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Prerequisites

Windows ISO

Microsoft does not distribute official ISO for windows-arm64.
UUPDump website allows you to build an iso from windows update servers. Pick most recent version of windows 11 (avoid “Cumulative update”). Select “Windows pro”. https://uupdump.net/known.php?q=22h2+arm64

Then you can download the iso using a script shell. Some dependencies are needed, and the tool will guide you to report those that are missing.

You should obtain a file named like “XXXXX.X_PROFESSIONAL_ARM64_EN-US.ISO”.

In our example, latest version is 22621.1www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11arm64

If you only want to boot the windows kernel and a limited user-space, you can use Microsoft Validation OS instead (see instructions here).

Virtio drivers

Virtio windows drivers (https://github.com/virtio-win/virtio-win-pkg-scripts/blob/master/README.md) are needed to make your disk recognized by windows. Pick latest iso from link above.

In our example, latest version is 0.1.229266.

EFI

Download latest EFI from https://packages.debian.org/sid/qemu-efi-aarch64 . This will be used to boot windows image. Download package from “all” link, and extract it using:

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You should now have those files available in current folder:

• 22621.1Win11_PROFESSIONAL24H2_ARM64EnglishInternational_EN-USArm64.ISOiso

• virtio-win-0.1.229266.iso

• QEMU_EFI.fd

• win11-arm64.img

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qemu-system-aarch64 \
  -M virt,virtualization=true -m 8G -cpu max,pauth-impdef=on -smp 8 \
  -bios ./QEMU_EFI.fd\
  --accel tcg,thread=multi\
  -device ramfb \
  -device qemu-xhci -device usb-kbd -device usb-tablet \
  -nic user,model=virtio-net-pci \
  -device usb-storage,drive=install \
  -drive if=none,id=install,format=raw,media=cdrom,file=./22621.1Win11_PROFESSIONAL24H2_ARM64EnglishInternational_EN-USArm64.ISOiso \
  -device usb-storage,drive=virtio-drivers \
  -drive if=none,id=virtio-drivers,format=raw,media=cdrom,file=./virtio-win-0.1.229266.iso \
  -drive if=virtio,id=system,format=raw,file=./win11-arm64.img  

Notes:

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• --accel tcg,thread=multi is to speed up emulation

• devices are added for graphics output (ramfb), keyboard/mouse (usb*) and network (-nic)

• pauth-impdef=on speeds up pointer authentication https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/arm/cpu-features.html#tcg-vcpu-features

Run QEMU on aarch64 hardware

In case you have access to a linux-aarch64 machine:

• replace --accel tcg with --accel kvm (or --accel hvf on MacOS)

• replace cpu with -cpu=host

Note: It has been successfully booted on a 80-core aarch64 server, running Linux 6.0 and qemu-system 6.2.

Setup Windows

Setup will take between 1 and 2 hours on a high end x64 processor. It requires several manual steps.

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Now, close regedit, command prompt, go back to previous page (using top left arrow), and click again on “i don’t have a product key”. Windows is now happy to install be installed on your VM

Find your disk

Keep on advancing, select a “Custom install”, and you should now hit this screen:

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By following this (https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-set-up-without-internet-connection/ ), we can skip this and continue installation.

In short: Open a command prompt (using Shift + F10), and type OOBE\BYPASSNRO

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