Microsoft has released a new batch of virtual machines for Windows 11 that are new to include the features incorporated in the latest “Moments 5” update. These are of course completely free.

A few days ago we talked about advantages of virtualization when we announced Broadcom’s decision to release VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro hypervisors for free for personal use, and we also recommended this tutorial for installing Windows 11 client on virtual machines. Today we bring you another use case of virtualization in operating systems.

How to use virtual machines for Windows 11

If you’re a developer, student, or simply interested in programming, these Windows 11 virtual machines are ideal for accessing the Windows 11 Development Environment (WDE) as they allow you to compile applications.

The machines are available for free to download and use in four different formats for the major hypervisors on the market (VMWare, Hyper-V Gen2, Parallels and VirtualBox) and are based on Windows 11 Enterprise build 22621.3447, updated with the April 2024 security patches and Moments 5 update features.

Using it is as simple as downloading the corresponding compressed ZIP file from the official Windows Dev Center portal, decompressing it, and booting the machine to access an environment that includes:

• Windows 11 Enterprise SKU.
• Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition with UWP enabled, .NET Desktop, Azure and Windows Apps SDK for C# tasks.
• Windows Subsystem for Linux with Ubuntu preinstalled.
• Installed Windows Terminal.
• Developer mode enabled.

It should be noted that it includes a free license to use Windows 11 Enterprise for a fixed period, which is usually 90 days from its publication. Microsoft usually releases virtual machines for Windows 11 on a regular basis, so their use is practically unlimited and completely free.