Install Windows 11 on Raspberry Pi 5 with QEMU
Revision 2024-12-11 11:43AM CET
In this documentation I will guide you through all the steps to install Windows 11 on your Raspberry Pi 5 using QEMU.
Why?
The Raspberry Pi was designed to be used with Linux. Unfortunately, Windows doesn't have full support for ARM processors these days, which is why it can't run Windows natively in a decent way.
The problem? Drivers. There are currently no official drivers for the Raspberry Pi 5.
There is a fantastic project that is trying to enable Windows to run on Raspberry Pi devices. The project in question is called WorProject and I really hope it continues to progress. The link is available here.
Unfortunately, this is not enough. It cannot offer an optimal experience because a large part of the drivers are not available.
It is not easy to create a driver without a source code to draw from, and it is also a huge financial cost because the drivers must be tested and digitally signed. Microsoft unfortunately (or fortunately) imposes very strict rules for the creation of drivers.
The solution
This is where this project was born. To be able to use Windows emulated inside a Linux host OS that works correctly with the Raspberry Pi peripherals.
I'm trying this method and I have to say that I'm really enjoying it. The experience is acceptable considering the virtualization and hardware of the Raspberry Pi 5.
Getting Started
To get started you will need a few things.
- The Raspberry Pi 5;
- A Micro SD card or a SSD drive with more than 64 GB of space;
- A PC which you will use to write Linux to the drive;
- A Micro SD card reader (if you are using the Micro SD as drive);
- An Ethernet or WiFi connection;
- An ISO of Windows 11 ARM64;
- VirtIO drivers for Windows;
- A VNC client to connect to the VM;
- A supported UEFI Bios (continue reading and I will provide you with the link to download it);
- A little patience.