Run Windows 11 using VMware Fusion

Windows 11 was is now released for the general public and I went and downloaded an evaluation on Windows 11 to see what all the fuss was about. I am a Mac user, so I have for years used VMware Fusion to run VMs on my Mac. I soon learned that if you want to run Windows 11 using VMware Fusion, you need to go through a few extra steps to make work.

Download the Windows 11 ISO

You can download a Windows 11 Eval ISO from Microsoft Evaluation Center.

Create the Windows 11 VM

Go to VMware Fusion and start the wizard to create a new VM. Select “Install from disc or image” and click “Continue”.

Choose “Windows 10 and later x64” as the operating system.

Choose “UEFI” as the firmware type.

Click on “Customize Settings”.

Click on “Encryption” as shown below. Enable Encryption and choose a password. You will need this password every time you boot the VM.

The next step is to add the Trusted Platform Module. Click on “Add Device”.

Click on “Trusted Platform Module” and click on the “Add” button.

The Trusted Platform Module now appears in the settings. Add vCPUs and memory to your VM as need as well in this step. Windows 11 requires 2 vCPUs and 4096 MB of memory as a minimum.

Installing Windows 11 using VMware Fusion

You are now ready to install Windows 11 using VMware Fusion. Boot up the VM and go through the steps to start the installation process.

Let the installation finish and you are now ready to use Windows 11 using VMware Fusion.