Creating a new virtual machine (VM) in VMware Workstation Pro is straightforward. This guide covers everything from downloading the installer to configuring your first VM — optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11 hosts running Workstation Pro 26H1.
Download the latest VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 installer for Windows from the download page. Run the .exe as administrator, accept the EULA, and let the installer complete. No license key is required — Workstation Pro is free for all users. Before running the installer, verify the SHA-256 checksum using our verification guide.
Open VMware Workstation Pro from your Start menu. Click Create a New Virtual Machine on the home screen, or go to File → New Virtual Machine. The New Virtual Machine Wizard guides you through the process.
Select Installer disc image file (ISO) if you have an OS installer, or I will install the operating system later to configure hardware first. Workstation Pro supports Easy Install for Windows, Ubuntu, and many Linux distributions — it automates partitioning and user setup.
Allocate CPU cores, RAM, and disk space based on your guest OS:
Workstation Pro supports virtual TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot for Windows 11 compatibility. New Windows 11 VMs created with the wizard get a TPM-backed configuration by default.
Power on the VM and install your operating system from the ISO. After the OS installs, go to VM → Install VMware Tools to enable enhanced drivers, drag-and-drop between host and guest, shared folders, and seamless (Unity) mode.
Once you have a baseline VM configured, use VM → Manage → Clone to create linked or full copies. Linked clones save disk space by sharing the base disk image — ideal for creating multiple test environments from one clean baseline.
Before installing software or making system changes inside a VM, take a snapshot with VM → Snapshot → Take Snapshot. If something goes wrong, you can revert to the snapshot in seconds.