Microsoft Released a New Windows 11 Virtual Machine for Evaluation

If you want to check out or develop on Windows 11 and are still deciding whether to give up on Windows 10, well, Microsoft is helping you out.

They have released virtual machines to evaluate the latest version of Windows 11 Enterprise.

A virtual machine is like a computer inside your computer. It lets you run different operating systems and programs without affecting your primary system. However, you need a program to run them in. In this case, Microsoft supports VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox, and Parallels.

You would need one of the above options to install, then download the correct VM. Then you open the VM in the virtualization program, a POOF you are running Win 11 on Win 10. That easy.



The Virtual Machine Copies include pretty much everything Microsoft thinks you need: Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition, .NET Desktop, Azure, Windows App SDK for C#, and Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 with Ubuntu and Windows Terminal installed.

These newest evaluations expire on August 9, 2023, after which you'll get a black background and a nag screen urging you to register.

If this is something you are up for, you can grab your copies from Microsoft here.

Enjoy!