Microsoft releases new virtual machines so you can download Windows 11 for free

Microsoft has updated the free virtual machines it makes available for download as Windows 11 development environments.

In addition to Windows 11, the virtual machines also include various other developer-centric tools such as Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition and Ubuntu pre-installed in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. In a nod to the fact that people work with different virtualization platforms, Microsoft has produced VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox and Parallels versions of the free VMs.

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It is worth noting from the offset that while these virtual machines furnish users with a free copy of Windows 11, Visual Studio and more, there are limitations. Perhaps the most important one to keep in mind is that the VMs are time-limited and will expire after 90 days -- but there is nothing to prevent you from reinstalling the same VM or downloading the updated version that will almost certainly have been released in the intervening three months.

Microsoft says of the virtual machines:

We currently package our virtual machines for four different virtualization software options: VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox, and Parallels. These virtual machines contain an evaluation version of Windows that expires on the date posted. If the evaluation period expires, the desktop background will turn black, you will see a persistent desktop notification indicating that the system is not genuine, and the PC will shut down every hour.

The VMs include the latest Patch Tuesday updates from July.

The complete list of software included with the downloads is as follows:

• Windows 11 Enterprise (Evaluation)
• Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition with UWP, .NET Desktop, Azure, and Windows App SDK for C# workloads enabled
• Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 enabled with Ubuntu installed
• Windows Terminal installed
• Developer mode enabled

It is also possible to download virtual machines based on Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 11 Enterprise without any additional software.

You can find out more and download the virtual machines -- or Windows 11 development environments -- here.