If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 8 and want to try Windows 11 without an upgrade or clean installation, the virtual machine is the only option for you. Whether you want to check the user interface or use the OS intensively, VMware Workstation Player lets you do that.
System requirements
Any standard x86-based hardware with a 64-bit processor1.3GHz or faster clock speedMinimum 2GB of RAMWindows 10/8 running host computerRequired free storage for the respective OSVirtualization must be enabled
Apart from that, you must have the Windows 11 ISO on your computer. In case you haven’t downloaded the ISO, you can follow this tutorial to download Windows 11 ISO from the official website. Also, you must enable hardware virtualization to use this tool. Note: VMware Workstation Player is free for personal use only. While installing this software on your computer, you must select Use VMware Workstation [version] Player for free for non-commercial use option.
How to install Windows 11 on VMware Workstation Player
To install Windows 11 on VMware Workstation Player, follow these steps: To learn more about these steps, continue reading. Before getting started with the aforementioned steps, you must download the VMware Workstation Player app on your computer. If you have done that already, no need to follow this step. Otherwise, you can head to vmware.com to download the app. After downloading and installing it on your computer, you can follow these steps. At first, you need to open the VMware Workstation Player app on your computer and click the Create a New Virtual Machine option.
If you cannot see that option on your screen, you can go to the Player > File > New Virtual Machine option. After that, select the Installer disk image file (iso) option and click the Browse button to select the downloaded Windows 11 ISO file.
Then, you need to select the OS you are about to install. In this case, you can choose Windows 10 x64 as VMware Workstation Player doesn’t have the Windows 11 option. In the next window, you need to give your virtual machine a name. You can name anything and click the Next button.
Next, select a disk size of 60 GB. It is the recommended disk size for Windows 11/10 x64. You can choose either Store virtual disk as a single file or Split virtual disk into multiple files.
The next screen, it displays all the hardware information regarding your virtual machine. If you are happy with the existing hardware, you can click the Finish button. Otherwise, you can click the Customize Hardware button and customize your virtual machine hardware as you like.
Next, click the Play virtual machine option.
Now, your Windows 11 installation will start on the virtual machine.
You can follow the screen instructions to finish the installation. For your information, the steps are almost the same as the Windows 10 installation, with a few changes here and there.
Can I install Windows 11 on VMWare?
Yes, you can install Windows 11 on VMware Workstation Player and Pro without any restrictions. For that, you must have the proper license (if you use the Pro version), your computer must comply with the required hardware and Windows 11 ISO. If you have everything on the list, you are good to go.
How do I get Windows 11 on a VM?
There are multiple ways to get Windows 11 on a VM or virtual machine. For example, you can install Windows 11 on Hyper-V, follow this particular guide to install Windows 11 on VMware Workstation Player, etc. On the other hand, you can also install Windows 11 on VirtualBox. Hope this guide helped.
