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Welcome to the M1 Windows project

amarioguy.github.io

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Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#21

Post by ntoskrnl »

fold3 wrote: post #14

Do you think it would eventually be possible to run amd64 programs on it (like rosetta2 but for Microsoft Windows?) The main feature of Windows is legacy compatibility and that is perhaps why arm Windows doesn't seems to gain much traction. Eventually I wonder if this project could be helpful to run wine on asahi linux, which would be awesome.

Windows on ARM supports that already[1]. The low traction is probably because of the (sorry) bad hardware. Windows branded ARM as the budget option so nobody wanted it. Then Apple came along and flipped the script.

[1]: https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2020/12/10/introdu...

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#22

Post by spacedcowboy »

hoistbypetard wrote: post #6
mikece wrote: post #2

Why would Apple want to make it hard to run aarch64 Windows on an M1 device? Their support for Windows in Boot Camp drove a lot of sales of Mac hardware after the switch to Intel. Seems Apple is limiting their hardware sales to not support Windows on M-series Macs. (Then again, if they are having supply/capacity issues then maybe it's a matter it being on the roadmap but they want their hardware running macOS until t…

I don't have the impression that they're doing anything specifically to make it hard. But right now users would have to pirate Windows in order to run it on Apple Silicon hardware, so it's hard to argue for an official solution. And they're not currently publishing specs in the open that would really speed it along. But the Asahi Linux developers say Apple is helping in some measure[1], so it doesn't seem likely that…

You don't have to pirate windows, you have to buy Parallels, which then downloads and installs Arm windows onto your M1 - and Arm Windows will run x86 binaries.

I used this to run FPGA bitstream-creation software on my Mac Studio. Worked like a dream. I'm generally fine with running on the PC on the bookshelf and serving s/w via MS Remote Desktop, but having it on the machine itself is a bit more useful in terms of screen real-estate (3x 4K monitors on the Mac).

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#25

Post by olliej »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #22
hoistbypetard wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the impression that they're doing anything specifically to make it hard. But right now users would have to pirate Windows in order to run it on Apple Silicon hardware, so it's hard to argue for an official solution. And they're not currently publishing specs in the open that would really speed it along. But the Asahi Linux developers say Apple is helping in some measure[1], so it doesn't seem likely that…

You don't have to pirate windows, you have to buy Parallels, which then downloads and installs Arm windows onto your M1 - and Arm Windows will run x86 binaries. I used this to run FPGA bitstream-creation software on my Mac Studio. Worked like a dream. I'm generally fine with running on the PC on the bookshelf and serving s/w via MS Remote Desktop, but having it on the machine itself is a bit more useful in terms of s…

My interpretation of the MS insanity was that windows/ARM is currently exclusively licensed for Qualcomm chips or something similarly absurd?

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#26

Post by duskwuff »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #22
hoistbypetard wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the impression that they're doing anything specifically to make it hard. But right now users would have to pirate Windows in order to run it on Apple Silicon hardware, so it's hard to argue for an official solution. And they're not currently publishing specs in the open that would really speed it along. But the Asahi Linux developers say Apple is helping in some measure[1], so it doesn't seem likely that…

You don't have to pirate windows, you have to buy Parallels, which then downloads and installs Arm windows onto your M1 - and Arm Windows will run x86 binaries. I used this to run FPGA bitstream-creation software on my Mac Studio. Worked like a dream. I'm generally fine with running on the PC on the bookshelf and serving s/w via MS Remote Desktop, but having it on the machine itself is a bit more useful in terms of s…

Interestingly, the availability of Rosetta for Linux suggests a much cleaner solution for FPGA development. :)

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#27

Post by kitsunesoba »

spacedcowboy wrote: post #22
hoistbypetard wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the impression that they're doing anything specifically to make it hard. But right now users would have to pirate Windows in order to run it on Apple Silicon hardware, so it's hard to argue for an official solution. And they're not currently publishing specs in the open that would really speed it along. But the Asahi Linux developers say Apple is helping in some measure[1], so it doesn't seem likely that…

You don't have to pirate windows, you have to buy Parallels, which then downloads and installs Arm windows onto your M1 - and Arm Windows will run x86 binaries. I used this to run FPGA bitstream-creation software on my Mac Studio. Worked like a dream. I'm generally fine with running on the PC on the bookshelf and serving s/w via MS Remote Desktop, but having it on the machine itself is a bit more useful in terms of s…

It's technically pirating because the license of Windows for ARM does not allow end users to run it on arbitrary hardware or virtualize it. I have doubts that they'd ever actually enforce those terms though.

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#28

Post by f311a »

I think it’s very hard to reverse engineer all the parts of m1. Such projects are fun research, but they won’t be able to use the full m1 potential. The software must be optimized as well.

Re: Welcome to the M1 Windows project

#30

Post by gjsman-1000 »

foo92691 wrote: post #11

I'm a bit shocked that it would even be possible for a third party to implement such a thing without rebuilding Windows itself. Is it a matter of implementing "device drivers"?

Well, if you ask the Asahi Linux team, heck no this isn't possible. Windows doesn't understand the Apple Interrupt Controller and a driver (at least in theory) should not be able to fix that without major kernel changes.

However, they actually address this with the "What makes Windows on M1 hard?" area and talk about using a vGIC to do an extremely lightweight pseudo-hypervisor as a workaround. An interesting theory.

The main issue though is that Windows for ARM isn't for sale and can't be legally purchased outside of buying a WoA device. Microsoft could send a legal letter at any time.

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