Downloading Windows for a VM

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Hi all.

Weird question, but where do you download Windows legally to install in a virtual machine? How do you get a license? Do you need one? Any costs associated with it?

Asking because I have wanted to do this experiment involving a Windows virtual machine, so I would need to figure out where to get a Windows ISO or something (legally). Currently not running Windows, I use Linux, so this is a bit of unknown territory for me and I still am undecided (will ultimately depend on the cost and things like that).

Thanks for any help.

[Thermal Lance]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11

[Cathulhu]

You don't have to license Windows. There are some restrictions if you don't, but nothing that should impact you.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

How do you even know about VMs or how to use them if you don't even know that WinOS ISO come straight from Microsoft for free.

And it's a VM, why would you need to activate the OS?

[tung tung tung sahur]

:yay:

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

1. You download windows from Microsoft assuming you're after windows 8, or newer?

2. You don't need to activate it really if you're not needing access to certain settings like personalized, and using it in VM.

3. If you're trying to game, or heavy rendering you need setup GPU pass through in order to use your GPU, or else you're limited to what VM provides.

4. Please note when setup VM it requires memory space, and resources from your system to it which you can figure out when setting it up.

[Heaven Fall]

Download a windows ISO (only have french site sorry, use the traduction )

https://lecrabeinfo.net/telecharger-iso-windows-10.html
https://www.justgeek.fr/telecharger-iso-windows-10-104484/

When you create you VM , select this ISO

The VM do all the work

Do all the windows uptade
Never activate windows and is work fine

And beware of what VM you want to use Workstation is the best for me ( need to paid for it but free is possible ;) )
This VM allow you to allocate more ressource to you VM and use a graphic card

And VM is not the best option, depend of what you want to do

Me, after 5 months I drop my VM and built a 400 euro PC with my spare part, more effiency

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Thermal Lance님이 먼저 게시:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11

Thanks, I will have a look.

Bad 💀 Motha님이 먼저 게시:

How do you even know about VMs or how to use them if you don't even know that WinOS ISO come straight from Microsoft for free.

And it's a VM, why would you need to activate the OS?

I heard about that its free, but the download link on Microsofts website that I found implied I needed a license, so I got confused from the information from MS. So I figured I would just ask. I am primarily a Linux user and thus Windows is a bit weird to me, hence the dumb question.

Cathulhu님이 먼저 게시:

You don't have to license Windows. There are some restrictions if you don't, but nothing that should impact you.

Ok, thanks. Could have sworn the download page told me I needed one.

Dr.Shadowds 🐉님이 먼저 게시:

1. You download windows from Microsoft assuming you're after windows 8, or newer?

2. You don't need to activate it really if you're not needing access to certain settings like personalized, and using it in VM.

3. If you're trying to game, or heavy rendering you need setup GPU pass through in order to use your GPU, or else you're limited to what VM provides.

4. Please note when setup VM it requires memory space, and resources from your system to it which you can figure out when setting it up.

I was thinking Windows 11, or maybe Windows 10. I do not plan to do any GPU work, the VM will in fact not have a GPU at all. All I have is a Mini PC, but it has more than enought RAM to run Windows several times over (think I once ran 3 or 4 instances of Windows server on it with VMs... and yeah, I could figure out how to get my hands on an evaluation version of Windows server, but had to ask for Windows client, which is kind of funny).

The main worry I have is the TPM requirement for Windows 11. I could emulate the TPM or use passthrough and since I cant make up my mind, I dont know which is best. A security guy I met said that emulated TPMs are madness, so I guess I should use passthrough or Windows 10.

[Cathulhu]

What Hypervisor are you planning to use?

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

AD님이 먼저 게시:

Thermal Lance님이 먼저 게시:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11

Thanks, I will have a look.

Bad 💀 Motha님이 먼저 게시:

How do you even know about VMs or how to use them if you don't even know that WinOS ISO come straight from Microsoft for free.

And it's a VM, why would you need to activate the OS?

I heard about that its free, but the download link on Microsofts website that I found implied I needed a license, so I got confused from the information from MS. So I figured I would just ask. I am primarily a Linux user and thus Windows is a bit weird to me, hence the dumb question.

Cathulhu님이 먼저 게시:

You don't have to license Windows. There are some restrictions if you don't, but nothing that should impact you.

Ok, thanks. Could have sworn the download page told me I needed one.

Dr.Shadowds 🐉님이 먼저 게시:

1. You download windows from Microsoft assuming you're after windows 8, or newer?

2. You don't need to activate it really if you're not needing access to certain settings like personalized, and using it in VM.

3. If you're trying to game, or heavy rendering you need setup GPU pass through in order to use your GPU, or else you're limited to what VM provides.

4. Please note when setup VM it requires memory space, and resources from your system to it which you can figure out when setting it up.

I was thinking Windows 11, or maybe Windows 10. I do not plan to do any GPU work, the VM will in fact not have a GPU at all. All I have is a Mini PC, but it has more than enought RAM to run Windows several times over (think I once ran 3 or 4 instances of Windows server on it with VMs... and yeah, I could figure out how to get my hands on an evaluation version of Windows server, but had to ask for Windows client, which is kind of funny).

The main worry I have is the TPM requirement for Windows 11. I could emulate the TPM or use passthrough and since I cant make up my mind, I dont know which is best. A security guy I met said that emulated TPMs are madness, so I guess I should use passthrough or Windows 10.

Emulation of hardware may cause performance hit, depnding how bad the hit is depends what being emulated as how actively being used, and the workload to doing so.

Anyways if have TPM, secured boot, and using supported CPU then shouldn't be a problem running windows 11 in VM.

Are you using Linux to doing VM from?

[ㄒㄖ尺几ㄩ卩ㄒㄖ]

windows doesn't need a license to use as of windows 10, you can just make a bootable usb as you would with linux by just using microsoft's tool to make a bootable windows install usb

if you want to use windows for gaming purposes only then it would make more sense to keep gaming on windows and run linux on a vm since gaming on a vm doesn't work as well

[Bad 💀 Motha]

For VM it would be good to use the Win10 22H2 ISO and then from that, select and use the Enterprise Edition. The ISO from MS for Win10 or 11 will include all major editions except Server, as that is a separate OS. But they do include Home, Pro, Educational, Business and Enterprise

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Cathulhu님이 먼저 게시:

What Hypervisor are you planning to use?

KVM. It or Virtual Box, but Virtual Box is kind of slow in my experience (ran Windows Server with it and I guess client Windows isnt any faster).

Dr.Shadowds 🐉님이 먼저 게시:

AD님이 먼저 게시:

Thanks, I will have a look.


I heard about that its free, but the download link on Microsofts website that I found implied I needed a license, so I got confused from the information from MS. So I figured I would just ask. I am primarily a Linux user and thus Windows is a bit weird to me, hence the dumb question.


Ok, thanks. Could have sworn the download page told me I needed one.


I was thinking Windows 11, or maybe Windows 10. I do not plan to do any GPU work, the VM will in fact not have a GPU at all. All I have is a Mini PC, but it has more than enought RAM to run Windows several times over (think I once ran 3 or 4 instances of Windows server on it with VMs... and yeah, I could figure out how to get my hands on an evaluation version of Windows server, but had to ask for Windows client, which is kind of funny).

The main worry I have is the TPM requirement for Windows 11. I could emulate the TPM or use passthrough and since I cant make up my mind, I dont know which is best. A security guy I met said that emulated TPMs are madness, so I guess I should use passthrough or Windows 10.

Emulation of hardware may cause performance hit, depnding how bad the hit is depends what being emulated as how actively being used, and the workload to doing so.

Anyways if have TPM, secured boot, and using supported CPU then shouldn't be a problem running windows 11 in VM.

Are you using Linux to doing VM from?

Yes, my main system is Linux. Likely going to be using KVM. Virtual Box is also an option, but its slower.

The reason the security guy called emulating a TPM as madness is because the host system may have direct access to it, so you cannot trust that whats in it is secure. But I am concerned that if I use passthrough that my host system cannot access the TPM. I dont know how passthrough works when it comes to this.

Tornupto님이 먼저 게시:

windows doesn't need a license to use as of windows 10, you can just make a bootable usb as you would with linux by just using microsoft's tool to make a bootable windows install usb

if you want to use windows for gaming purposes only then it would make more sense to keep gaming on windows and run linux on a vm since gaming on a vm doesn't work as well

Its not for gaming purposes. I have had this vague idea of experimenting with running Windows apps from Linux using VMs and stuff like that. Its not really a serious thing, I just want to see what I can do more than anything. Its not even that well defined, I read somewhere about how it might be done and was like "hey, I want to try". This thread is basically preliminary research.

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Bad 💀 Motha님이 먼저 게시:

For VM it would be good to use the Win10 22H2 ISO and then from that, select and use the Enterprise Edition. The ISO from MS for Win10 or 11 will include all major editions except Server, as that is a separate OS. But they do include Home, Pro, Educational, Business and Enterprise

Ok, I will try and find that. Thanks.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Official MS Win10 or Win11 website (each has their own tool to download that particular OS)

Click "Download Tool Now" and run it on a Windows system that has Win7 SP1 64bit or later.

Select the option to download ISO.