--- title: "How to Enable Windows 10 Sandbox to Safely Test Apps" description: "Learn how to enable and use the Windows 10 sandbox mode in this step-by-step tutorial that covers setting it up and some handy usage tips." canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/windows-10-sandbox-mode/" --- # How to Enable Windows 10 Sandbox to Safely Test Apps > Learn how to enable and use the Windows 10 sandbox mode in this step-by-step tutorial that covers setting it up and some handy usage tips. Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/windows-10-sandbox-mode/ --- ATA Learning Tap to hide [ ATA Learning ](/) * [Home](/) * [Tutorials](/tutorials/) * [Instructors](/author/) * [Advertising](/advertising/) * [Recommended Resources](/resources/) * [About Adam](/about-adam/) Search for: * [](https://twitter.com/adbertram) * [](https://github.com/Adam-the-Automator) * [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/adam-the-automator-llc) * [](/feed/) ![How to Enable Windows 10 Sandbox to Safely Test Apps](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/How-to-Enable-Windows-10-Sandbox-to-Safely-Test-Apps.jpg) # How to Enable Windows 10 Sandbox to Safely Test Apps [![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1af914b6d78c9763370cebe4658d3cc0cbe27fa622f43f2cd4361dccdd36da8a?s=192&d=mm&r=g)AbdulMusawwir Khatri](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/abdulmusawwir-khatri/)22 June 20215 min. read Categories: [IT Ops](/category/it-ops/) Tags:[Windows 10](/tag/windows-10/) Table of Contents * [Prerequisites](#h-prerequisites) * [What is the Windows 10 Sandbox?](#h-what-is-the-windows-10-sandbox) * [Verifying Hardware Virtualization](#h-verifying-hardware-virtualization) * [Enabling Hardware Virtualization](#h-enabling-hardware-virtualization) * [Installing/Enabling Windows 10 Sandbox Mode](#h-installing-enabling-windows-10-sandbox-mode) * [Installing Windows Sandbox via Control Panel](#h-installing-windows-sandbox-via-control-panel) * [Installing Windows Sandbox using PowerShell](#h-installing-windows-sandbox-using-powershell) * [Running Windows 10 Sandbox Mode](#h-running-windows-10-sandbox-mode) * [Low Resource Consumption](#h-low-resource-consumption) * [No Software Updates Necessary](#h-no-software-updates-necessary) * [Copying and Pasting](#h-copying-and-pasting) * [Stopping the Windows 10 Sandbox](#h-stopping-the-windows-10-sandbox) * [Conclusion](#h-conclusion) Running applications safely has never been this easy! Being a part of Windows 10, there is practically no need to set up a virtual machine anymore. Using Windows 10 sandbox mode, you can create a safe, isolated space to perform application testing. Not a reader? Watch this related video tutorial! **_Not seeing the video? Make sure your ad blocker is disabled._** In this article, you’ll learn how to enable Windows 10 Sandbox mode and how you can use it to test applications. ## Prerequisites 1. Windows 10 Professional, Education or Enterprise versions Build 18305 or later. This tutorial uses Windows 10 Professional build 19043. 2. An x64 Windows PC with at least 4GB of RAM, 1GB of free disk space and two CPU cores. 3. [Hardware virtualization support](https://mashtips.com/enable-virtualization-windows-10/) ## What is the Windows 10 Sandbox? The Windows 10 Sandbox is a temporary, lightweight environment to run applications in total isolation. Inside of sandboxed environment, application runs in a compartmentalized area on your PC that’s completely separate from your host Windows 10 installation. The sandbox is like a temporary instance of Windows. When you close the sandbox, everything inside of it is removed. Creating a new sandbox brings up an entirely new instance every time. The Windows 10 Sandbox uses hardware-based virtualization to provide a secure environment complete with it’s own kernel including uses the integrated kernel scheduler to manage system resources. ## Verifying Hardware Virtualization Since Windows 10 sandbox uses your PC’s hardware virtualization capabilities, you must enable it. Many PC manufacturers enable this feature by default but it’s important to first check and enable it manually, if necessary. To check if your PC has hardware virtualization enabled, you may do so via the [Task Manager](https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2013/06/06/windows-8-task-manager-in-depth/) and also the command line. Both options are acceptable and are dependent on your personal preferences. To check the status of hardware virtualization on your PC with Task Manager, open Task Manager by pressing `Ctrl + Shift + Esc`. Next, click on the **Performance** tab. Notice the value for the **Virtualization** field, shown below. If the value shows as **Enabled**, you’re good to go. If not, read the next section for tips on how to enable it. ![Checking whether virtualization is enabled via Task Manager](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085117.525.png) Checking whether virtualization is enabled via Task Manager You can also check if hardware virtualization is enabled by using the command line. To do so, open a command prompt and type `systeminfo` . Scroll down a little bit until you see the **Hyper-V Requirements** section. In this section, you’ll see a field labeled **Virtualization Enabled In Firmware**. If it’s **No**, continue reading. ![Virtualization Enabled](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085151.658.png) Virtualization Enabled ## Enabling Hardware Virtualization If virtualization is not enabled on your PC, this tutorial cannot provide specific instructions. Each PC manufacturer provides a way to enable hardware virtualization differently. But, if you’re using a Dell, HP or Lenovo PC, you’ll find some quick tips below on how to enable it. When your PC is just booting up: * **Dell** – Press the **F2 key** to access the BIOS/UEFI setup and navigate to the **Advanced** tab where you should see **Virtualization**. * **HP** – Press the **F10 key** to access the BIOS/UEFI setup and navigate to the **System Configuration** tab where you should see an option to enable **Virtualization**. * **Lenovo** – Press the **F1 key** to access the BIOS/UEFI setup and navigate to the **Security** tab where you should see an option to enable **Virtualization**. ## Installing/Enabling Windows 10 Sandbox Mode Once you’ve ensured you have hardware virtualization enabled, it’s time to install Windows Sandbox! To do that, you have two options; either using Control Panel or PowerShell. Like with hardware virtualization, each method performs the same task but is up to you to decide your preferred way. ### Installing Windows Sandbox via Control Panel To install Windows Sandbox via Control Panel, you’ll need to enable a specific Windows feature. Let’s do that now. 1\. Clicking on the Start menu and typing appwiz.cpl. This action should bring up the **appwiz.cpl** option in the Start menu. Click on that to open **Programs and Features**. 2\. Click on the **Turn Windows Features on or off** link from the menu on the left side of the window. ![Turn Windows Features on or off](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085400.554.png) Turn Windows Features on or off 3\. Scroll down the **Windows Features** dialog box until you find **Windows Sandbox**. Once you’ve found it, select it and and click **OK**. ![Windows Features dialog box](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085501.513.png) Windows Features dialog box After you attempt to enable the Windows Sandbox feature, you should see a window pop up which searches for the required files and install them. After a couple of minutes, the installation should complete. When complete, click on **Restart now** to restart your computer. ![ restart your computer](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085554.815.png) restart your computer ### Installing Windows Sandbox using PowerShell If you prefer the command line, you can also enable Windows 10 sandbox mode via PowerShell. To do so: 1\. Open PowerShell as an administrator. Related:[How to Run PowerShell as Administrator](https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-run-as-administrator/) 2\. Run the [`Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature` cmdlet](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/dism/enable-windowsoptionalfeature?view=windowsserver2019-ps) as shown below to enable the Windows Sandbox feature. The `All` parameter tells the cmdlet to install all parent features of the optional feature and `Online` tells the cmdlet to look at the currently running Windows instance vs. looking at an image. > _PowerShell uses the [DISM name](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/enable-or-disable-windows-features-using-dism?view=windows-11) for the feature which is `Containers-DisposableClientVM`._ ```powershell Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM" -All -Online ``` You should then see an overlay with a progress bar indicating that the entered command is running. ![Enabling Windows Sandbox via PowerShell](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T085928.648.png) Enabling Windows Sandbox via PowerShell 3\. When prompted, hit Enter to restart your computer to apply the changes. ![Prompt to restart PC after enabling Windows Sandbox](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T090016.855.png) Prompt to restart PC after enabling Windows Sandbox ## Running Windows 10 Sandbox Mode Now that you have Windows Sandbox enabled, let’s try it out! Click on your Start menu and type _sandbox_. You should now see a **Windows Sandbox** application pop up. Click on that to open a new Windows Sandbox instance. > _On a seven year old PC, it took less than three minutes for Windows Sandbox to open up!_ ![Opening Windows Sandbox via Start Menu](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T091145.357.png) Opening Windows Sandbox via Start Menu When open, you’ll see a new **Windows Sandbox** window, as shown below. ![Opening Windows Sandbox for the first time](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T091212.232.png) Opening Windows Sandbox for the first time ### Low Resource Consumption You’d be surprised at how resource efficient Windows Sandbox is. Without anything going on in the sandbox, the memory utilization is not even 50MB! Minimize Windows Sandbox and check out the CPU utilization. You’ll see that it drops to 0% if there’s nothing running so you don’t need to worry about exhausting your PC’s resources. ![Resources usage by Windows Sandbox](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T091250.742.png) Resources usage by Windows Sandbox ### No Software Updates Necessary The Windows Sandbox is essentially a replica of your host system. If you update your host system, you’re updating the Windows instance in your Sandbox too! ![Windows version in Windows Sandbox is the same as that of the physical PC](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T091310.866.png) Windows version in Windows Sandbox is the same as that of the physical PC ### Copying and Pasting Just as if Windows Sandbox were a network share or even a virtual machine somewhere, you can also copy and paste files to and from it, as shown below. > _You can’t drag and drop files between the host and the Sandbox or vice versa, unfortunately._ ![Copy and Paste Illustration for Windows Sandbox](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SandboxCopyPaste.gif) Copy and Paste Illustration for Windows Sandbox ## Stopping the Windows 10 Sandbox Stopping the Sandbox is just as easy as starting it. Since the Sandbox is just represented as another window, hit the X in the upper-right corner just as you would any other windows. When you do, you’ll the Sandbox will remind you that all changes will be lost. ![Windows Sandbox warning before shutdown](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Untitled-2021-06-22T091412.531.png) Windows Sandbox warning before shutdown ## Conclusion The Windows 10 Sandbox mode is a built-in way to quickly bring up an isolated Windows instances for testing untrusted software. Because no extra software is necessary, the Sandbox is relatively easy to set up. What other uses can you think up for the Windows Sandbox? 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