Windows Developer Virtual Machines Updated - June 2016

You can easily use these virtual machines to test out the Microsoft developer software stack instead of spinning up an entire installation on physical hardware.

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

June 2, 2016

2 Min Read
Windows Developer Virtual Machines Updated - June 2016

If you are a developer and want to dip your toes into the world of development for Windows you have two choices.

Spend timing downloading and setting up the operating system and development related software, samples, etc. or you can use ready to go virtual machines (VMs) from the Windows developer support team.

Every couple of months Microsoft updates and makes available full evaluation Windows developer VMs over at the Windows Dev Center.

They make them available for users of Hyper-V, Parallels, VirtualBox and VMWare and this months updated VMs do not expire until 23 August 2016.

In each of these VMs you will find the following software setup from Microsoft:

  • Windows 10 Enterprise Eval Version 1511 (Build 10586)

  • Visual Studio 2015 Community Update 2

  • Windows developer SDK and tools (Build 10586)

  • Windows IoT Core SDK and Raspberry Pi 2 (Build 10586.151029-1700)

  • Windows IoT Core project templates (Version 1.0)

  • Microsoft Azure SDK for .NET (Build 2.9.1)

  • Windows Bridge for iOS (Build 0.1.160525)

  • Windows UWP samples (Build 3.0.0)

  • Windows Bridge for iOS samples

As you can see the tools are all built to support the Windows 10 Current Branch release from last November which is the latest major update to the operating system. The VMs also contain plenty of samples to help you learn about bringing your iOS apps into the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), building UWP apps from scratch and even spending some time with the Internet of Things and Microsoft Azure.

You can access these VM downloads over on the Windows Dev Center and also get support from Microsoft as you try things out at https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/support.

By the way, these VMs are hefty downloads since they contain everything you need to get started:

  • VMWare - 20.7GB

  • Hyper-V - 19.1GB

  • VirtualBox - 19.5GB

  • Parallels - 19.6GB

But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.

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About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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