Windows 11 catches a lot of flak for various reasons, which are most often fair. But it can be easy for some of the good things it does to get drowned out by the negativity, and one such good thing that should be talked about more is Windows Sandbox.

Windows Sandbox is a feature that lets you create a virtual environment that's based on your current Windows version, which you can use to test software free of risk. It's kind of like a virtual machine, but with some unique benefits that make it even more appealing for specific use cases. If you're a developer or IT worker, this feature is incredibly useful, and I love having it for testing software.

How Windows Sandbox works

And how to set it up

Windows Sandbox is an optional feature in Windows 11, and it's only available on Pro editions or higher of the operating system, which means it's not always easily accessible. Unfortunately, it also means I can't use it on every PC I have, as most of them have Windows 11 Home, but on the ones that do have a Pro edition, it's still fantastic to have.

Setting up Windows Sandbox is fairly easy, though you need to know where to look. The easiest way is to use the search bar in the Start menu to look for Turn Windows features on or off, and then open the first result. Windows Sandbox will be listed here, so just check the box and save your changes. You'll need to restart for them to take effect.

Since Windows Sandbox relies on virtualization technology, which can be a bit finicky, you'll also need to be mindful of other virtualization software that may be installed. If you have any issues launching it, it's worth looking into potential conflicts between Windows and tools like VirtualBox or VMware.

Despite using a similar technology, Windows Sandbox is quite a bit different from something like VirtualBox, VMware, or Microsoft's own Hyper-V, which create virtual machines. Virtual machines are pretty much full-blown computers that generally remember their state, and you can use them across multiple sessions as if they were a real PC. They have their own built-in operating system that you can make changes to at will.

Windows Sandbox isn't like that. The operating system that runs inside the sandbox is the same version you're currently running, and it pulls from the same files. The upside is that no setup is required, and you can just launch it and have an operating system ready. Plus, this solution is more resource-efficient than a VM. The downside is some things don't work as they would on a full-blown VM. Some built-in apps aren't available, and you can't use the Optional features menu, either. You also can't install apps from the Microsoft Store.

The virtual environment inside Windows Sandbox is also completely temporary. It always launches with a clean slate, meaning any changes you make aren't kept across sessions. This is part of wheat allows the feature to be lighter on resources, and it makes for a cleaner testing environment.

Testing apps I don't need

I don't have to keep them

My work very often requires me to install and test a lot of different programs, most of which I don't really intend to keep on my machine going forward. Testing these programs on my actual computer gets frustrating because I have to manually uninstall them after the fact, and when I forget to (which is most of the time), these files keep piling up, taking up gigabytes upon gigabytes of space, and what's more, they can create background tasks and services that slow down my PC over time. It's happened a few times, and my computer became noticeably slower as a result.

With Windows Sandbox, I can install these programs in a virtual environment that runs a bit more smoothly than a virtual machine and uses the exact same Windows build I already have, so it's a realistic testing environment for my personal setup. More importantly, though, I can run these programs in a completely clean testing environment each and every time. Whenever I close Windows Sandbox, all the data and programs I installed in it are gone, so none of those files take extra space on my PC or use any resources once I'm done testing those apps. My computer can stay in tip-top shape because of this.

What's more, whenever I start Windows Sandbox again, since all previous changes are gone, I also don't need to worry about the future performance impact of testing apps. Installing one app on a given occasion won't have any impact when I need to test another app later. The testing environment is always perfectly clean, so I can rest assured I'm having the best possible experience, unaffected by any issues that might be caused by other apps.

Trying potentially risky software

I, too, like to live dangerously

Another notable use case for using Windows Sandbox is to securely test things you may not trust for one reason or another. Windows Sandbox is a completely isolated environment, meaning any files you use inside of it can't normally spread to your actual computer. If you do something that breaks the entire operating system, that problem is completely contained in the virtual environment, and it will be reset once you close Windows Sandbox.

For example, say you're a software developer building an app, and you're not sure of what crashes or other problems running it might cause during the testing phase. Using a virtual environment, you can download the app and rest assured that, if it breaks anything, it won't affect your workflow. You can just close Windows Sandbox and try again after making the changes you think are necessary.

For myself (and possibly most people), this can be useful for simply testing things you don't know very well. Navigating to a shady website? Windows Sandbox can contain potential viruses and spyware within the isolated environment. Running a program you've never heard of? Again, no real danger of it affecting your host computer.

It should be noted that some malware might be smart enough to spread its wings outside of virtual environments, so you shouldn't use this as a catch-all solution for something you know is dangerous, but most of the time, using a virtual environment like this is a fantastic way to keep your PC much safer.

I still need VMs, though

Windows Sandbox isn't the be-all and end-all

As much as I love Windows Sandbox, it isn't meant to be a replacement for virtual machines as a concept, and in many ways, I still need those for testing specific things. For one thing, since Windows Sandbox always runs the same Windows build as my PC, I can't use it to test other builds or operating systems. I've had to install a lot of different OSes to test out, and that simply wouldn't be possible with Windows Sandbox.

Also, Windows Sandbox isn't viable if I want to test making changes to the operating system itself, particularly if they require restarting the virtual machine, as doing so will close the connection to the host and thus reset the entire system. Plus, many system apps are not available out of the box, like Notepad, Paint, or even the Microsoft Store. It's still possible to install Store apps through other methods, but many things are a bit harder to do.

Windows Sandbox deserves more attention

At the end of the day, Windows Sandbox isn't going to supplant typical virtual machine solutions, but it's not meant to. Both approaches have great reasons to exist and benefits that justify using either one. For my purposes of testing software, though, Windows Sandbox is a godsend, and it could save you a lot of headaches, too. If you have Windows 11 Pro or higher, I highly recommend trying it out.