With Windows 10 coming to ARM platforms, such as Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos, we know that it’s possible to run Windows 10 with desktop apps on ARM devices, including Raspberry Pi 4.
There are multiple ways to install and run Windows 10 on a Raspberry Pi. Microsoft has always allowed users to run “Windows 10 IoT”, which is also a version of Windows 10, but it’s only meant for prototyping, not running real desktop experience.
Officially, Microsoft doesn’t allow you to run the real version of Windows 10 on this $35 single-board computer, but there are some tech projects that will allow you to install the operating system on Raspberry Pi 4 and make yourself more productive.
In this article, we’ll show you the steps to install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 4 using your microSD card.
Windows 10 for Raspberry Pi 4 requirements• Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB of RAM. You can also use your Pi 4 with 8GB of RAM, but currently, the project supports 3GB of RAM only.
• You can use 32GB or larger microSD card. Faster is better, so you should get class A1 or A2 card.
• Ethernet or WiFi dongle.
• Keyboard, mouse, monitor.
• Ethernet or WiFi dongle.
How to install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 4To install Windows 10 on Raspberry Pi 4, use these steps:
1. Plug your microSD card into the desktop.
2. Download and save a copy of Windows 10 on ARM from a third-party service such as the WoA
Discord group (Downloads channel). You can also download a UUP image of the OS and manually convert it into ISO. Windows 10 version 2004, version 1909 and 1903 are tested.
3.
Download and run Windows on Raspberry (WoR) tool.
4. In the WoR tool, select the correct USB 3.0 device and check the Raspberry Pi 4 [ARM64] option.
5. Select your ARM image.
6. On the next screen, select “Use the latest package available on the server”.
7. Select “Use the latest firmware available on the server” option when you’re asked to configure firmware.
8. In the Configuration screen, select advanced and change memory limit to 8192 MB. If you don’t change the limit, your Raspberry Pi will be locked to 1 GB of RAM.
9. Click Next and press Install.
10. The installation process can take as long as three hours to complete and it depends on the speed of the microSD.
11. Close the WoR tool.
12. Optional: Use a partition manager to extend the space of system drive using the unallocated space in the SD card.
13. Go back to the Discord group and download the RAM fix from the Downloads channel.
14. Open File Explorer and locate the drive containing Windows 10 on ARM installed. It’s likely to be named ‘Windows’. Once located, make a note of the drive letter.
15. Open an elevated Command Prompt and navigate to the directory where you extracted WinPatch.
16. Use the following command after changing the drive letter:
"C:\Users\username\Downloads\winpatch.exe" C:\Windows\System32\drivers\USBXHCI.SYS 910063E8370000EA 910063E8360000EA 3700010AD5033F9F 3600010AD5033F9F
17. Once down, close all apps and safely eject the microSD card and insert it into the Raspberry Pi 4.
18. Power on the Raspberry Pi 4 and set up Windows 10 as you normally do.
19. On the desktop, open Task Manager and double-check the installed memory. If you have 1GB of RAM, you need to run “bcdedit /deletevalue {default} truncatememory” in Command Prompt to enable 3GB of RAM.
20. Press Enter to run the command.
Windows 10 on ARM experienceThe performance is apparently better than Raspberry Pi 3, but there are some limitations.
For example, the built-in WiFi or Ethernet doesn’t work so you would need to buy a dongle. Google Chrome is also not supported and you would need to use Microsoft Edge to browse the internet.
The idea of running the Windows 10 desktop OS on a Raspberry Pi is intriguing and it works pretty well, thanks to the tweaks made by the developers.
Mind you, you need a lot of patience and elbow grease to successful run full Windows 10 on your Raspberry Pi 4.
Disclaimer: This is an unofficial project and we can’t vouch for the safety or legitimacy of anything mentioned here.
source
