Installing the ARM versions of Windows 10 or Windows 11 on a cheap Raspberry Pi board has been possible for a long time, but has always taken more time and patience than it’s worth. But if you’re curious, a new script called “WoR-flasher” (that’s Windows on Raspberry) simplifies the process. WoR flasher has a simple user interface that allows ARM to create Windows installation media, which can then be booted onto a Raspberry Pi for installation the same way a USB stick made with Microsoft’s tools can run Windows on an x86 PC. to install.
The script’s creator states that it does not violate any laws or Windows licensing agreements, as it downloads all code directly from Microsoft’s servers and installs Windows in an unlicensed, deactivated state, just as it would install on a regular x86 PC. without a product key. Microsoft only licenses the ARM versions of Windows to OEMs. WoR-flasher has been officially tested with the 32-bit version of the Raspberry Pi operating system (which I also used to create installation media), but it should work flawlessly on all Debian-based Linux distributions.
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You run two terminal commands to download and run the WoR flasher script (which also installs some dependencies). The simple user interface will take you the rest of the way.
Andrew Cunningham
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You will need an 8 GB or larger USB drive to create installation media. A disk larger than 25 GB has enough space to contain both the Windows installation environment and a Windows installation, while a smaller drive can only install Windows on another storage device (such as a typical USB installation drive).
Andrew Cunningham
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This comes pre-populated with a few settings you shouldn’t change, but if you want to add other boot conditions for your Windows installation disk (like CPU or GPU overclocking, for example), you can do so here before the flashing starts.
Andrew Cunningham
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The script then downloads Windows files from Microsoft’s servers and converts them into an installation ISO, which is copied to the drive you choose. There are similar tools you can use to create unofficial installation ISOs of x86 Windows Insider builds.
Andrew Cunningham
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The process takes a while on a Pi, especially since you have to wait for the slow CPU to do a lot of compression work. But when you’re done, installing Windows works the same way it would on a PC.
Andrew Cunningham
The only Pi models you should even consider installing Windows on are the more expensive versions of the Pi 4 with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM (with a quick fix for showing Windows more than 3GB of RAM). And with those boards, even with a fast microSD card and processor overclocking, Windows 11 won’t feel fast enough to use as your everyday operating system. But this tool does give developers and enthusiasts an affordable way to test ARM Windows apps. Windows 11 introduces a new ABI called “ARM64EC”, which is designed to simplify the process of porting x86 Windows apps to ARM by allowing developers to submit apps that use a combination of ARM and x86_64 code. Windows uses the built-in x86_64 emulation for any x86_64 code (with the associated performance penalty), while the ARM code can run at full speed natively.
List image by Raspberry Pi Foundation