Windows Sandbox is useful for trying a legitimate offline installer in a disposable environment. Its defaults include network and clipboard access, so choose the boundaries before starting a session that should remain offline.

This requires a supported Windows edition such as Pro, Enterprise or Education; Windows Home is not supported. Hardware virtualisation and the other documented prerequisites must be met. Enable Windows Sandbox through Turn Windows Features on or off, and restart if requested. On a managed PC, follow the organisation’s policy.

Prepare a small, read-only input folder

Create C:\SandboxInput and place only the intended installer and harmless sample files there. Do not map your normal Documents folder. Save the following plain text as OfflineTest.wsb, ensuring the filename does not end in .txt:

<Configuration>
  <Networking>Disable</Networking>
  <ClipboardRedirection>Disable</ClipboardRedirection>
  <AudioInput>Disable</AudioInput>
  <MappedFolders>
    <MappedFolder>
      <HostFolder>C:\SandboxInput</HostFolder>
      <ReadOnly>true</ReadOnly>
    </MappedFolder>
  </MappedFolders>
</Configuration>

Double-click that configuration file to start the session. The mapped input folder appears on the Sandbox desktop. Copy the installer into the session’s own writable storage if its setup needs to write beside itself.

Test the intended task and disposal

Check that the network-dependent part of an installer cannot complete in this deliberately offline session. That result may simply establish that a full offline installer is needed; it is not proof that the software is defective.

Use fictional sample content and record the behaviour you needed to evaluate. Host applications are not automatically installed inside Sandbox. Current Windows documentation also notes that some built-in Store apps are unavailable there from Windows 11 24H2, so do not make a test depend on their presence.

Closing Sandbox deletes its internal session content. Writable host mappings are an exception: their changes can persist outside the session. This configuration makes the selected input mapping read-only and provides no output folder.

After closing, confirm the original input files remain as expected. Keep the configuration with your test notes so the next run uses the same deliberate boundaries.

Sources: Microsoft Sandbox configuration; Microsoft Sandbox requirements; Microsoft Sandbox overview.