Run Windows 11
on a Raspberry Pi 4
1
PREPARATION
Format your micro SD card, or whatever external drive you’re
going to install Windows on. It will be reformatted as FAT32
during the copying process, but this step just blanks it off and
means you’re more likely to look at its contents for anything
you might want to keep. Download the Windows on Raspberry
Imager from https://www.worproject.ml/downloads (version
2.2.2 is now available) and extract the zip into a folder on your
desktop called something like Win11—the important thing is that
there are no spaces in the name.2
GET AN ISO
Obtaining a Windows 11 ARM ISO isn’t quite as
straightforward as getting an X86 build. Point your
browser to https://uupdump.net/ and look for a Windows 11
Insider Preview for the ARM64 architecture—a beta build if you
can see one, they are more stable than the dev channel builds.
Click on it, select your language, choose a version (either Home
or Pro), and click Next. On the next screen, choose “Download
and convert to ISO” then click “Create download package”
[Image A]. A small zip will download. Extract it, and run the
uup_download_windows.cmd file as an Administrator. This will
trigger all sorts of security warnings but choose Run Anyway.3
WAIT
The next step takes a while, depending on the speed of your
PC and the fatness of your internet pipe. The script you
just ran instructs an open-source multi-connection download
service called Aria 2 (https://aria2.github.io/) to download theTHERE’S NOTHING WRONG with the Raspberry Pi OS. But it is a bit basic and smells of Linux.
So why not replace it? There are desktop options, such as Ubuntu, RISC-OS, and RaspBSD;
gaming options such as RetroPie and Lakka; and media center choices such as OpenELEC or
OSMC. And then there’s Windows. Or rather, there isn’t. While a version of everyone’s favorite
operating system exists that will run on the Pi’s ARM architecture, it’s neither readily available
nor officially compatible. However, you can still get it to run on the accommodating little board.
With Windows 11 bedding in, it’s time to upgrade both software and method to get Microsoft’s
latest and greatest running on the Raspberry Pi 4. It’s not perfect—you won’t get any life out
of the Pi’s onboard Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or GPIO pins. Audio doesn’t work over HDMI, and you get
the occasional ‘pop’ through the headphone jack. The Ethernet port and all the USBs do work,
however, so if you aren’t near a wired internet connection, a USB wireless adapter can be
pressed into service. –IAN EVENDENYOU’LL NEED THIS
A RASPBERRY PI 4
(4GB OR 8GB RAM)
Internet connection
Spare flash drive
Infinite patiencefiles necessary for installing Windows 11 on ARM and
processing them into an ISO file. You’ll find it in the Win11
folder you created once the process is finished (you’ll be
prompted to press ‘0’ to exit). Ours is 5.2GB in size.4
WOR
Open the Windows on Raspberry folder and run
WoR.exe [Image B]. Select your language, then
the device you’ll be installing on—Pi 2, 3, 4, or 400 (we’d
recommend a Pi 4 or 400, and then rather than installing
the OS onto an SD card, put it on a USB-connected SSD of
some sort). To make your Pi bootable, you’ll need to have
updated to the latest version of the bootloader. If you’re
not sure how to do this see Boxout 2. Choose your Pi andCA B© RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION64 MAXIMU MPC FEB 2022
R&D