Those nostalgic for the firm at the apple will remember their first computers equipped with the PowerPC processor manufactured by the duo IBM and Motorola.
When Apple decided to switch to the Intel processor, for publishers and software developers, the pill was difficult to pass. They had to recompile all their programs. But, at the same time, a host of existing software written for Intel became more accessible to the Mac OS X system. In addition, you might install and run Windows on a partition of your Mac’s hard drive.
Two systems on one computer rather than two, these are great advantages both practical and economical – and lightness in the case of portable computers.
Just recently, Apple made another transition, this time adopting its own ARM-like systems-on-chip in place of Intel processors in its MacBook (Pro), Mac mini, Mac Studio and iMac computers, which now carry the suffix M1 (e.g. MacBook Pro M1).
Microsoft
Windows 11 system
Between the first and this second transition, Apple became the giant we know with a market capitalization of 2608 billion US dollars. Let’s say that the transition from Intel processors to Apple’s M1 system-on-chip went much better since this chip is the same as in the group’s mobile devices (iPhone, iPad).
Setback to this transition to systems on chip, it is no longer possible to install Windows on your Mac M1, even by installing a virtual machine from Parallels or VMware. If you want to run a Windows version on a Mac computer, only Intel machines remain compatible. But there is an exception.
Yes, with the ARM version of Windows 11
To run Windows on a Mac M1, you need two software: a Parallels 17 virtual machine (without competition at the moment) and the Windows 11 operating system, ARM version, which is very recent in the Microsoft catalog.
Parallels is a virtual machine program, which means it runs a separate operating system in a simulated computer (called a virtual machine) on your Mac. With Parallels, you can run Windows applications alongside Mac applications.
Ideal setup
As you can imagine, with one virtual machine, two operating systems, and open software in each, hardware resources are put to the test.
Ideally, your Mac M1 should have 16 GB of RAM or more.
This machine virtual installs on your Mac like any other software, remembering to give access to the Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders.
Then, get your English out, because this version of Windows 11 ARM64 requires you to register for the Windows Insider program at this address: https://insider.windows.com/en-us/register.
Once registered, download a copy of Windows Client ARM64 Insider Preview which will be provided in a VHDX disk image file.
Then open the Parallels app on your Mac M1, double-click the VHDX file you just downloaded, and follow the onscreen instructions in Parallels to install Windows 11.
Parallels will automatically locate the Windows 11 ISO image on your Mac. Select it from the list and click “Continue”.
Next, if you have a Windows license key, enter it, otherwise the option Enter Windows license key for faster installation. On the next window, select the version of Windows 11 you want (Home, Education, Pro, etc.).
Next step, the Parallels wizard lets you choose between a Productivity or Games only installation. Once done, the installation process starts and ends.
Although the installation is complete, you will be able to purchase a Windows 11 license and install your Windows applications, if any.
Faster than on PC?
Voila, you have the special ARM64 version of Windows 11 on your Mac with M1 system chip and you can switch from one system to another as you do from one application to another. Additionally, Parallels allows you to install virtually as many systems on your Mac M1 as long as they are versions written for ARM chips – Ubuntu Linux 21, Debian GNU Linux, etc.
Don’t be surprised, Windows 11 ARM64 Insider Preview boots up to 33% faster, according to Parallels, with up to 20% faster disk performance.
