How to enable or disable Windows Sandbox feature on Windows 10

Microsoft has recently launched the Windows Sandbox feature starting with Windows 10 Build 18305 or later. It is a new lightweight desktop app available for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users. We are all afraid to download and install an executable file on our System. This is because, if anything goes wrong, we might need to clean and install Windows 10.

The same is the case for Microsoft, as they often encounter such troubles. This is why they have developed Windows Sandbox. This is an isolated Desktop application where you can run any executable file without fearing data loss or system corruption. Whatever file you install here, remains always here and thus won’t affect your host ever. All the applications and their data are lost the moment you close Windows Sandbox.

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How to Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox in Windows 10

Here we discuss different ways to Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox in Windows 10 –

• Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox using the Control panel
• Turn On or Off  Windows Sandbox using PowerShell
• Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox using Command Prompt
• How to start Windows sandbox in Windows 10

Note:  You must be signed in as an administrator to turn on or off and use Windows Sandbox.

To turn on or off the Windows sandbox on your system, make sure that the virtualization option is enabled in your UEFI/BIOS Settings. Follow these steps to enable this option-

• Press the Ctrl+Alt+Del shortcut and select Task Manager.
• Tap the performance tab and check if the Virtualization option is enabled on the current page. (See snapshot)

• Once confirmed,  follow the below procedure to Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox on Windows 10 PC.

1] Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox using the Control panel

To enable or disable Windows Sandbox using the Control Panel, use the following instructions:

• Open the Control Panel.
• Now on the visible Window, select Program > Programs & features.
• On the left pane, click on the link – Turn Windows features on or off.

• Henceforth locate Windows Sandbox from the list under the opened window.
• Thereafter activate or deactivate the checkbox to enable or disable this option respectively.
• Tap the OK button and restart your PC to apply the changes.

2] Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox using PowerShell

To enable or disable Windows Sandbox using the Windows PowerShell, you can use the below steps:

• Run PowerShell as an administrator.
• If the UAC prompt appears up, hit Yes to permit the access.
• On the elevated PowerShell window, copy and paste the below code and hit Enter at the end.
• To enable Windows Sandbox type this code –

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM" -All -Online

• To disable Windows Sandbox type the below command-

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature –FeatureName "Containers-DisposableClientVM" -Online

• If the prompt asks you to restart the system after the competition of the task, click Y to authorize the same.
• Once the task is finished, check whether the sandbox is on either enable or disable mode as per your choice.

3] Enable or Disable Windows Sandbox using Command Prompt

• Go to Cortana and type cmd. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator option.
• Hit Yes on the UAC prompt, to authorize the access.
• Type the below code on the elevated command prompt and press Enter to run the command.
• To enable the Sandbox feature on Windows, copy/ paste the below code-

Dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"Containers-DisposableClientVM" -All

• To disable the Sandbox feature on Windows, run this command –

Dism /online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"Containers-DisposableClientVM"

• If the prompt asks to reboot your PC after the task is finished, hit Y to proceed ahead.

4] How to start Windows sandbox in Windows 10

When the Windows sandbox in Windows 10 is enabled on your System, you can start this by following these steps:

Step-1: Go to Start and type Windows Sandbox. Once found, select the same.

Step-2: Tap Yes on the UAC to access the prompt.

Step-3: Now copy (Ctrl+C) an executable file from the host.

Step-4: Thereafter paste (Ctrl+V) the selected file on the window desktop of Sandbox.

Step-5: Open and run the executable file in the Windows Sandbox. Succeeding after that follow the onscreen instructions. Windows Sandbox will run perfectly normally.

Once you have performed all the steps mentioned above, close the Windows sandbox application and hit OK to confirm the changes.

Thus, all the contents of the sandbox will be discarded and deleted.

Minimum system requirements

To use Windows Sandbox without any issue, your system should meet the minimum hardware requirements. They are as follows-

1. The System should be running on Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise Insider build 18305 or later.
2. The architect must be AMD64 (64-bit) with a minimum of 2 CPU cores (4 cores with hyperthreading).
3. Virtualization capabilities should be enabled in BIOS.
4. At least 4GB of RAM (8GB recommended) and 1 GB of the hard disk.

SSD is normally recommended as ROM for Windows Sandbox.

That would be all!