News: 0175472339

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Microsoft Releases Windows 11 ISOs for Arm64-based PCs (windowscentral.com)

(Thursday November 14, 2024 @05:40PM (msmash) from the about-time dept.)


An anonymous reader [1]shares a report :

> After dragging its feet for years, Microsoft has finally released the [2]first official Windows 11 ISOs for PCs with an Arm64 processor. This means users can now clean install Windows 11 using official offline media on an Arm64-based PC, including the latest Snapdragon X Copilot+ PCs.

>

> The ISOs contain version 24H2 can be downloaded from the official Microsoft website, and are around 5GB in size depending on the language you select. According to the company, the ISOs are primarily designed for running Windows 11 in a virtual machine on Arm64 PCs. However, it also mentions that you can use them to clean install Windows 11 directly onto Arm64 hardware too.Unfortunately, depending on the Arm64 PC you have, you may need to do some additional work to get the ISO bootable.



[1] https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/microsoft-finally-releases-windows-11-isos-for-arm64-based-pcs-but-theres-a-catch

[2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11arm64



"The ISOs contain version 24H2 " (Score:1)

by OffTheLip ( 636691 )

That would be hard "no" but thanks anyway.

So goes the Win-tel monopoly (Score:2)

by AlanObject ( 3603453 )

It would seem that the Intel slide from being the apex predator in the silicon world is going on apace,

I'm so old I can remember when there was Windows/NT for the PowerPC. Intel crushed that little project back then just through sheer dominance, but I don't think they can do anything like that today.

Re: (Score:3)

by Dadoo ( 899435 )

> I'm so old I can remember when there was Windows/NT for the PowerPC

And DEC's Alpha

When they released Windows for the Alpha, everyone at my old job was like "Woo hoo! No more Unix!", and we started porting our software to Windows. Then we started doing benchmarks.

That was the last time anyone mentioned Windows on our servers.

Re: (Score:2)

by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 )

> everyone at my old job was like "Woo hoo! No more Unix!", and we started porting our software to Windows. Then we started doing benchmarks.

> That was the last time anyone mentioned Windows on our servers.

Amazing that presumably smart people would be happy about leaving Unix for Windows.

Then again, Charles Manson got married in prison, some woman thought that was a good idea.

Re: (Score:2)

by slaker ( 53818 )

In the mid 90s, I was dealing with process control systems that ran on NT/Alpha and PPC because x86 systems weren't thought to be able to handle the IO loads. We also offered the same product on Solaris.

I will say that it was cool to see an Alpha chew on an x86 binary for a minute and then watch as FX32 kicked in and whatever-it-was would run faster on the workstation than the best PC in the building. It wasn't really surprising, except that in a lot of cases the PHBs would look at the DEC systems and say s

Why ISOs? (Score:2)

by fred6666 ( 4718031 )

Is there a single ARM64 computer with an optical drive out there? Do they expect people to use a USB optical drive to install Windows?

Re: (Score:2)

by Registered Coward v2 ( 447531 )

> Is there a single ARM64 computer with an optical drive out there? Do they expect people to use a USB optical drive to install Windows?

External drive. I can finally migrate from the developer version running on Parallels. Unfortunately, my licensed copy serial number may not let me install it.

Re: (Score:2)

by GrahamJ ( 241784 )

I was thinking the same, and then I remembered I haven't started it up in months. Maybe not that high a priority.

Re: (Score:2)

by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 )

> Is there a single ARM64 computer with an optical drive out there? Do they expect people to use a USB optical drive to install Windows?

The probably are expecting thumbdrive installs.

Re: (Score:3)

by darkain ( 749283 )

My 16-core ARM Server has normal SATA ports. I can just as easily add optical drive to it as easily as an X86 machine. It also has normal PCIe slots that I use for 10gbe networking and normal Radeon graphics cards. ARM64 isn't that far off from a normal traditional X86 desktop.

Also, ISO images are NOT just for optical drives, they've been the default images used on USB flash drives for well over a decade now. Additionally, there are CD emulators out there too, especially in the virtual machine space, that d

Re: (Score:2)

by thegarbz ( 1787294 )

An ISO as a name has evolved from what it used to be. The format originally came from optical disks but today it is as applicable to CDs and DVDs as it is to SD cards, and USB sticks.

No one is expecting anyone to use a USB optical drive to install windows. In fact the *only* thing mentioned in the instructions at all is the size of the USB stick you need (>8GB) along with a recommendation that you use a blank USB stick since using the Media Creation Tool for Windows installs will erase the stick.

Re: (Score:1)

by KlomDark ( 6370 )

Keep thinking, you're almost there. Now think about what requirements there are for using optical media. Oh, no requirements? You've thought yourself into a corner. Keep thinking, you'll get there soon.

How awesome! (Score:1)

by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 )

Now with 50 percent more spyware, Enjoy Windows Recall!

Venn diagram (Score:2)

by Waffle Iron ( 339739 )

Just how big is this subset: People who are contrarian enough to go find and purchase a niche machine with an alternate CPU, but who are also not contrarian enough to load an alternate OS?

Re: (Score:2)

by wed128 ( 722152 )

These people care about size and battery life, and don't care about the chip inside. You can already buy ARM machines running windows; now it's just easier to wipe and reload when you inevitably mess up your windows install

"Many have seen Topaxci, God of the Red Mushroom, and they earn the
name of shaman," he said. Some have seen Skelde, spirit of the smoke, and
they are called sorcerers. A few have been privileged to see Umcherrel, the
soul of the forest, and they are known as spirit masters. But none have
seen a box with hundreds of legs that looked at them without eyes, and they
are known as idio--"
The interruption was caused by a sudden screaming noise and a flurry
of snow and sparks that blew the fire across the dark hut; there was a brief
blurred vision and then the opposite wall was blasted aside and the
apparition vanished.
There was a long silence. Then a slightly shorter silence. Then
the old shaman said carefully, "You didn't just see two men go through
upside down on a broomstick, shouting and screaming at each other, did you?"
The boy looked at him levelly. "Certainly not," he said.
The old man heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that," he
said. "Neither did I."
-- Terry Pratchett, "The Light Fantastic"