How to Clone Windows 11 PC to a VM via VirtualBox
There are several ways to run Windows 11 on a virtual machine. For example, you can upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11 on VM. You can also use Windows 11 ISO to install and run Windows 11 on a virtual machine (VM) via VirtualBox or VMware. However, in this tutorial, we will show you another method to clone a running Windows 11 PC to a VM.
In this method, you have to create a virtual hard disk (VHD) from an existing PC running Windows 11. After that, you can mount the Windows 11 VHD file on VM in VirtualBox to run Windows 11. You can create a VHD using the Disk2Vhd tool from Microsoft.
SEE ALSO: How to Enable Hyper-V and Create a Virtual Machine in Windows 10?
Run Windows 11 on Virtual Machine via VirtualBox
So, in this tutorial, we will show you how to clone or capture a Windows 11 running PC to a VM on VirtualBox. This includes creating of VHD from a Windows 11 PC and mounting the VHD file to a VM. Finally, we will configure the virtual machine and run Windows 11 on VirtualBox.
The basic requirement for this tutorial is a PC running Windows 11. So, let’s start with creating the VHD file first.
Step 1: Create Windows 11 VHD using the Disk2vhd utility
First of all, download the Disk2vhd utility on your Windows 11 PC from the official page. It is a click-to-run utility, so, no installation is required. Just run the Disk2vhd utility and select the system drive of Windows 11 to create VHD.
Make sure to uncheck the “Use Vhdx” and “Use Volume Shadow Copy” options. Provide the destination path, and the name for the VHD file, and select C drive and system partitions. You may un-select other drives safely. Finally, click the Create button to start the process.
It may take some time depending upon the size of your system (C:) drive. After the process is complete, click Close to exit the Disk2vhd utility.
Step 2: Start New Virtual Machine Wizard in VirtualBox
After you are ready with the Windows 11 VHD file, you can now clone a PC running Windows 11 to a VM on VirtualBox. Next, we will create a new virtual machine in VirtualBox to run Windows 11.
So, first of all, install the latest version of VirtualBox on your PC. You may need to enable virtualization in BIOS before installing VirtualBox. After installation, launch VirtualBox and click New to create a virtual machine.
Now, you will see several options for the new VM. Type a name for your VM. We have used “Windows11” as the name. Next, select Memory size. We recommend you use at least 4GB RAM for the smooth functioning of Windows 11 VM.
After that, select the “Use an existing virtual hard disk file” option and click the Browse button to look for the Windows 11 VHD file.
Step 3: Browse and Add the VHD File
Now, you will see the Virtual Disk Manager window. Click on the Add button to browse for the VHD file.
Now, browse and select the Windows 11 VHD file we created using the Disk2Vhd utility to clone a Windows 11 PC to a VM. Click Open to add this VHD to the list of available virtual disk files in VirtualBox.
Now, select the Windows 11 VHD file from the list and click Choose to add VHD to the virtual machine.
SEE ALSO: How to Modify the Size of Paging file (pagefile.sys) in Windows 11?
Step 4: Create a Windows 11 Virtual Machine
After selecting the VHD file, click the Create button to create a Windows 11 virtual machine in VirtualBox. Windows 11 VM will be available in the list of VMs on the left side.
Step 5: Enable UEFI/EFI for Windows 11 Virtual Machine
Now, select Windows 11 VM from the left pane and click the Settings button to edit its settings.
In Windows 11 virtual machine settings, select System from the left pane. Now, on the Motherboard tab, un-select Floppy from Boot Order. After that enable the check box for the “Enable EFI (special OSes only)” option. Finally, click OK to save the settings.
SEE ALSO: How to Upgrade your PC to Windows 11 (4 Methods Explained)?
Step 6: Run Windows 11 Virtual Machine in VirtualBox
Finally, it’s time to run our Windows 11 PC clone on a virtual machine or VM. So, select Windows 11 VM from the left side in VirtualBox and click Start to start Windows 11 in VM.
You will see VirtualBox starting your Windows 11 VM. Wait for it to get to the login screen.
Step 7: Use Windows 11 in the Virtual Machine
Now, you will be able to sign in to your Windows 11 virtual machine using the same credentials as your PC. As we have captured the VHD from your Windows 11 PC, it will have all programs and settings as of your PC.
Finally, you may want to uninstall some programs from Windows 11 virtual machine. You can do so from the Control Panel or using Command Prompt.
Run Windows 11 in VirtualBox VM on your PC
The above tutorial explained how you can clone or capture your Windows 11 PC to a VHD file and mount it on a VM. After that run Windows 11 on the virtual machine in VirtualBox. Besides VirtualBox, you can also use Hyper-V to install and run Windows 11 on your PC.
Hope you liked this tutorial. Feel free to share your doubts and suggestions in the comment section below. You may also subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest tutorials directly into your inbox.
