Two windows on one PC. Primary OS first, second OS for virus testing!
Two windows on one PC. Primary OS first, second OS for virus testing!
I don't know if anyone opened a thread about this. If they did, please share the link for your question. I'm here to clarify what you're looking for. You need two operating systems (Windows 11) installed together—one for everyday use and another for testing purposes. Both should be on the same hard drive but isolated from each other. They must be bootable from both during startup, so when you power on, you can choose either OS. For testing malware or installing software that you wouldn't normally run on your main PC, you want them to operate independently. You're concerned about placing a suspicious USB drive on your primary system; if you add a USB device that's only used in the virtual machine, it should work without interference. If you can include one USB that's strictly for the VM, that would solve your worry. Let me know if you need help setting this up.
You can route the entire USB controller through the virtual machine. The host will no longer be able to detect it.
However, I don't think Hyper-V is involved. VMware seems to be the likely option.
I’d run a virtual machine on top of standard Windows 11, route all USB devices through it rather than just individual devices, ensuring only the ports connected to your VM receive data.
I'm worried you're asking about something serious. Are you wondering if malware could affect the BIOS or spread between drives? If you isolate one drive, can a virus still reach another even if they're separate? You mentioned seeing ways to hide partitions from another OS—like deleting their visibility—but that doesn't stop them from accessing the system. There are also methods to lock certain areas of a drive so they can't be accessed at all. It's important to understand these risks fully.
It sounds like you're exploring ways to isolate your virtual machine by using a separate USB drive within the VM. This helps keep your local files secure and prevents them from affecting the main operating system. You mentioned using a dedicated USB for the VM, which stays hidden from the host system. Also, placing a USB on a specific port allows you to run it in the VM while keeping your primary OS safe. Let me know if you need more details!
UEFI bootkits are definitely a thing meaning malicious code can be executed before your os even loads. And deleting partition view won't really help as it is just a software lock that I do not think would be difficult to bypass. It won't be one USB port, it will be more than one (usually 4) because the whole USB controller has to be dedicated to the VM. You can add a pcie USB card if you need extra USB controllers. Also if you use a VM you can very easily rollback to a previous state using snapshots so you want have to do a fresh install if malware nukes it.