The latest generation of Apple Silicon Macs are mighty and fast, but they cant natively run Windows.
Fortunately, theres a workaroundand its free.
It requires using the free VMware Fusion Player and Windows 11’s official ARM copy.
Once installed, youll have a Windows 11 instance running inside an app on your Mac.
Itll be the real Windows 11, so you’re able to run all your favorite apps.
The only thing you cant do is game, but you could blame Direct X for that.
But it costs $79 for personal use, and were looking to run Windows on macOS for free.
To get started, firstregister for a Personal Use Licenseusing your VMware account.
Once thats done, go toLicense>Downloads>Manually Download.
Then, bring up the downloaded DMG file and double-poke the VMware Fusion icon to start the installation.
Confirm your actions and accept the agreement.
Enter theLicensekey you generated above, clickContinue, and then clickDone.
Once done, youll see the Virtual Machine window.
Here, click thePlaybutton to start the Windows 11 setup.
it’s possible for you to choose the I dont have a product key option to skip the process.
Then keep hittingNextuntil the installation is complete.
you might do this using the PowerShell and some quick commands.
When youre on the Is this the right country or region?
screen, pressShift+F10(tryFn+Shift+F10if it doesnt work).
In the command prompt enter the following:
OOBE\BYPASSNRO
Windows will reboot and restart the whole setup process.
Select your country and keyboard layout, and clickYes.
you’re able to skip the second keyboard layout page.
Continue with the flow and accept the privacy prefs.
Once Windows reboots, go toStart Menu>PowerShell, right-click, and chooseRun as administrator.
Press theReturnkey and exit the PowerShell app.
In the Mac menu, clickVirtual Machine>Install VMware Tools.
From the popup, click theInstallbutton to mount the virtual DVD drive.
Then, kick off the Windows Explorer app and choose the mounted DVD.
Find the PowerShell script called Setup, right-click, chooseRun with PowerShell, and clickYesto confirm.
This will finally fire up the VMware Tools for installing the driver package.
Once thats done, you should have full data pipe access.
you might now head toStart>parameters>Windows Update>Check for updatesto download the latest updates.
Youre now, as they say, in business.
If you want to see the whole installation guide,check out this helpful video from 9to5Mac.
