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What I would want, is a way to somehow run a clean slate of Windows in a sort of a sandbox, so that I could install programs in it for demonstration/presentation purposes, but then when the sandbox is closed, all of the changes introduced by installing that software disappear from the host OS.

So, I don't just want to run a program in a sandboxed software environment ( like presumably in https://www.sandboxie.com/ ); I'd like to have a "clean slate desktop" on demand.

I have just learned that there is Windows 10’s New Sandbox Feature ... which looks like exactly what I need:

enter image description here

... but unfortunately, this is only for Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home cannot use it.

Plus, I could imagine having to borrow a laptop for a demo/presentation, which might be Windows 7 or 8, so I'd like to have a possibility to basically install an application, that allows me to have a "clean slate" desktop on demand.

Now, the only other option I can think of, is installing some virtual machine (VirtualBox or VMWare), installing another instance of Windows in it, setting up a snapshot after installation completes, and then restoring to snapshot each time an installation is complete.

This I don't quite like, because I basically have to use up disk space for two operating systems, just to do a "clean slate" demo. Plus, I'm not even sure it's legal to set up a virtual machine of the same legal Windows install you have on the same machine.

Of course, I could also set up a separate user account on Windows, but then all programs I install will end up having bits and pieces in the host OS, even if I uninstall later (and I'd rather not uninstall even, I'd just like to close the virtual session and have all those changes gone).

So I was wondering:

  • Is it possible to set up a virtual machine on Windows, such that it refers to the host physical \media, and it reads the main OS files from there - but then, it accepts a hard disk image as the destination for the rest (user profile data, newly installed programs, etc)?
  • Else, is there some application, that does the same as Windows 10 Pro Sandbox, but can be installed on most other version of Windows (say, down to Windows 7)?
  • Else, what other options would I have, to achieve a clean slate desktop, which allows installation of programs in a sandboxed environment, such that when I close the sandbox, all of the changes due to the installation of programs in the sandbox are gone?
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    I think you pretty well discovered all your options and there are not really other alternatives.
    – Máté Juhász
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 13:19
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    Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because they become outdated quickly and attract opinion-based answers. Sandboxie is one of the few applications like it, I am not aware of any application like Sandboxie, except for the Windows 10 1903 feature which has not even been released yet.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 19:48

1 Answer 1

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There are two options for you.

  1. Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro and use the sandbox it comes with when that feature is introduced (recommended choice)

  2. Create something like this yourself. (its the free option, but takes considerable work and resources, and therefor not recommended, but possible.) This answer will talk about the 2nd option.

You can download a tool called Disk2VHD from Microsoft. You can use this to create a VHD or VHDX file from your harddrive. This disk image can then be used inside a Virtual Machine.

In order to use Virtual Machine software, you have to enable VT-x support in your BIOS. Once this is enabled, download and install Oracle Virtual Box. If you also have Microsoft Hyper-V installed, I recommend to uninstall it. You cannot run both software on the same machine, and Hyper-V does not have snapshot-discard functionality that you are after.

Once Oracle Virtual Box is installed, create a new VM. When it asks for a disk, provide the VHD file you already created.

Start the VM and let windows boot. Let it repair if it needs to do so and ensure you get in windows.

Once you are in windows and the VM is running Go to menu Machine-> Create Snapshot.

Optionally give the snapshot a name such as "baseline".

Wait for the snapshot to complete.

Launch the following command: VBoxManage modifyhd HardDisks/yourdisk.vhd --type immutable

And you can do so on the snapshot: VBoxManage modifyhd Machines/Snapshots/[image file name] --autoreset false

See also: https://www.xaprb.com/blog/2011/08/31/making-auto-resetting-virtualbox-machines/

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    Awesome - many, many thanks @LPChip; especially appreciated the guidance on the VM. Thanks again!
    – sdbbs
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 14:25
  • you're welcome. :) Glad I could help.
    – LPChip
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 14:34

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