Windows 11: Microsoft tightens the screw for virtual machines – Generation NT

The latest builds of Windows 11 preview for Windows Insiders come with a warning about a change in virtual machines. Microsoft says that now the minimum requirements for a virtual instance align with those for the physical PC.

Otherwise, virtual machines previously created for Windows 11 Insider Preview builds may not be updated to the new previews. The warning is being broadcast for the Dev channel as well as the Beta channel.

The minimum system requirements for Windows 11 is a reminder a 1 GHz 64-bit processor with 2 cores, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, UEFI and secure boot, TPM trusted platform module version 2.0, graphics card compatible with DirectX 12, 720p screen over 9 inches.

However, the list of processors AMD and Intel excludes fairly recent components such as 7th generation Intel Core processors where only Intel Core X-series, Xeon W-series and Intel Core 7820HQ are concerned. And with TPM 2.0, things get even more complicated for virtual machines.

New reason for discontent

With Hyper-V or VMware, it is possible to create a virtualized version of TPM (vTPM). However, this is not the case with Oracle’s popular and free VirtualBox solution. Obviously, this is a problem on which a work was carried out in anticipation.

Thus, a driver should soon allow a host’s TPM to pass into the Windows 11 guest. At this point, it is not clear when the workaround – not vTPM support – will be offered and mention is made of it. ‘a start of implementation.

Bleeping Computer spotted this problem with VirtualBox and adds that for Parallels and QEMU users it does not arise.