How to Install Windows 11 on VMware Workstation Pro (2026)

To install Windows 11 on VMware, install the free VMware Workstation Pro, download the Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft, and create a new virtual machine with Windows 11 x64 as the guest. When the wizard asks for encryption, pick the option that encrypts only the files needed for the TPM and save the password. That gives the VM the virtual TPM 2.0 and UEFI Secure Boot that Windows 11 requires. Give it at least 2 processors, 4 GB of memory and a 64 GB disk, boot from the ISO, finish Windows Setup, then install VMware Tools.

Applies to: VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 (the current release) and 25H2 on a Windows 11 or Windows 10 host, with Windows 11 version 26H2 as the guest. Workstation Pro 17.x uses the same steps. Broadcom’s own walkthrough is Installing Windows 11 as a guest OS on VMware Workstation.

What you need before you start

• A 64-bit Intel or AMD PC with virtualization turned on. Workstation Pro runs on 64-bit Windows and Linux hosts. If Task Manager’s Performance tab shows Virtualization: Disabled, follow the steps to enable virtualization in Windows 11 first.
• Enough memory to share. The VM takes its memory away from your PC while it runs. A host with 16 GB of RAM can comfortably give a Windows 11 VM 4 to 8 GB.
• About 80 GB of free disk space, ideally on an SSD. Windows 11 needs a 64 GB virtual disk, and updates and apps fill it over time.
• VMware Workstation Pro. It’s free for personal, educational and commercial use and no longer needs a license key. Broadcom stopped selling the separate Workstation Player, so Pro is the edition to use.
• A Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft (covered in Step 2).
• A Windows 11 license for the VM, if you plan to keep it. Microsoft’s Windows 11 license terms count a virtual machine as its own device, so the license your PC already uses doesn’t also cover the VM. You can install without a key and activate later.

Two terms come up in the steps. A TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is a security chip Windows 11 checks for during setup; VMware supplies a virtual one, called a vTPM. Secure Boot is a UEFI firmware feature that only lets trusted startup code run. Microsoft’s Windows 11 requirements page lists both for virtual machines, along with two or more virtual processors, 4 GB of memory and 64 GB of storage.

Install Windows 11 in VMware Workstation Pro

Step 1: Download and install Workstation Pro

Broadcom distributes Workstation Pro through its support portal, which needs a free account. Its article on downloading and licensing VMware Desktop Hypervisor walks through the sign-in, the profile and trade-compliance form (use your real address, or the download can be held for review), and the terms you accept before the download starts.

Run the installer and accept the defaults. When it asks for a license key, choose the free-use option instead of entering one. Restart if prompted.

Step 2: Download the Windows 11 ISO

1. Open Microsoft’s Download Windows 11 page.
2. Under Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices, choose the multi-edition ISO for x64 devices from the drop-down menu and select Confirm.
3. Pick your product language and select Confirm again.
4. Select the download link that appears for your language. Microsoft’s links stay valid for 24 hours, so start the download right away.

The file is several gigabytes. Only use Microsoft’s ISO; “pre-activated” or trimmed-down builds from other sites can carry malware.

Step 3: Start the New Virtual Machine wizard

1. Open Workstation Pro and select File > New Virtual Machine (or Create a New Virtual Machine on the Home tab).
2. Choose Typical and select Next. Typical is fine for most people. Custom lets you pick firmware, processors, memory and disk type inside the wizard instead of afterward.
3. Select Installer disc image file (iso), select Browse, and open the Windows 11 ISO. Select Next.
4. For the guest operating system, choose Microsoft Windows and the version Windows 11 x64. Older Workstation releases that don’t list it use Windows 10 and later x64.
5. Type a name for the VM, such as Windows 11 Test, and choose where its files go. Pick a drive with room to spare.

Step 4: Choose encryption so the VM gets a TPM

Because you chose Windows 11, the wizard now asks you to encrypt the VM. Workstation can only attach a virtual TPM to an encrypted VM, so this page is what makes Windows 11 installable.

• Only the files needed to support a TPM are encrypted (fast encryption): encrypts the small configuration, memory and snapshot files. This is the best choice for most people because the virtual disk stays unencrypted and performs normally.
• All the files are encrypted (full encryption): also encrypts the virtual disk. Choose this if the VM will hold sensitive data.

Type a password or select Generate, then store it in a password manager. Workstation can’t recover a lost encryption password, and without it you can’t open the VM or remove the encryption. You can also tick the option to remember the password in Windows Credential Manager so you aren’t asked every time you open the VM on this PC.

Step 5: Set the disk size and hardware

1. On the disk page, set Maximum disk size to at least 64 GB (80 to 100 GB leaves room for updates and apps). Storing the disk as a single file is slightly faster; splitting it is easier to copy to drives with file-size limits. Select Next.
2. On the summary page, select Customize Hardware.
3. Under Memory, set at least 4 GB; 8 GB feels much smoother if your host has 16 GB or more.
4. Under Processors, use at least 2 cores in total. Avoid giving the VM more than half of your PC’s cores.
5. Select Close, then Finish.

Now confirm the security settings before the first boot. Select the VM, choose VM > Settings, and check two things:

• On the Hardware tab, Trusted Platform Module appears in the device list.
• On the Options tab, under Advanced, the firmware type is UEFI and Enable secure boot is ticked.

If the TPM is missing, see Add a TPM to a VM that doesn’t have one below.

Step 6: Install Windows 11

1. Select Power on this virtual machine. Enter the encryption password if asked.
2. When the window shows Press any key to boot from CD or DVD, click inside the VM and press a key within a few seconds. If you miss it, the VM tries a network boot and stops; choose VM > Power > Restart Guest or Reset and try again.
3. Choose your language, time and keyboard format, then continue to the install option.
4. At the product key screen, enter a key or select I don’t have a product key to activate later.
5. Pick the edition you have a license for (for example, Windows 11 Home or Pro) and accept the license terms.
6. Select the unallocated space on Disk 0 and continue. Setup copies files and restarts the VM a few times; don’t press a key at the boot prompt again.
7. Work through the first-run screens: region, keyboard, network and account.

On the account screen, Windows 11 Home and Pro setup expect an internet connection and a Microsoft account. The VM shares your PC’s connection through NAT by default, so the network step normally just works. Several old tricks for skipping the account screen no longer work in current releases; what’s still possible is laid out in installing Windows 11 without internet.

Step 7: Install VMware Tools

1. Once you reach the Windows desktop, choose VM > Install VMware Tools in Workstation. If the Tools installer isn’t already on your PC, Workstation offers a link to download it.
2. In the VM, open File Explorer, select the DVD drive, and run setup64.exe (or setup.exe) if it doesn’t start on its own.
3. Choose Typical, select Install, and restart the VM when asked.

VMware Tools adds the display, network and storage drivers that make the VM usable day to day: the screen resizes with the window, the mouse moves freely between host and guest, and copy and paste and drag-and-drop work in both directions. Keep it updated along with Workstation itself; recent updates have included Secure Boot fixes for Windows VMs.

Check that Windows 11 installed correctly

• Press Windows + R, type tpm.msc and press Enter. The status should read The TPM is ready for use with a specification version of 2.0.
• Press Windows + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. BIOS Mode should say UEFI and Secure Boot State should say On.
• Open Settings > System > About to see the edition and version, and Settings > Windows Update to check that updates download normally.

Before you start experimenting, take a snapshot with VM > Snapshot > Take Snapshot. You can roll back to that clean state any time. Snapshots of an encrypted VM stay encrypted.

Add a TPM to a VM that doesn’t have one

If you created the VM before Workstation offered encryption in the wizard, skipped that page, or chose BIOS firmware, Windows 11 Setup will stop with This PC can’t run Windows 11. Fix the VM instead of starting over:

1. Shut down the VM completely (not suspend).
2. Choose VM > Settings > Options > Advanced and set the firmware type to UEFI with Enable secure boot ticked. Only do this before Windows is installed; switching an installed Windows VM from BIOS to UEFI can leave it unbootable.
3. On the Options tab, select Access Control > Encrypt, choose the encryption type, enter a password, and select Encrypt. Encrypting can take a while if you choose full encryption.
4. On the Hardware tab, select Add > Trusted Platform Module > Finish, then OK.

Broadcom’s documentation on virtual TPM devices in Workstation Pro lists the requirements: an encrypted VM, UEFI firmware and hardware version 14 or later. If Trusted Platform Module isn’t offered in the Add list, the guest OS type is set to something that doesn’t support a TPM; change it under Options > General, or upgrade the VM’s hardware with VM > Manage > Change Hardware Compatibility. While a TPM is attached, you can’t remove the encryption or switch the firmware back to BIOS.

Installing on ESXi or vSphere instead

On a VMware ESXi host managed by vCenter, the idea is the same but the vTPM depends on a key provider rather than a password. In vCenter, add a key provider (the built-in Native Key Provider works), back it up, and mark it as the default. Then create the VM with EFI firmware, Secure Boot and hardware version 14 or later, and add a Trusted Platform Module under Add New Device. Broadcom notes that the TPM option is hidden when the VM uses legacy BIOS or when no default key provider is set. A standalone ESXi host without vCenter has no key provider to offer, which is why many lab guides fall back on unsupported workarounds.

If you can’t or don’t want to encrypt the VM

Broadcom’s guest OS article mentions a registry change during Setup that skips the TPM check, for people who won’t encrypt the VM. It works for quick throwaway tests, but Microsoft doesn’t support it. Microsoft’s page on installing Windows 11 on devices that don’t meet minimum system requirements says such installs aren’t guaranteed updates, including security updates, and show a desktop watermark. Since Workstation Pro is free and fast encryption costs almost nothing in speed, the supported vTPM route is the better choice for any VM you plan to keep. The risks of skipping checks on real hardware are covered in installing Windows 11 on an unsupported PC.

Troubleshooting

“This PC can’t run Windows 11”

The VM is missing the TPM, Secure Boot, enough memory or enough disk. Close Setup, shut the VM down, and run through Add a TPM to a VM that doesn’t have one. Also confirm memory is at least 4 GB and the disk at least 64 GB.

The VM shows a black screen or an EFI network boot message

You missed the “press any key” prompt, so the firmware skipped the ISO. Restart the VM and press a key as soon as the prompt appears. If it never appears, check VM > Settings > CD/DVD: Use ISO image file should point to the Windows 11 ISO, with Connect at power on ticked.

“Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT is not supported” or the VM won’t power on

Either virtualization is off in your PC’s firmware, or a Windows feature on the host has claimed it. Turn virtualization on in the UEFI settings first. Broadcom’s article on the VT-x/EPT error lists the host features that can interfere (Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Hypervisor Platform, Windows Sandbox and Memory Integrity).

The VM is very slow

Workstation Pro can run alongside Hyper-V, WSL 2 and Windows’ virtualization-based security, but it then uses a slower path through Microsoft’s hypervisor. Broadcom suggests updating to Workstation Pro 25H2 or later, which detects this mode, or turning those host features off. That’s a real trade-off: turning off Memory Integrity lowers your host PC’s protection, and removing the Hyper-V features stops Hyper-V VMs, WSL 2 and Windows Sandbox from working. Simpler fixes: give the VM more memory, store it on an SSD, and close heavy apps on the host.

The screen is tiny, or copy and paste doesn’t work

VMware Tools isn’t installed or didn’t finish. Repeat Step 7 and restart the VM.

Start over or remove the VM

To delete a VM and free its disk space, shut it down, then right-click it in the Library and choose Manage > Delete from Disk. This removes the virtual disk and everything installed in it, so copy any files out first. To undo changes without deleting the VM, revert to a snapshot with VM > Snapshot > Revert to Snapshot.

FAQ

Is VMware Workstation Pro really free?

Yes. Broadcom made Workstation Pro free for personal use in 2024 and for all users, including businesses, in November 2024. The current 26H1 release notes confirm it needs no license key. What you give up is paid technical support; help comes from Broadcom’s documentation and community forums.

Can I still use VMware Workstation Player?

Broadcom stopped selling Workstation Player in 2024, when Workstation Pro became free, and current releases are Pro only. Install the free Workstation Pro instead; it opens VMs you created in Player, and it includes the encryption and vTPM settings Windows 11 needs.

Does the encryption slow the VM down?

With fast encryption (only the TPM-related files), the virtual disk isn’t encrypted, so everyday speed is essentially unchanged. Full encryption adds some disk overhead and makes the first encryption pass slow on a large disk.

Can I copy the VM to another computer?

Yes. Copy the whole VM folder while the VM is shut down and open the .vmx file in Workstation on the other PC. You’ll need the encryption password there, which is another reason to keep it in a password manager.

Can I do this on a Mac?

On a Mac you’d use VMware Fusion, which is also free and supports a vTPM in the same way. On a Mac with Apple silicon, you need the Windows 11 Arm64 build, which Microsoft offers on a separate download page, not the x64 ISO from this guide.

Is VMware the best free option?

It depends on your edition and needs. Windows 11 Pro includes Hyper-V, which needs no extra download, and VirtualBox is another free choice. The trade-offs are compared in creating a virtual machine in Windows 11, and setup for the open-source option is covered in installing VirtualBox on Windows 11.

Can I install Windows 10 in VMware the same way?

Mostly, minus the TPM and encryption steps, since Windows 10 doesn’t require them. The differences are covered in installing Windows 10 on VMware. Keep in mind that Windows 10 has reached end of support.

With Windows 11 running and VMware Tools installed, take that first snapshot now. It turns the VM into a safe place to try new apps, settings and Insider builds, because any mistake is one revert away.