How to Install Windows 11 in VirtualBox

When Windows 11 was released for the first time, I was pretty excited about upgrading from Windows 10. But then the reviews started to drop in for Windows 11 about cluttered interface, performance issues, and so on. So, I was a bit skeptical about Windows 11 and thought it best to give Windows 11 a try first without installing it on my computer, and maybe decide about whether I want to upgrade to Windows 11 on my computer based on my experience with it.

And that’s when I discovered VirtualBox! It is an extremely useful software that would let you run another operating system within it, and the best part is that that operating system would be fully functional. This new operating system isn’t going to be installed on top of the native operating system that is already installed on your computer. You would be able to work on this new operating system like any other normal computer, install programs within it, and this new operating system can be anything from Windows to Linux. In my case, it was Windows 11.

If you are going through a similar dilemma like myself, or if you don’t want to lose Windows 10 but would like to work on Windows 11 too, then follow this tutorial till the end. I have explained every step in great detail so that you know what you are doing and why you are doing it.

Prerequisites for Installing Windows 11 in VirtualBox

There are a number of resources you would need to install Windows 11 in VirtualBox. It’s a good idea to keep these handy even before you start following the tutorial.

Windows 11 ISO image file: This should be available from the Microsoft website. You would be able to download it using the following link (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11)

Oracle VirtualBox (Free): This program will help you install Windows 11 within a confined space in your computer. You can download this software using the given link (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)

VirtualBox Extension Pack: This is required for additional features inside the VirtualBox environment like drag-and-drop, USB support, internet connectivity etc. This is available at the given link (https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.30/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.30.vbox-extpack)

How to Install Windows 11 in VirtualBox

Now that we have gathered all the necessary items, it’s time to start with the setup process. It might look a bit complicated at first, but trust me, it’s not. Just follow the steps as is and you should be able to setup a Windows 11 virtual machine using VirtualBox in no time.

Install VirtualBox on the computer by using the EXE file you downloaded from the prerequisites. Simply double click on the EXE file and follow the instructions on the screen, and you should be able to install VirtualBox pretty easily. You may have to restart the computer once.

Once installed, it’s time to install the Extension Pack. This too is an EXE file and you simply need to launch the installer by double clicking on the EXE file, and then simply follow the instructions given on the screen.

Once both VirtualBox and the Extension Pack is installed, launch the VirtualBox program. This should open the window shown below. From here, click on New to create a new virtual machine for installing Windows 11.

This should bring up a new window where you need to input a name for your new Windows 11 virtual machine, provide a path for this directory if you would like to create this virtual machine inside a different directory, select Type as Windows and Version as Windows 10 (64-bit) from the respective drop-downs. Once done, click Next to continue.

Now, it would ask you to allocate a certain about RAM for the virtual machine. For installing Windows 11, the recommended size of RAM is 4096MB. You can either use the slider to specify this amount, or simply type it in the box give and then click on the Next button. If you have a computer with more than 8GB of RAM, I would suggest you to allocate more than 4GB (or 4096MB) of RAM for the Windows 11 virtual machine, otherwise it might be a bit sluggish.

Now it’s time to give your virtual machine a hard drive of its own, albeit a virtual one. For that, select the option Create a virtual hard disk now on this new window and click on the Create button to continue.

Since we have created a hard drive for the Windows 11 virtual machine, we also need to specify its format because this is not a normal hard drive but a virtual one. In our case, we would select the VDI option and then click on Next.

8. In the next window, select Dynamically allocated from the given options. This will ensure that the virtual hard drive will only take up that amount space on your physical hard drive as it gets filled up and not the maximum space you provided to the virtual hard drive. Once done, click on Next to continue.

Now you need to allocate maximum space for this virtual hard drive. In my case, I have allocated around 50GB since I have a 2TB hard drive on my computer. You can allocate this space based on the size of your own hard drive. Once done, click on the Create button to build the virtual machine that would hold your Windows 11 OS.

Now that we have successfully created a virtual machine, it’s time to tweak some of its settings so that they support the basic requirements for installing Windows 11. First, select the Windows 11 virtual machine you just created by clicking on it once, then click on the Settings button located right beside New. This should bring up the settings page specific to this virtual machine.

In the Settings window, click on System, then select the Motherboard tab on the right. Now, specify the Base Memory as 4 GB, and select the options Enable I/O APIC and Enable EFI under the Extended Features section.

Once done with the previous step, go over to the Processor tab right beside Motherboard. Here, select 2 for Processor(s), also select Enable PAE/NX under the Extended Features section.

Next, go to Display below System, and go over to the Screen tab. Here, allocate 256MB as Video Memory, and select Enable 3D Acceleration in the Acceleration section.

Finally, click on Storage below Display on the right side of the window. Inside Storage, click on the CD icon that says Empty beside it under Storage Devices, this should bring up the settings for that CD icon.

From these Attributes, beside Optical Drive, click on the other CD icon and click on Choose a disk file option. Now select the Windows 11 ISO image file that you had downloaded earlier from the list of prerequisites, and click Open. That’s it, we’re done with the settings for the virtual machine.

Next, select the Windows 11 virtual machine you had created, and this time click on Start. This should be located in the same row that of New and Settings icons. Once you have clicked on Start icon, the virtual machine would start loading up Windows 11 setup screen. Follow the instructions on the screen and you should be able to install Windows 11 like that on a normal computer.

While installing Windows 11, if you get an error saying “This PC cannot run Windows 11” then close the window and back to Repair your computer screen. Press Shift+F10 on your keyboard to launch Command Prompt utility.

In Command Prompt window, type ‘regedt’ and press Enter to bring up the Windows registry editor. In the registry editor, head over to the following key:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup

Right click on Setup, then click on New and Key to build a new key, rename it LabConfig. Then click on LabConfig, then right click on the empty space on the right side of the panel.

Then click New and DWORD (32-bit) to build 2 new entries named BypassSecureBootCheck and BypassTPMCheck, and set their values as 00000001.

Once done, close the registry editor and the Command Prompt, then click on the Install Now button on the Windows 11 Setup screen and continue with the setup normally.

Finally, after successfully installing Windows 11 in VirtualBox, you’ll be greeted with the Windows 11 desktop.

Now you can use Windows 11 on a Windows 10 computer and then decide for yourself which one you like better. If you come across any other error while installing Windows 11 in VirtualBox, you can search on the internet and I am sure you would find a solution to it.