Windows Sandbox – How Do I Increase the Memory Available Within Windows Sandbox?

Introduction

Windows Sandbox is a feature that was introduced in Windows 10 version 1903. It allows users to run applications in an isolated environment, which is ideal for testing or running untrusted software. However, the default amount of memory allocated to Windows Sandbox is 4GB, which may not be enough for running heavy programs. In this blog post, we will discuss how to increase the memory available within Windows Sandbox.

What is Windows Sandbox?

Windows Sandbox is a lightweight virtual machine that is built into Windows 10. It allows users to run applications in an isolated environment, which is ideal for testing or running untrusted software. Windows Sandbox is designed to be disposable, which means that any changes made to the system within Windows Sandbox are discarded when the Sandbox is closed. This makes Windows Sandbox an ideal solution for testing or running untrusted software.

Default Memory Allocation for Windows Sandbox

The default amount of memory allocated to Windows Sandbox is 4GB. This may be sufficient for running basic applications, but it may not be enough for running heavy programs. If you are running into issues due to a lack of memory within Windows Sandbox, you may need to increase the amount of memory available.

Increasing the Memory Available Within Windows Sandbox

To increase the amount of memory available within Windows Sandbox, you will need to modify the .wsb configuration file. The .wsb file is an XML file that contains the configuration settings for Windows Sandbox.

To modify the .wsb file, follow these steps:

1. Open Notepad or any other text editor.

2. Click File > Open.

3. Navigate to the location of the .wsb file.

4. Click on the .wsb file and click Open.

5. Scroll down to the section of the file that contains the following code:

<MemoryInMB>4096</MemoryInMB>

6. Change the value of MemoryInMB to the amount of memory you want to allocate to Windows Sandbox. For example, if you want to allocate 8GB of memory, change the code to:

<MemoryInMB>8192</MemoryInMB>

7. Save the file.

8. Close the text editor.

9. Open Windows Sandbox.

Once Windows Sandbox is open, it should have the amount of memory you allocated in the .wsb file.

Conclusion

Windows Sandbox is a useful feature that allows users to run applications in an isolated environment. However, the default amount of memory allocated to Windows Sandbox may not be enough for running heavy programs. By modifying the .wsb configuration file, you can increase the amount of memory available within Windows Sandbox. This will allow you to run resource-intensive programs without any issues.

You can increase the amount of memory available within Windows Sandbox by editing the .wsb configuration file. To do this, you will need to add the following line to the file:

<MemoryInMB>value</MemoryInMB>

Where “value” is the amount of memory, in megabytes, that you want to allocate to Windows Sandbox. For example, if you want to allocate 8GB of memory to Windows Sandbox, you would set the value to 8192.

Please note that you need to adjust the MemoryInMB value according to your system’s available memory and the amount of memory you want to assign to the Sandbox. Also, You need to make sure that you have enough memory in your system to run Windows Sandbox and the other programs simultaneously.

It’s also worth noting that the configuration file should be in the same folder as the executable file of the Windows Sandbox and should have the same name as the executable file with a .wsb file extension.

In your .wsb file, include the following configuration node:

<MemoryInMB>value</MemoryInMB>

See also, https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-sandbox/windows-sandbox-configure-using-wsb-file