Microsoft has updated its free Windows 11 virtual machines intended for development environments. Even if you are not a developer, you can download a ready-for-use evaluation virtual machine with Windows 11 to try the operating system without updating your primary computer.
Standard virtual machines with Windows 11 require activation with a genuine key like a typical local Windows installation. Microsoft"s official Windows 11 VMs do not require activation immediately, but you can use them only for a limited time. The official website says the new virtual machines are valid until September 11, 2022 (the previous version will expire on July 10).
Besides offering access to the full capabilities of Windows 11 (Enterprise SKU), the virtual machines from Microsoft include a set of ready-for-use developer tools, such as Visual Studio 2022 (with the UWP, .NET Desktop, Azure, and Windows App SDK for C# workloads), Windows Subsystem for Linux with Ubuntu, Developer mode, and Windows Terminal. These utilities allow developers to jump into development right after installing the virtual machine.
You can download Microsoft"s Windows 11 virtual machines from the official website. Available options include variants for VMWare, Hyper-V, VirtualBox, and Parallels. Note that your computer should be compatible with Windows 11 to run the official VMs, plus you need a minimum of 20 GB of free space.