A virtual machine (VM) is a software emulation of a physical machine. VMs are typically used to run multiple operating systems (OSes) on a single physical machine to mimic the operation of another physical machine. For example, a Windows-running machine could also run Linux within it thanks to a virtual machine. If you would like to create a virtual environment on your desktop computer, here is how to do it.
Step 1: Activate virtualization on the BIOS
Before diving into any of the steps below, you must ensure that virtualization for your system is activated. You can achieve this by going into the BIOS of your system. However, every motherboard brand has a different BIOS interface and also, AMD and Intel CPUs have different naming for virtualization. So you might need to Google it depending on your hardware with a simple search term like “Asus B450 Pro Gaming virtualization activate“.
Step 2: Download VMware Workstation or equivalent
You can download the VMware version used in this example by clicking here.
Step 3: Create a new virtual machine
Select the iso image of the distribution of your choice and click “Next”. This tutorial uses EndeavourOS Cassini 22.12.
Step 4: Choose the guest operating system
To install Linux distributions, we strongly recommend you select the “Other Linux X.X kernel” option in the “Version” section for a smooth installation process.
Step 5: Name the virtual machine
This name only appears in VMware’s VM selection section; it will not affect any of the names in the virtual machine’s operating system.
Step 6: Specify the disk capacity
Specify how much space you wish to give to your virtual machine. Make sure it is now below the recommended size. You can choose to store the virtual disk as single or multiple files depending on your circumstances.
Step 7: Finish the installation
Simply recheck the configuration, then press the “Finish” button.
Optional: Customize the hardware
If you have specific needs for your computer, you can customize many things by clicking “Customize Hardware” such as allocating a specific amount of memory or processors. If you are not experienced, you do not have to go into this. However, if you experience some issues while trying to install an operating system, change the amount of RAM allocated to at least 4 GB, and the number of total CPU cores to 3.
Step 8: Boot the system
Double-click on the virtual environment you have created and boot the system.
If you want to install a Linux distribution on the virtual machine you created, you can check our article: How to install a Linux Distro on VMware Workstation
Also, you may be interested in: How to connect VMware Workstation to the local network