Windows 11 Enterprise<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nSelect\u00a0Download the ISO \u2014 Window 11 Enterprise<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nFill out the registration for the free trial.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size
\nAfter clicking\u00a0Download now<\/em><\/strong>, choose your version. I selected the\u00a0English US version<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nI saved mine to my\u00a0Downloads<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0folder. This is a 5GB file, so expect the download to take a little time. Once it\u2019s done, you\u2019re ready to create your Windows 11 VM.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nSTEP 3: Create your Windows VM in VirtualBox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nOpen VirtualBox and click\u00a0Machine<\/em>\u00a0>\u00a0New.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nName your VM (e.g., Windows 11 (64-bit)). Specify the folder that will store the VM\u2019s files. Choose the downloaded Windows ISO as the installation image. Check\u00a0Skip Unattended Installation<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n![[Pasted image 20251229102023.png]]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSet up Hardware (recommend at least\u00a08GB and 4 CPUs<\/em><\/strong>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nKeep Virtual Hard disk at the default\u00a080 GB<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nReview Summary and click\u00a0Finish<\/em><\/strong>.The VM should now appear on the left of the VirtualBox Manager. Select it and and click\u00a0Start<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0the top panel. You can also start it up by right-clicking on the machine and clicking\u00a0Start<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\nWindows Setup:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\nFollow installation prompts to complete setup. The VM will reboot a few times \u2014 this is normal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nWhen prompted to create a Microsoft user account, click\u00a0Sign-in options<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nSelect\u00a0Domain join instead<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nEnter a name to use for the local account. Create a password and fill in the security questions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nChoose privacy settings (I unchecked all of them).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nOnce the installation finishes and the VM reboots, log in with the username and password you created in step 10.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size
STEP 4: Finalize Windows 11 VM Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Now that your Windows VM is up and running, it\u2019s time to install Guest Additions<\/strong> \u2014 a package of drivers and utilities provided by VirtualBox that improve the performance and usability of your VM.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKey Benefits of Installing Guest Additions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\nSeamless Mouse Integration<\/strong>: Move mouse freely between the VM and host.<\/li>\n\n\n\nImproved Display Options<\/strong>: Enables full-screen mode, automatic screen resizing, and better resolutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\nShared Clipboard<\/strong>: Copy and paste text between your VM and host machine (this is my personal favorite!)<\/li>\n\n\n\nShared Folders<\/strong>: Easily transfer files between host and VM.<\/li>\n\n\n\nBetter Performance<\/strong>: Optimized video, mouse, and storage drivers improve responsivesness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nTo install Guest Additions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\nIn the Windows VM, select\u00a0Devices<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from the top menu and choose\u00a0Insert Guest Additions<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from the drop down menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\nOpen\u00a0File Explorer<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0inside the VM and locate the CD Drive for the\u00a0VirtualBox Guest Additions.<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nClick and find\u00a0VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nRight-click and\u00a0Run as administrator.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Click\u00a0Yes<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to the installation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nClick\u00a0Next<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to Start the installation of Guest Additions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nChoose defaults options. When the installation finishes, click\u00a0Finish<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to reboot the VM.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nAfter logging back in:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nGo to\u00a0View > Auto-resize Guest Display<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to enable dynamic resolution. This tells the VM to automatically adjust it\u2019s screen resolution to match the size of the VirtualBox window. This is great for presentations and screenshots. It also feels much more natural and responsive compared to a static display.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nEnable Clipboard sharing:\u00a0Devices > Shared Clipboard > Bidirectional<\/em><\/strong>. Or you can also do this from the VirtualBox Manager in\u00a0Settings > General > Advanced > Bidirectional.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Optionally, enable\u00a0Drag \u2019n\u2019 Drop > Bidirectional<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0for file transfers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size
STEP 5: Create a VM Snapshot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n A snapshot<\/strong> is like a save point for your virtual machine. It captures the exact state of your VM at a specific moment \u2014 including the operating system, installed programs, settings, and files \u2014 so you can return to that exact moment if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNow that you have a fresh installation with Guest Additions, this is a great time to take a snapshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To take snapshot:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\nGo to\u00a0Machine > Take Snapshot<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from the VM\u2019s top menu. Give your snapshot a clear name and click\u00a0Ok<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ll see the snapshot loading on the right.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\nYou can now return to this exact state at anytime by selecting the snapshot and clicking\u00a0Restore<\/em><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nPress enter or click to view image in full size<\/p>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n By following this guide, you\u2019ve successfully created and configured a Windows 11 virtual machine using VirtualBox \u2014 from installing the hypervisor, to downloading the ISO, completing the OS installation, enhancing it with Guest Additions, and finally taking a clean snapshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This setup is a solid foundation for lab environments, cybersecurity practice, software testing, or just learning Windows in a safe, contained space. With features like shared clipboard, drag-and-drop, and screen resizing all enabled, your VM should feel responsive and easy to use \u2014 almost like working with a regular app on your host machine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
STEP 1: Install Windows 11 on VirtualBox In this tutorial, I\u2019ll be using VirtualBox by Oracle. VirtualBox is known as a Type 2 hypervisor, which allows us to run multiple virtual machines (VMs) on top of our existing operating system. To install VirtualBox: Press enter or click to view image in full size Press enter or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[35],"doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-7807","docs","type-docs","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","doc_category-virtualbox-installation"],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":1298,"total_views":0,"reactions":{"happy":0,"normal":0,"sad":0},"author_info":{"name":"admin","author_nicename":"admin","author_url":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/author\/admin\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Virtualbox Installation","term_url":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/docs-category\/virtualbox-installation\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/7807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/7807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7808,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/7807\/revisions\/7808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=7807"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scalemedia.co.za\/cybermedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=7807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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