This option is for users that want to create a Windows 11 on Arm virtual machine on supported hardware using an ISO file or to install Windows 11 on Arm directly without a DVD or USB flash drive. The ISO file can also be used to manually create bootable installation media (USB flash drive) to install Windows 11 on Arm, but it may be necessary to include drivers from the device manufacturer for the installation media to be successfully bootable. This download is a multi-edition ISO which uses your product key to unlock the correct edition.
↫ Windows on ARM ISO download
Oddly enough, up until now, Microsoft hadn’t published a Windows 11 on ARM ISO yet. With this new ISO, ARM users can do a fresh install, and create Windows on ARM virtual machines. Not the biggest news in the world, but it’s a little bit surprising it’s taken them this long to publish this ISO file.
> … but it’s a little bit surprising it’s taken them this long to publish this ISO file.
It is only surprising if one does not take into account that modern day microsoft’s main business is monetization strategies that happen to be software related, not the software itself.
In that view, windows is not an operating system that needs to be sold on its qualities, but a platform that most people have on their desktop machine by default – hence an opportunity to peddle more stuff to the users.
Well said.
Microsoft is a nonfactor on ARM.
I’ve not seen anyone running windows/arm natively and not seen any of the physical devices for sale around here. What i have seen a few instances of were virtualized versions running on macs.
There are lots of users running surface laptops with ARM (maybe don’t even realize their system is ARM because it’s so transparent these days
Auzy,
I’d say it depends on how many 3rd party applications they use. Compatibility with microsoft’s PRISM x86 emulator can be pretty hit and miss.
https://www.pcmag.com/articles/how-well-does-windows-on-arms-prism-emulation-work-we-tested-with-31-apps
And 32bit software isn’t supported at all.
I personally would not advise an ARM laptop to those who have a large catalog of windows software/games that they’d like to be able to run.
How can you release a bootable ISO image for ARM when there is no standards for ARM? No way that all different ARM systems will accept a boot image. No default way to initialize all video cards for basic video… etc.
If Microsoft enforced some standards on the disparate ARM platforms, that would be the one major positive contribution they could make. Except I don’t think they could possibly get Apple to follow it. Still would be a great leap forward.
stanf,
Of course, it’s only going to work on ARM hardware that already support’s windows requirements, in this case it needs a UEFI firmware, which most ARM hardware does not 🙁
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications
I agree, the lack of standards (or at least their lack of ubiquity) has been a huge impediment to “bring your own OS”. FOSS users are lucky to have x86 and I’m not sure if we’ll ever be so lucky on other hardware platforms. FOSS operating systems benefit greatly from having strong platform standards, even when those standards are being pushed by commercial operating system developers.