Install Windows 10 as Virtual Machine using VMware Workstation Player

Creating virtual machine in VMware is really easy. We’ll be using VMware Workstation 12 Player which you can download and install for free (non-commercial use). Also, you’ll need Windows 10 ISO, which you can get from microsoft.com. Also note that when doing a clean installation of Windows 10, you have to have a Windows 10 product key.

Let’s start. We’ll click on the “Create a New Virtual Machine” option.

New Virtual Machine
New Virtual Machine

Now we’ll select to “install the operating system later” option.

Install OS later
Install OS later

Our operating system is Microsoft Windows, and the version is Windows 10.

OS Version
OS Version

We’ll leave the default name. We’ll also leave the default location to store the machine.

VM Name and Location
VM Name and Location

The recommended disk size for Windows 10 is 60 GB. We’ll choose to split virtual disk into multiple files, which makes it easier to move around if needed.

Disk Size
Disk Size

This is it for now. Now we need to install the operating system. To do that, we need to tell VMware where our Windows 10 ISO image is. Open settings and select CD DVD option on Hardware tab. Here, select “Use ISO image file” option. We have previously downloaded ISO image from microsoft.com and placed it in our Documents folder.

Settings
Settings
ISO Image File
ISO Image File

Now we can choose to Play our virtual machine.

Play VM
Play VM

VM will boot from the ISO. After loading, We’ll have to choose the language to install, time and currency format and keyboard.

Language and time
Language and time

After that we can start with the installation. The next thing to do is enter the Windows 10 product key. Keep in mind that even if we can download official Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft, we still have to have a product key when doing a clean installation. We’ll also have to accept the license terms.

Next, we have to choose the installation type. In our case we are doing a clean installation, so we’ll choose the second option.

Custom: Install Windows Only (Advanced)
Custom: Install Windows Only (Advanced)

We need to prepare our hard drive. We will create one partition from the unallocated space. Windows will also create one additional, system reserved partition. So, our partition will actually be Partition 2.

Creating Drive 1
Creating Drive 1
Creating Drive 1
Creating Drive 1
Creating Drive 3
Creating Drive 3

When we click Next, the installation will begin. This takes a while, so we’ll speed up this part. At one point we’ll need to enter username and password. Once the installation is finished, the next thing to do is install VMware Tools. On the notification at the bottom, click on Install Tools button. Next, go to your DVD drive, run it, and install VMware Tools.

Install Tools
Install Tools
Install Tools 2
Install Tools 2

After the installation, restart the virtual machine and you can start using it.

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