How to make Windows 11 (or 10) virtual machine full screen on VirtualBox

A virtual machine always starts with a default window size on VirtualBox, which is small and not ideal for navigating an operating system.

Usually, in the case of Windows 10 (or Windows 11), you would go to the “Display” settings to change the resolution to make the screen bigger or full screen, but you will quickly find out that the “Display resolution” option does not include many settings.

However, you have a few choices if you want to make a virtual machine running Windows 10 full screen. You can use the “Full-screen Mode” or the “Auto-resize Guest Display” option. The first option will make the guest operating system full-screen, meaning the VM will take the entire screen as the primary system. The second choice only stretches the virtual machine resolution based on the window size.

This guide will teach you the steps to stretch or full-screen a virtual machine on VirtualBox.

How to full-screen Windows 11 (or 10) on VirtualBox

On VirtualBox, you can only make a virtual machine full-screen if the Guest Additions are installed. If you have not installed the virtual drivers, complete those steps and continue with the instructions below.

To run a virtual machine in full-screen mode on VirtualBox, use these steps:

Open VirtualBox.
Right-click the virtual machine, select the Start submenu, and choose the Normal Start option.
Sign in to your Windows 10 (or 11) account.
Click the View menu in the virtual machine and select the Full-screen Mode (Right Ctrl (Host) key + F) option.
(Optional) Click the View menu in the virtual machine and select the “Auto-resize Guest Display” option.

Quick note: If the virtual machine window is already maximized, click the “Restore down” button and then the “Maximize” button again to allow VirtualBox to change the screen resolution automatically.