USNH Students: Installing VirtualBox-based Windows 11

The University System of New Hampshire has licensed both Windows 11 Education and Microsoft Office for all of the staff. Under this agreement, students are licensed to upgrade their computers to Windows 11 and to install Microsoft Office under the Office 365 program.

Summary

The University System of New Hampshire has licensed both Windows 11 Education and Microsoft Office 365 for students as well as USNH-owned machines. Under this agreement, students are licensed to use Windows 11 on their personal computers and to install Microsoft Office under the Office 365 program.

 

System Requirements

The license for Windows 11 Education also includes the rights for Macintosh computer owners to "upgrade" their computer by creating a virtual machine that is running Windows 11. We have created a Windows 11 virtual machine image using the VirtualBox application. We are making this image available to students as a convenience. The copy of Windows 11 and Microsoft Office on this virtual machine are unlicensed, and students who choose to use it will have to complete the process of installing the software and then properly licensing it following the steps below.

Running a virtual machine inside of the macOS operating system requires significant resources. If you are going to use this virtual machine on your Mac, your computer must meet the following minimal requirements:

• 8 GB memory
• 50 GB free disk space

More memory than the minimum will likely increase your computer’s performance when running VirtualBox.

Users with less than 8GB of memory may find that their installation of Windows is extremely slow. It is recommended that those encountering a slow experience utilize the Student Computer Labs which will have all academic applications already installed on them.

For a video playlist of the following process including common errors please visit the following link - VirtualBox Install & Errors

 

Contents

• Installation
  • Task 1: Install VirtualBox software
  • Task 2: Install the USNH Windows 11 Virtual Machine
• Licensing
  • Task 3: License Windows 11 Education in your Virtual Machine
  • Active your copy of Microsoft Office 365 within the virtual machine
• On-going Use
• Allocating More Resources to the VM

 

Installation

Instructions

Step 1 - You can obtain VirtualBox free-of-charge from Oracle via the website virtualbox.org . Download the most recent release of VirtualBox for macOS using the link provided on the site’s download page:

 

Step 2 - The program will download as a .DMG disk image. Double-click the disk image to mount it

Step 3 - Run the VirtualBox.pkg to install it on your computer. Proceed through the installer accepting the defaults and entering your computer’s administrator account username and password when prompted.

Step 4 - When installing VirtualBox, the program may ask for you to allow the program. If prompted, select Allow.

Step 5 - If this prompt does not appear and the installation fails, click the Apple icon in the top left corner, select System Preferences..., then open the Security & Privacy section. If there is an "Allow" button displayed, click the Allow button.

 

Outcome

You have downloaded and installed the VirtualBox software on your macOS device.  You can now proceed with the next task - Install Windows 11 Virtual Machine 

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The next part of the process is to obtain the pre-configured Windows virtual machine. Do not proceed to these steps until you have downloaded and installed VirtualBox following the instructions in the previous task.

Instructions

Step 1 - Connect to the repository for the installation files from Sharepoint at USNH Academic Applications - Windows VM. This folder is accessible to all USNH account holders, but you may have to login with your USNH username and password to gain access.

Step 2 - You will see an archive for the software. In this case, it will be a .OVA virtual machine archive file. Download this by clicking on the item and then clicking on the Download button that appears in the middle of the browser window. Be sure to Download the .OVA archive to your computer. Do not Open it from the location. Downloading may take a long time if you are on a slow network connection as this is a very large file. Even on the USNH network, the download will take 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 3 - Once the download has finished, locate the .OVA archive. Typically it is in the Downloads folder in your user folder on the computer. Double-click on the Windows 11 Education.ova file.

Step 4 - VirtualBox should open automatically and prompt you to import the new virtual machine appliance. Accept the defaults and click the Import button. Importing the virtual machine will take several minutes.

Step 5 - You can start your Windows 11 virtual machine at this time by selecting the item named Windows 11 Education in the list of virtual machines in VirtualBox and clicking the green Start arrow.

 

Outcome

You have downloaded and installed the USNH Windows 11 Education virtual machine.  You can now proceed with the next task - License the Windows Operating System

Note: You will need to do this process of downloading and installing the virtual machine only once. In the future when you want to access the Windows virtual machine (VM), you:

1. Launch VirtualBox directly from the Applications folder.
2. Click the Start arrow for Windows 11 Education to launch the virtual machine.

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Licensing

Microsoft offers a student benefit that provides free access for eligible students to download and install the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office Suite, and development tools like Visual Studio, for school use on a student's personal device. 

Instructions

Step 1 - Access your Windows 11 Product License key by following the instructions in our article on USNH Students: Accessing a Windows 11 License Key . Do this outside the Virtual Machine, in your regular web browser on your computer.

• Important - Write down your Windows Product Key and keep it in a safe place.  If desired, use the "Copy to clipboard" button at the end of the product key, then paste the product key in a safe location or email it to yourself. You will need it in Step 3 below.

Step 2 - In the Virtual Machine Activation window, click the Change Product Key button.

Step 3 - Enter your Windows 11 Education product license key that you obtained in Step 1 above and click Next.

Step 4 - Click the Activate button to complete the process. Activation should happen automatically via the Internet within a few moments.

 

Outcome

You have licensed the Windows operating system so you can now use Windows applications inside your virtual machine. See more in the section below on On-going Use.

If you want to use Microsoft Office 365 applications, please proceed to the next task - Activate Microsoft Office 365 within the virtual machine 

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The copy of Microsoft Office that is pre-installed in the virtual machine is setup to be licensed via the Office 365 service, just the same as any other copy of Office that you can download and use on your own. For more details on the Office 365 program at USNH, see Office 365: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Instructions

Step 1 - Open the Microsoft Word app (or any other Office application) via the Windows Start Menu.

Step 2 - You will be prompted to Activate Office. Enter your username@usnh.edu (fully qualified username, e.g. jbd2519@usnh.edu) then click the Next button.

Step 3 - If prompted as to the type of email account, select the Work or school account option.

Step 4 - Sign in with your normal USNH account information.

You will be asked if you want to add the account to Windows. You can click Yes or Skip for now as you see fit.

 

Outcome

You have activated your license for Microsoft Office 365 in your virtual machine.

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On-going Use

You can continue to use your Windows VM once it is setup and activated properly. If you need other Windows applications, you can install them on the virtual machine, just as if it was a real Windows computer.

We recommend you keep VirtualBox and the Windows VM on your computer even after your current course is complete. If you need to use Windows software in the future in another course, it is far similar to just open your existing Windows VM than to go through the process of getting it setup again and possibly having to contact Microsoft to get approval to reuse your product code for a new installation.

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Allocating More Resources to the VM

The virtual machine was setup within VirtualBox with a minimal level of resources to allow it to run on the widest range of computers possible.  If your computer is newer and has more than the minimum requirements, you can allocate more processor and memory resources to the Windows VM to allow it to run faster.  You can change these settings within VirtualBox while the VM is not running.

Step 1 - Select the "Windows 11 Education" virtual machine within the Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager window. Make sure it is not running and has the status of "Powered Off".

Step 2 - Click the Settings button.

Step 3 - Change to the System tab.

Step 4 - Adjust the Base Memory setting using the slider. Do not allocate more than 1/2 of the actual memory your computer has or you will likely slow down everything else on your computer a lot when running the virtual machine. 4096 MB would be the maximum recommended unless you have more than 8 GB of RAM.  If you do, 6140 MB is a good setting.

Step 5 - Change to the Processor section of the System tab. Here, you can try increasing the Processors setting to between 2 and 4 CPUs, depending on how many CPUs your computer actually has.

Step 6 - Click OK to apply the new settings.

Step 7 - Start the VM to test out the new settings to see how things perform.

There is no one set of right settings.  Feel free to try how a setting. Startup the VM and see how Windows performs. See how your other applications on your computer perform. The more resources you give to the VM, the fewer will be available for your other programs. Adjust the Processors and Base Memory settings until you are happy with the performance of both.

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Further Readings

VirtualBox Install & Errors  - videos

USNH Students: Accessing a Windows 11 License Key

Office 365: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 

virtualbox.org 

 

Need additional help?

Visit the Technology Help Desk Support page to locate your local campus contact information or to submit an online technology support request.  For password issues you must call or visit the Help Desk in person.