How to Run Windows 11 on a Mac (And Why You Might Want To)

(Image credit: Microsoft)

While we've long since reached parity in the operating system wars, and today's choices are generally a matter of personal preference, there does come up a time when 1 operating system is simply a better choice than the other. Running a Windows-just application, for instance, is often a requirement for a job or school, and an alternative that runs on macOS simply won't cut it.

Luckily, there'due south e'er virtualization. Because why cull an operating organization when you can run them all?

Why You Should Run Windows 11 on Mac

As nosotros have said to a higher place, there are plenty of reasons why yous may want to install Windows 11 on a Mac figurer. All the same, at that place are some mutual reasons why people often practice information technology. Below are the three meridian reasons for y'all to install Windows xi on your Mac.

To Run Windows-Exclusive Software: Some programs, particularly computer games, are released exclusively for specific operating systems. In some instances, y'all can use third-political party applications to forcefulness these programs to work on a Mac. However, if that is impossible, installing Windows 11 on your Mac may be the only selection.
Go a Feel of the Other Side of the Fence: If y'all take spent your whole life using a Mac computer, then pretty sure you will sooner or later go curious to know how a Windows computer feels like. Installing a virtual Windows 11 on your Mac computer is a cheaper and easier alternative than ownership a new computer simply to test the Windows operating system.
Examination Your Plan's Windows Compatibility: This i mainly applies to software developers. Plenty of software developers prefer working on a Mac rather than a Windows calculator. However, a problem occurs when it is time to examination their programs on a Windows 11 Bone. Past installing a virtual Windows 11 on your Mac, you can test your software's compatibility with Windows as much as you desire.

What Is Virtualization?

There are several ways you can run other operating systems on a Mac computer. However, today we will focus solely on using virtualization to run Windows 11 on a Mac. Virtualization is the process of running an operating system within another running organisation.

MacBook Pro — (Image credit: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images)

Unlike with Dual Booting, where your calculator will be alternating betwixt two different OS, Virtualization is a program that emulates an Bone while the original OS is running the former. In other words, it is macOS that will be running the program that emulates Windows 11.

In that location are many virtualization tools that you can download, such as VMWare Fusion, Parallels Desktop, and VirtualBox. In this article, we will exist using Virtual Box for our virtualization. Oracle adult VirtualBox to provide complimentary and open-source hosted hypervisor for virtualization.

Things Yous Need to Run Windows 11 on a Mac

To become started in installing Windows 11 on your Virtualbox Virtual Machine, brand certain that you have the following:

Microsoft xi ISO Image: You tin download it hither. You will need a Microsoft Account that is a member of the Windows Insider programme.
Oracle VM VirtualBox installer: Y'all can download it here.
A Microsoft 11 compatible Mac figurer (in terms of technical requirements)
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz)
- RAM: 4 gigabytes (GB)
- Storage: 64 GB

Take notation that these are the minimum requirements to run Windows 11. This means that you will need more than or at to the lowest degree double of these values for your Mac to run the Windows xi virtualization smoothly. This is because your Mac computer will keep to run other background processes while y'all are running VirtualBox.

How to Install Windows 11 on VirtualBox Virtual Machine

If you have completed the checklist above, it is time for usa to go to the central part of this article. Here are the steps you demand to take to go Windows xi working on your Mac computer.

How to Run Windows 11 on a Mac (And Why You Might Want To) — (Image credit: Laptop Mag)

1) Install VirtualBox using the installer that you downloaded from in a higher place. Follow the instructions shown in the installer. Using the default settings provided should be plenty for our needs.

2) Open the Virtualbox by clicking on its icon on your Dock or Launchpad.

3) On the menu bar at the top of the window, click the New push. This will open up a second window where y'all can enter the name of your new virtual machine, the virtual auto's storage location, its blazon, and, finally, its version.

iv) From the window above, blazon your preferred proper noun for your virtual machine. Go out the Machine Folder in default. Afterward, select Microsoft Windows equally the Type and Windows ten (64-scrap) as the version.

v) Click the Next button at the bottom of the window.

6) In the next stage, you will exist required to select your preferred retentiveness allotment for your virtual machine. Drag the slider to your preferred memory size or type in the value into the field on the right. Although Windows xi's minimum memory requirement is only 1Gb, nosotros recommend that you lot set up this to at least 4Gb or 4096 Mb.

vii) One time you lot are in the Hard disk footstep, select Create a virtual difficult disk and click Create.

8) Select VDI (Virtualbox Disk Image) as the Hard disk drive file type on the adjacent window, and then click Next.

9) Set Storage on a physical difficult drive every bit Dynamically allocated. Click Next.

10) Adjacent, select where you want your virtual motorcar to be saved and the maximum size that it tin have upwards in your Mac estimator. Call up that Windows 11 requires at least 64Gb to office.

eleven) Click Create. After a short period of loading, a new virtual machine should exist listed on the left side of VirtualBox Director.

12) The following few stages would be necessary for setting upward your virtual car to run on Windows 11. Commencement, right-click the name of your newly created virtual motorcar.

13) Select Settings from the dropdown. This will open the Settings window for your new virtual machine.

14) Go to the Storage tab and click the Empty disk nether the Storage Devices section.

15) On the right side of the screen, you lot should encounter the Attributes section. Click the CD icon abreast the Optical Drive dropdown.

16) Select Choose a disk file.

17) On the opened window, navigate and find the Windows 11 ISO paradigm that you lot previously downloaded.

18) Select the ISO image and click Open. Wait for your virtual machine to load, and that'southward information technology. Your Windows eleven virtual machine is prepare to use.

19) To run your virtual machine, become back to VirtualBox's main screen and double-click its name. This should open a screen that has a Windows loading screen.