Virtual machines are an excellent alternative to be able to test all types of operating systems. Thanks to them we can create an isolated space within the PC memory where we can run an operating system and the programs we want, without our main computer being in danger. And, although we can install the system we want from scratch, if we do not want to complicate things, we can resort to the official Microsoft virtual machines which, today, have received an important update.
From time to time, Microsoft publishes a series of virtual machines so that all users who want, or need, can download them and run them on any computer without having to install or configure the system from scratch.
The virtual systems that Microsoft offers us are made up of:
- Windows 11 Enterprise, with a 90-day trial license.
- Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition with multiple development environments: UWP, .NET Desktop, Azure, and the Windows SDK for C# apps.
- Windows Subsystem for Linux (version 2) with Ubuntu installed.
- WindowsTerminal.
- Developer mode enabled.
Although these Microsoft virtual machines are designed primarily for developers, anyone can download them at no cost. Of course, we must keep in mind that these VMs do not support a license key (so, even if we have one, we will not be able to activate them), and if after 90 days of validity we want to continue using it we will have to download the new machines virtual ones that Microsoft has launched.
New Windows 11 virtual machines
Microsoft has just uploaded new updated virtual machines to its servers as of April 2024. These VMs, called “Windows Development Environment”, are now updated to version 2405, and are based on version 22H2 of Windows 11 Enterprise. Specifically, Microsoft has created the virtual machine based on build 22621.3447 of the operating system, with the April 2024 security patches and the KB5036893 update. This means that, although it is not updated to 23H2, we will have all the features of the Moment 5.
Microsoft has also updated all the development tools, all the compilers, and all the software that make up this Windows Development Environment so that, by simply mounting it and starting it, we can start working with it, without worrying about anything else.
Requirements and download
To be able to use this new virtual machine, Microsoft recommends that we have a computer with at least 8 GB of RAM and 70 GB of hard drive space. As for the processor, since it is virtualized, there should be no requirements problems or incompatibilities, since the hypervisor should emulate the TPM and instructions.
To download this virtual machine and start using it, we just have to access this link and choose the version we want to download according to the software we are going to use. We remind you that, as of yesterday, VMware Workstation Pro is free for everyone, as long as we are going to use it in a personal and domestic environment. Therefore, we recommend that you download this program and mount the new Windows virtual machine directly in this program, since it will work much better than in VirtualBox and other similar programs.
If you don’t want to use VMware software, Microsoft also offers images ready for VirtualBox, Hyper-V v2, and Parallels.