Here're the 2 ways to actually get a pre-made Windows Virtual Machine directly from Microsoft. Note that this isn't a permanent solution.
The first is the Microsoft Edge Developer page under Tools and then VMS. You can choose between Windows 8, 8.1, and 10. For VM platform, we can choose between VirtualBox, Vagrant, VMware, HyperV, and Parallels (Mac).
For Windows 11 VM, we need to head over to the Windows 11 development environment page. Again, we can choose between 4 different virtualization software options. Note the expiration date!
Microsoft recommends to save a "snapshot" of the VM. But this only works for the first method.
Links:
- https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/tools/vms/
- https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/
- How to Legally Download a Windows Virtual Machine