JULY 2019 PCWorld 111demands a modern, fairly
powerful machine with
virtualization capabilities.
Here are the minimum
specifications for the
feature:
- A 64-bit processor
capable of virtualization,
with at least two CPU
cores; Microsoft
recommends a quad-core
chip. (Virtually all Intel
processors sold since
2016 support
virtualization, though this
Intel guide (go.pcworld.
com/vtlz) explains how to check. Otherwise,
the Performance tab within the Task Manager
will tell you whether virtualization is
enabled—credit to Shailesh Jha (go.pcworld.
com/sjah) for the reminder. - Virtualization enabled in your
motherboard BIOS, if it’s not already - Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Server
- At least 4GB of RAM (8GB is
recommended) - At least 1GB of free disk space (SSD
recommended)
Windows Sandbox is an alternate
feature of Windows, and it won’t be
installed by default even if it’s available to
you. To enable it, you’ll need to go to the
Windows Features control panel, which
you can find by searching for Turn
Windows Features On And Off. To enable
Sandbox, you’ll need to scroll down and
check the proper box. Windows will
install the necessary files and may need to
reboot your PC.
When the installation process is
completed, there won’t be any bells or
whistles. To enable Sandbox, you can
simply type Windows Sandbox into the
Windows search box. It may take a
minute or two to load, if only because
Windows needs to establish the virtual
machine. Microsoft has said previously that
it will “freeze” the state of the virtual
machine, archive it, and bring it up when
you launch Windows Sandbox again—
basically, everything should launch faster
next time around.To enable Windows Sandbox, you’ll first need to install it.