I previously used Win 10 + Parallels + Intel Macs and it worked fine as expected. I am trying out Apple Silicon Mac + Parallels + Win 11 ARM Insider edition. I understand this is a beta or insider version of Windows that I assume is different than the RTM Windows 11 on Intel PCs. I also understand that MSFT doesn't officially support Win 11 ARM on Parallels. My question is will I have to continually install new beta versions on my Silicon Mac/Parallels/Win 11 ARM Insider edition setup? For example, it would be not so fun if I need to do something with Parallels/Win 11 ARM and can't because MSFT stops that version from working. Thanks!
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Windows 11 Insider Version and Parallels - needs updates?
- Thread starter FreeLunch1
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I just saw that running WINVER allows you to se the expiration date. Mine is set for Sept 15, 2022. Does MSFT typically give you 10 months or so? At the 10 month mark, do you have to reinstall Windows, your apps, configuration, etc? Or can you install over the expired build?
I posted this in one of the similar threads:
You can get the release version of Windows 11 ARM without joining the Insider Program using uupdump.net to get an ISO from Microsoft. The licensing situation is unclear because you can't buy a Windows 10/11 ARM license. However I did this on my M1 MBA and it is activated using a license on my Microsoft account. I receive all the regular Windows 11 updates.
More discussion HERE and other threads in Parallels Silicon forum.
I had been on Insider previously as the only way to get it, but happy to be on release versions now. I am using Parallels 17.1 with the TPM chip enabled.
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You're getting out of legal licensing doing something like that if it works, but if you're comfortable with that, Microsoft probably wouldn't do anything. Same for the next post about using the using a non insider build, as that breaks the EULA for Windows on Arm.
Yes that's why I mentioned about the licensing situation being unclear. There doesn't seem to be an EULA compliant way of running any Windows ARM version on a Mac at the moment.
Why would Microsoft activate my Windows 11 ARM running on a Mac if it was illegal? They know what processor I am using.
Is your advice that no one should be running Windows ARM on a Mac or is there a compliant way?
I did the Uppdump way of getting the "release" version of Windows 11 PRO (after trying out the Insider Builds). I was also able to activate it by purchasing a Windows PRO key (my previous key was for Windows HOME and it didn't work). I am hoping that MS eventually makes either the Windows 11 ARM Home or Pro versions available to purchase as I will "happily" throw my money to them.
As far as Microsoft not "supporting" Windows ARM on a Mac - well they never did, not even on Intel Macs running Windows under Bootcamp. So no one is really expecting them to start now.
As far as Microsoft not "supporting" Windows ARM on a Mac - well they never did, not even on Intel Macs running Windows under Bootcamp. So no one is really expecting them to start now.
Unfortunately.
I'd sure like a way to run it too. I'd have no problem paying for a license if they'd just sell it to me! I cancelled my order for a new M1 MBP Max because I can't do work with it without Windows. (and $3099 is too much to pay for something that I can't use for work!)Why they have the EULA like the way they do I can't make much of a guess, but it might be to appease those they're trying to get to make ARM machines running Windows. Since the market is so small, that could be a reason.
That one is actually easy to answer, it uses the same logic as their normal Windows 11, including valid key calculations. They took a shortcut basically. The processor is only taken into account if you don't have a valid key, or the hardware changed dramatically -- not from first install.
If you're working for someone else, yeah, that would be my advice, as a license violation can be costly for businesses, but for personal stuff, I have no advice. I don't think Microsoft would kill it later, nor would they go after individuals, but given my working situation, there's no way I could recommend it.
As of now, the only way to be license compliant with Windows on Arm, is to buy a device that already has it installed, and only use it on that device. That is my understanding of the EULA.
It's a little gray, but the insider preview is a way around that, but you have to stay compliant with that program, and that means lots of updates. I haven't seen an analysis if insider preview builds would be business licensing compliant though, so I can't comment on that. I use my Visual Studio licensing for x86 versions running in VM's at work, and that's only good for testing and development, not production.
Ditto!
Yeah. I haven't relied on Microsoft technical support for a long time anyway.
Thanks for comprehensive reply.Unfortunately.
Why they have the EULA like the way they do I can't make much of a guess, but it might be to appease those they're trying to get to make ARM machines running Windows. Since the market is so small, that could be a reason.
That one is actually easy to answer, it uses the same logic as their normal Windows 11, including valid key calculations. They took a shortcut basically. The processor is only taken into account if you don't have a valid key, or the hardware changed dramatically -- not from first install.
If you're working for someone else, yeah, that would be my advice, as a license violation can be costly for businesses, but for personal stuff, I have no advice. I don't think Microsoft would kill it later, nor would they go after individuals, but given my working situation, there's no way I could recommend it.
As of now, the only way to be license compliant with Windows on Arm, is to buy a device that already has it installed, and only use it on that device. That is my understanding of the EULA.
It's a little gray, but the insider preview is a way around that, but you have to stay compliant with that program, and that means lots of updates. I haven't seen an analysis if insider preview builds would be business licensing compliant though, so I can't comment on that. I use my Visual Studio licensing for x86 versions running in VM's at work, and that's only good for testing and development, not production.
I haven't activated a Windows install with an actual key for a long time. My three retail licenses (two of which are unused) are linked to my MS account, so when I sign in it is activated. I don't know if that affects your comment about valid key calculations.
Although I don't work for anyone, and don't make any money from Windows (or Mac), I am very averse to running software illegally. While not doubting what you say, the present situation doesn't quite feel quite like that to me. More like a kind of undefined limbo, while Parallels, Microsoft and Apple work out their positions.
I could manage without Windows so won't miss it if the situation becomes clearer. Perhaps meantime I should go back on Insider if that is "less illegal". I dont mind the updates.
I have taken the "Not supported" statement as meaning just that...."don't come to us for help with problems", which is the same as it always has been for X86 Bootcamp and VMs. Not a statement saying "you should not be do this".
If what is currently going on is illegal, someone should tell Parallels, who certainly are making money from Windows ARM on Mac !
I would like to create a Windows 11 ISO installer using this method and have downloaded the UUP package from the link you provided. Could you please guide us step-by-step how to create the Windows ISO file with the "uup_download_macos.sh" script within the downloaded UUP package? Or point us to a Wiki page that describes what needs to be done? I couldn't find any detailed instructions on the uupdump.net FAQ page and am not very tech savvy. But being able to install and activate a non-preview version of Windows 11 ARM that has no expiration date would give me peace of mind, since the Parallels Desktop VM I'd create with it would be retained for office use.
I already have a Windows 11 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine up and running in Parallels Desktop and could theoretically download the ISO installer from within Windows if that's easier, which I believe I read somewhere in the Parallels Forum link you forwarded us to.
Thank you!
I've started running Windows 11 on Parallels on my M1 MBA. I just joined the Insider Program and downloaded from Microsoft.
My question is, why wouldn't you do this? Surely you'd want your Windows 11 install to be updated? I wouldn't expect Microsoft to pull ARM Windows, as they have plenty of ARM machines that require it (and likely a lot more coming).
My question is, why wouldn't you do this? Surely you'd want your Windows 11 install to be updated? I wouldn't expect Microsoft to pull ARM Windows, as they have plenty of ARM machines that require it (and likely a lot more coming).
I'm dependent on Windows because my current virtual machine is registered with my company (via InTune Company Portal) and is hence mission-critical. I'm afraid Microsoft could suddenly decide to pull the Insider Preview program and prevent us from having access to Windows 11 ARM versions. I would prefer to have a production release that we can update without having to worry whether or not it will no longer run at some time in the future.
Yes of course, but the non Insider release version receives updates as well. Insider gets a lot more.
I wish I could! I am a complete novice at uupdump and blundered my way through it, restarting all over a few times. Experienced users say it easy. I only used links and knowledge obtained from the Parallels Silicon forum I linked earlier.
It's not at all a question of illegal, it's just Microsoft's EULA, which they can choose to enforce, or not. At the very worst, they could sue you in civil court, and that's what would happen if it was a company we're talking about. There's no guarantee they would win, but there are costs involved that I certainly wouldn't want to pay, and I know I'd be fired quicker than I could walk down the stairs if my employer was sued over a EULA violation of my doing, and maybe even if it wasn't my doing and just some random user. (I'm the IT Manager)
Like I said, not a criminal problem, and if Microsoft really cared, they would sue Parallels out of existence. It's kind of an odd situation. Parallels gets by with it by Microsoft allowing the insider build loophole. We're probably talking about so small a market that Microsoft really isn't even noticing us, but if that got larger -- hard to tell. Anyway, my jobs says I have to abide by EULA's, so that's what I do. I only mention it here as information that someone might need to know. The way it's set up it's not a moral issue either, it's just business.
Microsoft could change things in an instant, for good or bad just by changing the EULA's involved, and I hope they do start allowing purchasing licenses!
Or we get a Mac M1 product that allows us to run x86 Windows in a VM -- like the old Amiga Bridgeboard. That would be preferable over running Windows on Arm anyway. I think a thunderbolt connection would be more than enough for that.
Hi Mike
OK, I just wanted you to know I successfully installed Windows 11 x64 Enterprise ARM in Parallels Desktop V17.1.0 using the tips you'd given me here. Thank you!
For your information, all I had to do was download the UUP package from the URL address (uupdump.net) you'd provided on the Parallels Forums:
"You can build an iso for 22000.282 (https://uupdump.net/selectlang.php?id=2cd33c3d-825f-4216-9ef4-2e2cef0bc077)."
I selected "English-US" as my preferred language, then Next, where I checked Windows Pro as the edition, then Next again. Here, I selected the "Download, add additional editions and convert to ISO", chose Windows Enterprise, checked all conversion options and then created the download package. This package was entitled "22000.282_arm64_en-us_professional_2cd33c3d_convert_virtual.zip" and totalled around 4.2 MB in size.
The next step was quite simple. All I had to do was extract the package to a temporary folder in a Windows 11 Insider Preview virtual machine I'd already created from the Insider Preview image, then right-click the "uup_download_windows.cmd" file and run it as an Administrator, and the script did all the rest.
It took quite a bit of time for the ISO installer to be created, but within the extracted folder an ISO file entitled 22000.282.211006-1742.CO_RELEASE_SVC_PROD2_CLIENTMULTI_A64FRE_EN-US.ISO was found, which I was then able to copy back over to my macOS system, select as the source of a new Windows VM in Parallels Desktop and successfully complete the installation process.
No watermark is displayed at the bottom of the screen and when I entered WINVER in PowerShell there was no expiration date!
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That's the way it is in the U.S. anyway I think. I had a thought that it might not be the same in other places... and course, I'm an IT guy, not a lawyer!
It's good that there is a non-Insider version, but doesn't it mean you may miss out on important emulation / translation improvements?
I've downloaded the latest Windows 11 for ARM release using the UUP method, created a VM using Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac, and activated Windows using a Windows 10 Pro key which I'm no longer using. It seemed happy enough and run a number of updates. Nice to see it's not changed too much
I haven't really got around to seeing what will and won't run, but it certainly feels responsive enough on my new MacBook Pro. I'd pretty much moved away from Windows and hadn't even bothered with Bootcamp on my old MacBook Air, although did have a Windows 10 VM running in VirtualBox just in case.
I haven't really got around to seeing what will and won't run, but it certainly feels responsive enough on my new MacBook Pro. I'd pretty much moved away from Windows and hadn't even bothered with Bootcamp on my old MacBook Air, although did have a Windows 10 VM running in VirtualBox just in case.