you restore the virtual machine and start again.
How are Windows virtual machines
From the Windows Dev Centerone of the many Microsoft pages dedicated to application developers, hardware manufacturers or web developers, it is possible to download virtual machines with Windows 11 pre-installed. It is a trial version that usually works without problems for three months or more and that it is used to test your own software or that of Microsoft in a controlled environment.
Virtual machines currently offered by Microsoft include:
- Windows 11 version company in test mode
- The expiration date is March 5, 2023 (or later, depending on when you read this)
- The file occupies 20GB
- It’s compatible with VMWare, HyperV, VirtualBox Y parallels.
- Also includes Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition with UWP, .NET Desktop, Azure, and Windows Apps SDK for C# workloads enabled
- has enabled the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 with ubuntu already installed
- You have Windows Terminal installed
- Have developer mode enabled
Advantages of virtual machines
A virtual machine is a application that emulates a PC. So you can run one operating system inside another. The virtualized system is controlled because it works in a controlled virtual environment. You can specify the amount of memory, disk space and any other graphics or hardware features you want to emulate. Always depending on the PC you are using.
Virtual machines are used for several things:
– Test applications or web pages in a safe way.
– Use old operating systems or applications without fear of vulnerabilities or incompatibilities.
– Carry out security tests controlled environment.
– Test new applications, updates or operating systems without affecting your computer.
Between the advantage of using a virtual machine with Windows 11 highlights the not having to physically install Windows 11 on your PC. If something goes wrong with the machine, you restore it and delete the changes what did you do. Can connect to the Internet and access the hardware peripherals you need to use.
What drawbacksrunning a virtual machine implies a increased use of resources. That is, your computer must be relatively powerful to be able to use the virtual machine fluently. If it’s a laptop, the drums it will last less. It also takes up more space on disk, etc. But when you get tired of the virtual machine, you can delete it and something else.
Install virtual machines with Windows 11
Although they are focused on developers, anyone can download a windows 11 virtual machine, test it, customize it, etc. And the process, at present, is very simple, since Microsoft allows you to download the virtual machine for the main virtualization solutions: VMWare, VirtualBox, Parallels and the one that Windows brings by default, Hyper V.
So, the first thing to do is install one of those solutions. VirtualBox It is free and has a version for Windows, Mac and Linux. vmware It has a paid version and a simpler free version, VMware Workstation Player. It is available for Linux and Windows. For his part, parallels it is paid and it is available for Windows and Mac. And finally, Hyper V. It is the option that Windows brings by default, although it is more difficult to use if you are not familiar with it. It is not in all versions of Windows, only in Pro, business Y Education.
Once we have decided which virtualization software we are going to use, touch unload the machine appropriate virtual. In the past, it required you to sign in with your Microsoft account. Currently it is not necessary. The download is open to the public. You will download a 20 GB compressed file containing the machine or virtualized environment.
Import Windows 11 virtual machine
When you have the file downloaded, unzip it. The last step will be to import that virtual machine from the chosen app, VMWare, VirtualBox, Parallels either Hyper V. The import is very simple and will allow you to use that virtual machine without having to create a new one. As we saw before, the Microsoft machine already has everything installed.
When you finish importing the virtual machine, you will be able to open it and try it. Among the first things you will want to change will surely be the default language, check for updates, etc. from there, you won’t need to touch much anymore. It does not hurt to make a capture or save to be able to restore the machine if something goes wrong. would come to be equivalent to restoring Windows but without affecting the rest of the elements of the virtual machine.
As this is an evaluation version of Windows 11, there may be some blocked features, but it is fully functional. You will be able to install applications, sign in with your Microsoft account, synchronize files with OneDrive, etc. And with the advantage that it will work without affecting the components and files of your main computer.