Windows Sandbox
Windows Sandbox comes with Windows Insiders update for Windows 10, build 18305
So what is Windows Sandbox? The Windows Sandbox provides an isolated, temporary desktop where users can run and install applications that could do some unwanted changes to Windows. And every time Windows Sandbox is started, you get a new clean installation of Windows, meaning no files and applications are preserved from the previous session.
Windows Sandbox is easier to start than Hyper-V virtual machines. The user or developer won’t need to download a Windows iso or configure the virtual machine.
So what do you need to test the new Window Sandbox? You need to run 64bit version of Windows 10 pro or enterprise. And you must be running Windows insider build 18305. You can sign up for insider from the link https://insider.windows.com/en-us/.
If you have not started the microsoft insider just follow this guide;
https://insider.windows.com/en-gb/getting-started/
When you have followed the guide, go to windows update and check if you see the Windows Insider Preview 18309 (see pic 1). Install it and then you are ready to install the Windows Sandbox.
Pic 1 Windows update
When you have the Insider 18309 installed go to the control panel and click on Program. You must click Turn Windows features on or off.
Choose Windows Sandbox and provide an administrator password in the UAC prompt (see pic 2).
Pic 2 Windows Sandbox
You will find the Windows Sandbox under start menu (see pic 3) and you must provide an administrator password to run the Sandbox.
Pic 3 Windows Sandbox in the start menu
When you have started the Windows Sandbox it opens a new window and you can start installing applications (see pic 4).
Pic 4 Starting Windows Sandbox
As a test, I installed Winrar on my Windows Sanbox. Start the app from the start menu and test it (See pic 5 and 6).
Pic 5 Winrar in Windows Sandbox
Pic 6 Winrar has started in Windows Sandbox
I shut down the Windows Sandbox and started it up again and the winrar is gone (see pic 7).
Pic 7 Windows Sandbox restart without winrar
Windows Sandbox uses a dynamically generated image based on the host’s Windows 10 installation, The base image is around 100MB in size and only 25MB in compressed form when Windows Sandbox is not installed.
It might be good to know that Windows Sandbox is in preview and when I run the Sandbox I had some issues with installation and performance. But I could still test and run applications.
