Run Windows 11 on a Raspberry Pi 4
YOU’LL NEED THIS
A RASPBERRY PI 4 (4GB OR 8GB RAM)
THERE’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 EVENDEN
Internet connection Spare flash drive Infinite patience
A
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.