First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
Since Intuit's greed has now forced Turbo Tax users to use Win 11 if
they want to keep using TT, I'm afraid I'm being forced into it! TT is
the ONLY thing I'll be using it for. I'll almost assuredly delete it
all after tax season.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
Since Intuit's greed has now forced Turbo Tax users to use Win 11 if
they want to keep using TT, I'm afraid I'm being forced into it! TT is
the ONLY thing I'll be using it for. I'll almost assuredly delete it
all after tax season.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
On 2026/1/29 19:25:57, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
I can't answer your main questions, but I think any "free" W11 was an
upgrade from a validated W10; although you may find places where free
W11 can be downloaded, you probably can't use them on a new machine
(which includes VMs) without an authentication mechanism.
Of course, (a) there are probably hacks around, (b) it may let you run
for a limited time per go - maybe with black wallpaper or similar, which
may ...
Since Intuit's greed has now forced Turbo Tax users to use Win 11 if
they want to keep using TT, I'm afraid I'm being forced into it! TT is
the ONLY thing I'll be using it for. I'll almost assuredly delete it
all after tax season.
... be sufficient to get the tax stuff done.
Is it Intuit's greed? What do _they_ get out of insisting on W11?
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 13:25:57 -0600, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
Since Intuit's greed has now forced Turbo Tax users to use Win 11 if
they want to keep using TT, I'm afraid I'm being forced into it! TT is
the ONLY thing I'll be using it for. I'll almost assuredly delete it
all after tax season.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
It's possible.
Windows 11, the software copy, is free, but its license is not.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11
Difficulty on setting up a VM will depend on your familiarity with internal >PC components. There are many guides to do it on the net already.
On Thu, 1/29/2026 2:25 PM, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
Since Intuit's greed has now forced Turbo Tax users to use Win 11 if
they want to keep using TT, I'm afraid I'm being forced into it! TT is
the ONLY thing I'll be using it for. I'll almost assuredly delete it
all after tax season.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
I tested some VMs, and could not close all the requirements on
any of them.
I do have a Win11 complete with swtpm TPM emulation
running in Linux, in QEMU-KVM, but that doesn't count.
For one thing, the networking sucks. It's very hard to get
an IP address that sits within the usual 255.255.255.0 netmask.
That NAT mode works, but you can only surf the web, you can't
use Windows File Sharing. I tried a hotspot from inside the VM,
and got that working, but it was slower than Molasses on a Friday.
The "Bridged" option in QEMU-KVM, requires you to trot open
a terminal and issue magic commands -- which in my case, weren't
so magic and stuff broke. Anyway, that's about as close as I can
get for a brand new adventure that sorta works.
*******
Rufus 4.11p (rufus.ie/en) plus Oct5,2021 21H2 Win11 should work.
It can be installed side-by-side on your Win7 disk, using the
Custom install option and making a partition on the spare space to the right. >The installer didn't even mention making a System Reserved, but
we'll see in a moment how things work out.
Do the install with the network cable disconnected. This prevents
"Checking for Updates" and the opportunity to hijack the install
and drive you to a bad place with a dark alley.
Name: Win11_English_x64.iso # Selecting this, as a "bridge to the past", less restricted
Size: 5497985024 bytes (5243 MiB) # This happens to be the 11 flavors disc, not the 7 flavors.
SHA256: 667BD113A4DEB717BC49251E7BDC9F09C2DB4577481DDFBCE376436BEB9D1D2F >October ?5, ?2021
If you "taste" this one, do a SHA256 and verify. It is 11 flavors.
I can never be sure about these until they're downloaded -- you'll
have to give it a try.
https://archive.org/details/win-11-english-x-64_202111
There is always UUPDUMP. I don't know if Microsoft is hiding
a collection of old revisions or not (TechBench?).
Here is a picture of the side-by-side install, with custom partition
created to the right of Windows 7. It doesn't have all the drivers yet.
It's fresh off the press.
[Picture] Use Download Original to get original size picture
https://i.postimg.cc/DZKzVh1v/Turbo-Tax-Win11-Solution.gif
Paul
Thank, Paul. You did not mention whether this could be done on an
older machine, as I have, that doesn't have TPM.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
...
On 29.01.2026 20:25, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
...
Not tested yet, but this also looks like something to try:
tiny10, tiny11 and nano11 by NTDEV
https://ntdotdev.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-complete-tiny10-and-tiny11-list/
On Fri, 1/30/2026 10:24 AM, jetjock wrote:
Thank, Paul. You did not mention whether this could be done on an
older machine, as I have, that doesn't have TPM.
>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<
That was done on my 4930K 4th generation CPU, no TPM, I emulated
a BIOS boot machine (no UEFI!), no GPT on the disk you will notice.
The Win7 has the Active (boot) flag on it, and the Win11 installer
puts the BCD material into a Win7 folder.
That's about as old-old-school as you can manage.
Will that work on my Optiplex with E8400 Core2Duo processor ? NO.
The missing POPCNT instruction will cause the side-by-side partner
to crash. It would not work on a Phenom or on a Pentium IV with
2MB cache. Or an AthlonXP (a 32-bit only processor, as Win11 is
64-bit only).
But within a reasonable range of equipment (like a Skylake processor
a Win7 user might own on average), it can work "without wheels nor wings" :-) >And it still flies as if magic. And by using 21H2 as the DVD, that's
to take maximal advantage of "fewer traps to fall into", yet still
have a W11 kernel TurboTax can "sniff". When you install with the
network cable disconnected, there can be an "I don't have a network"
button so you can set up a local account.
For more info, dump some hardware info into the post.
The thing that makes this possible, is Rufus neutering stuff.
But compared to the hair loss from trying to make a VM host
run on Win7, this is *infinitely* easier. I mean really, I was
exhausted from trying three levels of version sampling
to try to get alignment on broken-softwares. The idea of
getting a W11-capable VM running on W7, that's a stretch-drive
that could take a solid week of hacking.
Paul
On 31.01.2026 14:36, Schugo wrote:
On 29.01.2026 20:25, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
...
Not tested yet, but this also looks like something to try:
tiny10, tiny11 and nano11 by NTDEV
https://ntdotdev.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-complete-tiny10-and-tiny11-list/
haha.. there's always an indian dev on YT to the rescue:
Tiny11 in Virtual Box | No TPM / Secure Boot | Less than 2 GB RAM | Windows 7 >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-TuLP0MxdA
should try this out.
ciao..
On 31.01.2026 14:36, Schugo wrote:
On 29.01.2026 20:25, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
...
Not tested yet, but this also looks like something to try:
tiny10, tiny11 and nano11 by NTDEV
https://ntdotdev.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-complete-tiny10-and-tiny11-list/
haha.. there's always an indian dev on YT to the rescue:
Tiny11 in Virtual Box | No TPM / Secure Boot | Less than 2 GB RAM | Windows 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-TuLP0MxdA
should try this out.
ciao..
I tested some VMs, and could not close all the requirements on
any of them.
I do have a Win11 complete with swtpm TPM emulation
running in Linux, in QEMU-KVM, but that doesn't count.
For one thing, the networking sucks. It's very hard to get
an IP address that sits within the usual 255.255.255.0 netmask.
That NAT mode works, but you can only surf the web, you can't
use Windows File Sharing. I tried a hotspot from inside the VM,
and got that working, but it was slower than Molasses on a Friday.
The "Bridged" option in QEMU-KVM, requires you to trot open
a terminal and issue magic commands -- which in my case, weren't
so magic and stuff broke. Anyway, that's about as close as I can
get for a brand new adventure that sorta works.
On Sat, 1/31/2026 8:43 AM, Schugo wrote:
On 31.01.2026 14:36, Schugo wrote:
On 29.01.2026 20:25, jetjock wrote:
First of all, is it even possible? Second, if it is, are there still
any Sites where one can get a free copy of Win 11 to use? Third, just
how difficult is it set up a VM and install Win 11 to it?
...
Not tested yet, but this also looks like something to try:
tiny10, tiny11 and nano11 by NTDEV
https://ntdotdev.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-complete-tiny10-and-tiny11-list/
haha.. there's always an indian dev on YT to the rescue:
Tiny11 in Virtual Box | No TPM / Secure Boot | Less than 2 GB RAM | Windows 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-TuLP0MxdA
should try this out.
ciao..
Yes, it works. You're using a modified version of a Windows 11 DVD.
The missing part of the virtualbox link would be pointed at the Old_Version portion of the virtualbox.org site. Maybe a 6.1.44 or 6.1.46 would work.
...
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