What is Windows Sandbox feature in Windows 10? how to enable it?

Windows Desktop Windows 10
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Hi,

I am been upgrading my Windows 10 PCs to every release version from Windows 10 version 1507 to Windows 10 version 2004. Now recently I have been noticing continuous improvement on Windows Sandbox but I don’t know what it is. What is use of this feature for a common man. Why would anyone need it?

I would like to discuss about the Windows Sandbox features, limitation, advantages and disadvantages.

If anyone has any suggestion or feedback on the Windows Sandbox feature please let me know I am open for the discussion.

Thanks

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Windows Sandbox is a virtual machine created on demand using Microsoft’s hypervisor using the same OS image as the one on your machine. However, it’s a very lightweight environment of around 100MB, which has been optimized to boot and run faster, its focus is on security, and it works more efficiently using integrated kernel scheduler, virtual graphics, and smart memory management.

Windows Sandbox system requirements

Before proceeding, to enable and use Windows Sandbox, your device must meet the following minimum hardware and software requirements:

  • Windows 10 Pro (or Enterprise).
  • Hardware virtualization.
  • AMD64 architecture.
  • 2 processor cores minimum (4 cores with hyperthreading is recommended).
  • 4GB of RAM (8GB is recommended).
  • 1GB of HDD space (SSD is recommended).
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Before enabling Windows Sandbox in your device you need to make sure virtualization is enabled on your device. Please follow the below process to confirm the enable of virtualization feature.

Enabling virtualization

To confirm your device supports hardware virtualization and the feature is enabled in the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Command Prompt and click the top result.
  3. Type the following command and press Enter : systeminfo.exe
  4. Under the “Hyper-V Requirements” section, if “Virtualization Enabled In Firmware” reads Yes , then you can use Windows Sandbox.![]
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or Simply type msinfo32 in the search and open system information tool and confirm the below:

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In my device the virtualization is disabled, to enable I’ll need to start my device in its BIOS or UEFI firmware and enable the feature. This process typically requires hitting one of the function keys (F1, F2, F3, F10, or F12), the ESC, or Delete key as soon as you start your computer. However, these settings will vary by manufacturer, and even by computer model. So make sure to check your device manufacturer’s support website for more specific instructions.

Enabling Windows Sandbox

To enable Windows Sandbox on Windows 10 version 1903 or later, use these steps:

  1. Open Start .
  2. Search for Turn Windows features on or off , and click the top result to open the Windows Features experience.
  3. Check the Windows Sandbox option.
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  4. Click the OK button.
  5. Click the Restart now button.

After completing the steps, you can start using the new virtualization layer to temporarily install and test untrusted applications.

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