The Raspberry Pi OS is a fantastic operating system if you want to build useful projects with your RPi board. However, it’s not the only OS that’s compatible with the popular SBC family. Thanks to their immense popularity, most Raspberry Pi models are compatible with a host of Linux distributions, with the official versions of Ubuntu and EndeavourOS already available for the Raspberry Pi 5.
But if you belong to the Windows faction, then you can use the WoR project to run Microsoft’s flagship OS on these SBCs. Since this process can get rather grueling, we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide to help you install Windows 11 on your Raspberry Pi board.
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What you’ll need
If you’re using a Raspberry Pi 2, 3, or 4, all you need is a microSD card with at least 8GB of storage. However, setting up Windows 11 on a Raspberry Pi 5 board requires two separate storage devices. The first one is the microSD card, where you’ll have to copy the RPi5 firmware. Since these UEFI files don’t occupy a lot of space, you can get away with a 1GB microSD card. The second storage device has to be a USB drive, and that’s where you’ll flash the Windows 11 ARM image. I recommend getting an external SSD instead of a slow USB flash drive to avoid performance bottlenecks when running Windows 11.
When you boot into the ARM64 version of Windows 11 for the first time, you also need access to the Internet. However, since the WoR method results in broken Wi-Fi and LAN drivers, you’ll require a smartphone or tablet with a USB tethering facility. But if you don’t have access to one, you’ll have to buy an RJ45-to-USB adapter for the initial setup.
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Downloading the Windows 11 ARM64 ISO
To start things off, you’ll have to download the Windows 11 ISO file compatible with ARM devices. You can do so with the help of UUP dump:
1. Open the UUP dump mirror using this link.
2. Pick Windows (Final version) as the type and select the ARM64 variant of the latest stable version of Windows 11.
3. Choose the language, editingand type download options before clicking on the cmd file generated by UUP dump.
4. Run the cmd file you just downloaded with admin privileges.
5. Once you’re inside the file, press Enter and wait for the script to download the Windows 11 ARM64 files from the official servers.
Flashing the Windows 11 ARM64 ISO
Next, you’ll need to flash the ISO file onto a microSD card/USB drive with the help of the imager tool created by Windows on Raspberry. To do so,
1. Head to this link and download the Windows on Raspberry Imager tool.
2. Unzip the folder and run WoR.exe as an administrator.
3. Press Next on the Welcome screen.
4. Pick the microSD card where you wish to install Windows 11 as the Storage drive.
Raspberry Pi 5 owners should choose the USB drive as the Storage drive where they flashed the Windows 11 files instead of the microSD card.
5. Choose the model of your Raspberry Pi board as the Device type and hit Next. If you’re using a Raspberry Pi 5, make sure you select the Raspberry Pi 2/3 option, as attempting to boot into Windows 11 with the Raspberry Pi 4/400 setting will result in an ACPI BIOS error.
6. Select the … button under the Image file and pick the Windows 11 ARM64 image you downloaded earlier before pressing Next.
7. Double-check all the choices and click on Install.
If you’re using an older Raspberry Pi model, feel free to skip the next section. However, for those on Raspberry Pi 5, you need to follow a couple of other steps.
Setting up the RPi5 UEFI
Since WoR doesn’t support Raspberry Pi 5, we’ll need to use the RPi5 UEFI as a workaround to boot into Windows 11.
1. Download the latest version of RPi5 UEFI from the official GitHub link.
2. Insert the microSD card into your PC.
3. Right-click on the microSD card in the File Explorer and choose the Format option.
4. Set the File System as FAT32click on Startand wait for Windows to finish formatting the memory card.
5. Extract the contents of the RPi5 UEFI folder to the microSD card.
With that, you’re ready to boot into Windows 11 on your Raspberry Pi 5.
Installing Windows 11 on your Raspberry Pi
Finally, it’s time to begin configuring the Windows 11 installation on your Raspberry Pi. Fair warning: the ARM64 version of Windows is riddled with menus and toggles that you’ll need to get past first. Therefore, this part can take an obscenely long time, especially if you’re on an older Pi board.
1. Insert the microSD card and plug the peripherals into the Raspberry Pi. If you don’t have a LAN-to-USB adapter, connect a smartphone to the SBC and enable USB tethering.
2. Raspberry Pi 5 owners will need to wait for the RPi5 firmware to initialize before proceeding.
3. Once the installer initializes, choose your Region and hit Yes.
4. Pick the Keyboard Layout you’re familiar with, and tap the Yes button.
5. Choose the Wi-Fi network you want to use and press Next after entering the password.
Alternatively, you can hit the Next button after ensuring your LAN cable/USB tethering option appears under the list of networks.
6. The installation wizard will download the drivers and restart once.
7. Once the Windows 11 installer reboots, press the Agree button to accept Microsoft’s License Agreement.
8. Enter the Name of the device and tap Next.
9. Choose the Sign in option and log in to your Microsoft account by entering your Username and Password.
10. Choose the Set up as a new PC option when the installer prompts you to restore an older backup.
11. Enter a Windows Hello PIN and click OK.
12. The installer will ask you to configure several privacy settings and customization options before prompting you to use Microsoft 365, PC Game Pass, and other services. You can skip all of them.
If you’ve followed all the steps correctly, the Windows 11 desktop will appear with a pop-up dialog box stating the OS has created a temporary paging file.
Wrapping up the Windows 11 ARM64 installation
After you have installed Windows 11 on your Raspberry Pi, it’s time to give the ARM64 version of Microsoft’s flagship OS a spin. Unfortunately, the WoR version of Windows 11 is far from perfect, and you’re bound to run into issues when running 32-bit or 64-bit apps on the ARM-based Raspberry Pi. There are a couple of other caveats to running Windows 11 on RPi boards.
For one, the Ethernet port on your Raspberry Pi won’t work due to driver issues. The same holds for the GPIO pins, PWM fan controller, and the PCIe express connector. You’re also likely to encounter performance hiccups on the low-powered SBC. So, if you want a fast and stable operating system for your Raspberry Pi, you should stick to Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS instead.
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