Windows Development Environment Archives

Winsage

October 24, 2024

Microsoft’s official Windows 11 virtual machines are no longer available

Microsoft's official virtual machines for the Windows 11 Development Environment are currently unavailable for download as of October 23, 2024, due to expiration and activation issues. Users with operational environments will face activation problems, as these virtual machines do not support activation via product keys, resulting in a black desktop background and shutdown every hour for expired versions. The last update for these virtual machines was in July 2024, based on Windows 11 build 22621.3880. The Windows 11 Development Environment was offered in four configurations: Hyper-V, Parallels for Mac, VirtualBox, and VMware, and included tools such as Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition, .NET Desktop, Azure, Windows App SDK for C#, Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 with Ubuntu, Windows Terminal, and Developer mode.

Winsage

July 13, 2024

Microsoft releases new free Windows 11 virtual machines with the latest updates

Microsoft has released the latest version of its official Windows 11 virtual machines, known as the Windows Development Environment (WDE). The new version is based on Windows 11 build 22621.3880 and offers developer tools such as Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition and Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. The virtual machines are only available in Hyper-V and VirtualBox formats, with VMware Workstation and Parallels Desktop versions currently unavailable. Users can enjoy a 90-day evaluation period with an expiration date set for October 9, 2024.