Yes, you really can run Windows 11 on Raspberry Pi
Wait, what? Windows 11 on Raspberry Pi?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Microsoftcaused outrage when it announced the minimum hardware requirements forWindows 11. But as it turns out, the new operating system runs onRaspberry Pi.
AWindows 11preview build is now available to download for members of theWindows Insiderearly-access program. However, theWindows 10successor sports ademanding list of hardware requirementsthat has left many eager users in the lurch.
Surprisingly though, multiple testers haveposted videosand tutorials showing that the Windows 11 preview can run on the puny littleRaspberry Pi 4.
Officially, Microsoft’s onlyoperating systemfor the Pi isWindows 10IoT Core, which isn’t a full-fledged desktop operating system, designed instead to power low-cost appliances.
But that hasn’t stopped intrepid tinkerers from getting the full Windows desktop experience on the RPi.
Windows 11 on Raspberry Pi
Tom’s Hardwarehas adetailed tutorialon getting Windows 11 (or indeed even Windows 10) to boot on the Pi.
In broad strokes, the process involves fetching an image of the Arm64-bit version of Windows 11 and writing it to amicroSD cardorSSD drivewith the help of the Windows on Raspberry Pi (WoR) utility.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Even more surprisingly,Tom’s Hardwareand others report that Windows 11 performs adequately well across all the usual desktop tasks, including browsing the web withEdge.
While we don’t expect Microsoft to officially support the full fledged Windows 11 release on RPi, the experiments should bring a smile to the face of people with hardware that doesn’t meet the official minimum requirements for Windows 11.
If you still can’t get Windows 11 on your desktop, take comfort knowing that you can always run it on the cheap little RPi.
With almost two decades of writing and reporting on Linux, Mayank Sharma would like everyone to think he’sTechRadar Pro’sexpert on the topic. Of course, he’s just as interested in other computing topics, particularly cybersecurity, cloud, containers, and coding.
A critical Palo Alto Networks bug is being hit by cyberattacks, so patch now
3 reasons why PIA fell in our best VPN rankings
Stormforce Pro Creator 0601 workstation review
