Windows Virtual Machines offered for free by Microsoft are ideal for accessing the Windows Development Environment (WDE). It allows you to quickly build Windows applications using a virtual machine by including the latest versions of Windows, development tools, SDKs, and a collection of ready-to-use samples.

Although primarily intended for software development professionals, they can be used equally by students and programming enthusiasts who want to stay current with Windows application development.

How to use Windows virtual machines

Microsoft has just updated the version to Windows Development Environment 2407. It is based on Windows 11 build 22621.3880, which is the system update published in the July security bulletin.

Machines are available for free download and use on the major hypervisors on the market. However, the latest version is temporarily available for only two of them: Hyper-V and VirtualBox. What hasn’t changed is the free trial period, 90 days without paying for the license key get the following:

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

The hardware requirements are within the reach of almost any computer because it just requires it 8 GB of RAM and 70 GB of space on disk. Let’s just say that all the mentioned developer tools are available without the need for additional installations.

Windows virtual machines are useful for detailed evaluation (or be aware if you are concerned) Windows development environment taking into account that you can customize the system and use all its capabilities during the specified period. You can download virtual machines with Windows 11 for free on the official Windows Dev Center portal. If you find this development environment too complicated, but the world of virtualization attracts you, we recommend this guide to install the client version of Windows 11 on virtual machines.