5 Steps to Install Windows 11 on a Virtual Machine?

It is reported that nearly 9% of Microsoft have upgraded to Windows 11. Although Win 11 has brought a lot of new feature to us, some users are still worrying about the performance on our devices. However, id you’re not willing to miss anything new from Win 11, installing Windows 11 on a virtual machine comes to the best choice, while no methods were provided by Microsoft officially.

Don’t worry! We have figured out and test this way to Install windows 11.

Benefits to Install Windows 11 on Virtual Machine

Before going ahead, you should know the benefits of installing system with a virtual machine. The first obvious advantage is that malware or virus cannot run in the virtual environment. If the malicious behavior has been detected, the virtual machine will shut down automatically. That means you can backup your important folders on the virtual machine.

The second advantage is that you can enjoy different operating systems on only one device which is money saving. Applications for required on different OS will run on your device.

Then, how to install the latest Windows 11 on virtual machine for both security and money-saving? Please follow our step-by-step guide.

1. Prepare and Install a Virtual Machine Platform

VMware Workstation is recommended, which I have been using for more than 5 years. You can download it from its official page. It can be running on Linux and Windows system. You can use it for 30 days for free because it’s a trial version. But if you don’t want to pay for it, you can search the resource online to get one for free, or you can choose another one which is totally free. At the end of this page, several VM platforms have been listed.

2. Get Windows 11 ISO File

As the Windows 11 Build 22000.132 has been released. You can download it in our another post How to download and install Windows 11 to get the file link, or your can directly download it here.

3. Install Virtual Machine You Choose

This is as simple as installing a common software on your computer. Double click the exe file and click next to start the installation.

VMware workstation will ask you to agree its policy and click next to select Create a New Virtual Machine if you have not installed before.

Then you should choose to install operating system later and give a name to your virtual machine such as Windows 11 or others you like.

The next step is to allocate the disk size to be over 60MB. And then click next to finish the installation.

4. Install Windows ISO File on Virtual Machine

After the virtual machine has been well set it might restart. Then we can begin to install Windows 11 iso file now. Select the virtual machine you installed named as Windows 11 or others you named for it just now. choose the download Win 11 iso file from the location you stored when downloading, and then select Power on this virtual machine and choose the language you prefer to start installation.

The system will ask if you have a license key, please choose I don’t have a product key and choose Windows 11 in the next step.

In the following steps, please remember to accept all the agreement from Microsoft, or you can’t continue to install Windows 11 successfully.

Then choose Install Windows only and allocate the disk size (over 60 MB is better) for it, and now you can just wait to finish. If you’d like to customize some settings for this system on virtual machine, you can do it according your habits.

5. Test Your Windows 11 on Virtual Machine

The last but not the least is to restart your Windows 11 on virtual machine and install some program on it to test whether it works.

Steps listed above are all the steps to easily install Windows 11 on your device with a virtual machine. Although install machine is easy as ABC and has advantages, you should also pay attention to the detailed steps in case of anything unexpected happens.

Best Free Virtual Machine for Windows 11/10

Except for the VM platform I used above, here is also a list of user rated platform you could compare and choose according your needs.

• VirtualBox – A popular platform chosen by numerous users worldwide.
• Parallels Desktop – Support Mac, Windows and Linux. Its Parallels Desktop for Mac has been updated to support installing Windows 11 on Mac.
• QEMU – Free and easy-to-use
• Citrix Hypervisor – An open source software and free to use.
• Xen Project – Free and works with hyper-scale clouds