Windows Developer VM or images, where are they now?

Question

I changed job this spring. I am a software tester, I used to use virtualbox, but want to use HyperV if it does in fact function. I'm on an AMD processor i9, win11, the Enterprisey version, I have a MSDN/visual studio license only.

I always used to download the 1-2 month demo images for testing software on, but these developer-ready VM VHD images are no longer published. I am going to assume that a permanent decision to stop these was made, and want to know why updated documentation for people like myself is not clear anymore.

I am just plain unable to find any answered questions that show that using Hyper-V on Windows 11 will be easy somehow. Clues please. HyperV starts the Windows 11 installer I grabbed off of https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/download-windows-11-enterprise and then decides it just will not install due to incompatibility. There is no easy to find documentation explaining working settings I need to tweak or choose Gen1/Gen2 etc in VShere, after trying a few things, still no joy. My MSDN sub does not include platform license keys these days, so I will have to ask IT for MLP keys I guess or find if we have an MLP server I guess. Those time-bombed images were so helpful before.

What is the current new suggested route people are using?

Answer 1

On your Windows 11 machine with Hyper-V installed, use the search icon or open the Start menu and start typing "Quick Create". It should suggest "Hyper-V Quick Create". Run that.

That tool can create a VM with an evaluation version of your currently installed OS.

Answer 2

Hi, I am Henry, I want to discuss with you with this topic.

 "I always used to download the 1-2 month demo images for testing software on, but these developer-ready VM VHD images are no longer published. I am going to assume that a permanent decision to stop these was made, and want to know why updated documentation for people like myself is not clear anymore."

For this one, I tried to research the reason behind the discontinuation of the developer-ready VM VHD images, but I couldn’t find any definitive explanation either.

 

"I am just plain unable to find any answered questions that show that using Hyper-V on Windows 11 will be easy somehow. Clues please. HyperV starts the Windows 11 installer I grabbed off of https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/download-windows-11-enterprise and then decides it just will not install due to incompatibility. There is no easy to find documentation explaining working settings I need to tweak or choose Gen1/Gen2 etc in VShere, after trying a few things, still no joy."

I see you mentioned vSphere. Are you referring to VMware vSphere? If so, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to assist you with installing a VM using VMware. However, it seems like you’re trying to use Hyper-V on Windows 11 to install and run a virtual machine with the Windows 11 Enterprise OS but are encountering issues with settings and compatibility. If you’d like, I can guide you step-by-step on how to set up a new VM using Hyper-V on Windows 11.

 

Step 1: Access Hyper-V Manager

• From the Start menu, search for Hyper-V Manager.
• If it doesn’t appear, follow these steps to enable it:
  • Navigate to "Turn Windows features on or off" through the Control Panel or Settings app.
  • Check the boxes for "Hyper-V", "Hyper-V Management Tools", and "Hyper-V Platform".
  • Click "OK" and restart your computer.

Step 2: Create a New VM

• Open Hyper-V Manager and begin setting up a new virtual machine. You can refer to this official guide for details about configuring generation, RAM, and disk.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/get-started/create-a-virtual-machine-in-hyper-v?tabs=hyper-v-manager

 

Step 3: Select the Virtual Machine Generation

• When creating the VM, decide whether to use Generation 1 or Generation 2. For more details about these options, refer to this link: Should I create a Generation 1 or 2 VM?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/plan/should-i-create-a-generation-1-or-2-virtual-machine-in-hyper-v

Step 4: Configure VM Resources

• Memory: Since the VM shares memory with the host machine, set the startup memory conservatively (e.g., 4GB or 8GB).
• Networking: Use the default switch configuration, which is pre-set on the host machine.
• Storage: Each VM requires a virtual hard disk. Ensure you allocate disk size cautiously to avoid exhausting the host machine’s storage.
• 

Step 5: Install the Operating System

1. Download the installation media for Windows 11:
   • Use the Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation if you need a trial version.
   • Alternatively, use the Media Creation Tool and convert it to an ISO file if you face issues downloading ISO files directly.
2. Import the ISO file to the VM during setup.
3. As we need to install the OS, we you can access this link to download the media and then convert it to iso and import to the image file https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/evalcenter/download-windows-11-enterprise or you can download the media creation and then convert to iso if you got issue with iso directly https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

Step 6: Finalize and Start the VM

• After completing the configuration, click Finish, and the VM will appear under the "Virtual Machine" list in Hyper-V Manager.
• Right-click the new VM, select Start, and proceed with the installation process. Once complete, you can fully utilize Hyper-V to run Windows 11 on your host machine.

Let me know if you need more discussion about this set up.