How to Install Windows 11 in VirtualBox
Want to try the latest version of Windows 11 but are skeptical about replacing it with a stable OS? Why not run it in Virtual Box and decide for yourself?
If you look at Microsoft's previous track record, you'll find this surprisingly stupid model when it gets screwed up with every new release of Windows. Remember how Windows Me became a disaster and Windows XP became a hit?
Then Windows Vista came out, another disaster, but Windows 7 was a huge hit again. The story continues by saying that Windows 8 is bad and Windows 10 is a heartthrob. So what are your bets on Windows 11? Will it follow the same trend, or will we see two successive great Windows releases from Microsoft?
Why run Windows 11 in Virtual Box?
Here you do not need to play a guessing game; Windows 11 is out and available for self-test. Early reports have shown mixed results for Windows 11, but I won't recommend you upgrade your stable operating system to Windows 11 at this time. The best way to test an operating system is to run it in Virtual Box and decide for yourself.
Running Windows 11 is a true win-win:
- You don't have to worry about errors affecting important files.
- You can always undo any changes or remove the entire Windows 11 customization.
- And best of all, you can experience the look, feel, and features of Windows 11 without having to replace your existing operating system.
How to run Windows 11 in Virtual Box?
This is how you can install Windows 11 in Virtual Box and test it without changing the stable OS. Follow these steps to install and run Windows 11:
- Download the Windows 11 ISO file.
- Install Oracle VM Virtual Box if you haven't already
- Initialize a new virtual machine and select the Windows 11 ISO file.
- Allocate system resources and install ISO
Let's take a closer look at each of the steps mentioned above.
Download the Windows 11 ISO file.
These are the available ways to download windows 11 :
- Windows 11 Setup Assistant
- Create Windows 11 installation media
- Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)
However, we will use the third one since we need the ISO to run the virtual box.
Click the Download button, select a language, and continue. This is about five gigabytes and will take some time, depending on your network connection.
Install Oracle VM Virtual Box
The next step in this process is to install Oracle Virtual Box on your computer. You can skip this section and go to the next one if you already have Virtual Box on your computer. If not, follow these steps:
No. 1. Go to the Virtual Box Site and select the "Windows Hosts" option from the list.
#2: The Virtual Box executable will start downloading to your computer.
No. 3. Run the file and install it to the desired location.
No. 4. Bonus tip: deselect USB features in the setup wizard if you have problems installing Virtual Box.
Create a new virtual machine for Windows 11
This process is identical to creating a virtual machine for any other operating system using an ISO file. You need to create a new VM, allocate some system resources, and then install the ISO file inside the new VM.
Windows 11, being a demanding operating system, requires about 4 GB of RAM and 20 GB of disk space as the bare minimum to run Virtual Box.
I recommend using at least 8 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk space for a smoother experience. This is how you can create a new virtual machine in Virtual Box:
No. 1. Click the "New" button in the "Virtual Box Manager" section.
#2 Enter a name for the newly created virtual machine and choose where to install it.
No. 3. The following steps require you to allocate system resources to the virtual machine. Here I used 4096 MB of RAM and 30 GB of storage. You can choose any other value according to your requirements, as long as it meets the system requirements for Windows 11.
No. 4. Select the amount of memory you want for your virtual machine and click next.
No. 5. Now select the "Create a virtual hard disk" option and choose a location to store the virtual machine.
#5. Finally, click "Create".
Install Windows 11 in Virtual Box
Coming to the heart of this article, we will now install Windows 11 on our newly created virtual machine. Here is how you can proceed with the installation:
No. 1. First of all, click on the "Start" button under "Virtual Machine Manager" to start the virtual machine.
No. 2. Currently, the virtual machine is almost empty, there is no operating system on the virtual hard disk. So, select the ISO file in the next window by clicking the "Add" button and finally clicking "Select".
No. 3. Now restart the virtual machine by clicking the Start button.
No. 4. Since Microsoft has put hardware restrictions on Windows 11, now is the time to trick Windows. This will include some registry tweaks.
To do this, press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt and type regedit to open the registry editor.
Now go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetup. Then right-click "Setting" and select "Key" inside "New".
Name this new key LabConfig. After that, right-click on LabConfig and navigate to the DWORD (32-bit) value.
Name it BypassTPPMCheck and press Enter. Double click on it and set its value to 1 instead of the default 0.
Repeat the same process and create two new entries, BypassSecureBootCheck and BypassRamCheck, with a value of 1.
Finally, you will have something like this:
Close Registry Editor and Command Prompt to continue installing Windows 11.
#5 The setup process starts by filling in the basic details like preferred language, country, and input methods. After that, click Next.
Subsequently, the next window asks for a product key to activate the Windows version. You can click the "I don't have a product key" button for this installation.
#6: Select the version of Windows 11 you want to install and click Next to accept the terms.
No. 7. The next window prompts you to select a custom installation or update. Select the Custom installation option and proceed to the next step.
No. 8. The virtual created disk will be shown here. Select this and click "Next" to start the installation. Finally, you can start setting up your new Windows 11 in a virtual machine:
Summing up
The article above provides a comprehensive method to run Windows 11 in Virtual Box. Using Virtual Box to install Windows 11 is a great way to check out the latest version of Windows without exposing your main PC to potential bugs and security vulnerabilities.
If you're looking for a premium alternative to Virtual Box, check out VMWare Fusion .
Although the installation process is simple, it is slightly different from any normal virtual machine installation process, especially the part that requires registry tweaks.