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This guide will help you create a Windows 11 virtual machine from a fresh install.

CrystalFetch

The easiest way to obtain a Windows installer ISO is with CrystalFetch on macOS, a free utility based off of UUPDump.

 Download on the App Store Download from GitHub

By default, the latest release or release preview build for the host architecture will be selected. You can change the filter to include pre-release builds as well as server builds. You can collapse the current architecture to find builds for other architectures (i.e. for emulation).

Instructions

  1. Use CrystalFetch to download the latest installer ISO.
  2. Open UTM and click the “+” button to open the VM creation wizard.
  3. Select “Virtualize”.
  4. Select “Windows”.
  5. Make sure “Import VHDX Image” is unchecked and “Install Windows 10 or higher” is checked. Also make sure “Install drivers and SPICE tools” is checked. Press “Browse” and select the ISO you built in step 1.
  6. Pick the amount of RAM and CPU cores you wish to give access to the VM. Press “Next” to continue.
  7. Specify the maximum amount of drive space to allocate. Press “Next” to continue.
  8. If you have a directory you want to mount in the VM, you can select it here. Alternatively, you can skip this and select the directory later from the VM window’s toolbar. The shared directory will be available after installing SPICE tools (see below). Press “Next” to continue.
  9. Press “Save” to create the VM. Wait for the guest tools to finish downloading and press the Run button to start the VM.
  10. Follow the Windows installer. If you have issues with the mouse, press the mouse capture button in the toolbar to send mouse input directly. Press Control+Option together to exit mouse capture mode. Sometimes, due to driver issues, you can enter and exit capture mode and the mouse cursor works normally again.

Installing the Microsoft Store and UWP apps (optional)

WIP

On the latest pre-release builds the Microsoft Store should be installed automatically. Older versions can follow this guide or check this issue for more information.

Troubleshooting

Boots into EFI shell instead of Windows installer

Make sure you generated the right ISO for your architecture. Note that arm64 is for Apple Silicon and amd64 is for Intel.

Installer crashes with BSOD SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

You are using a version of Windows that is too old. The build number should be 21390 or higher.

“This PC can’t run Windows 11”

If you get this message trying to install Windows 11, you can bypass it with the following steps:

  1. Press Shift+F10 to open Command Prompt and type in regedit.exe to launch Registry Editor.
  2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup
  3. Right click on the Setup key on the left size and choose New -> Key.
  4. Create a key named LabConfig
  5. Select the LabConfig key.
  6. Create two new values: Choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) and create BypassTPMCheck and BypassSecureBootCheck. Set both values to 1.
  7. Close out of Registry Editor and Command Prompt.
  8. In setup, press the back button and then Next to continue installation.

Ping does not work

Note that due to libslirp limitations, ping will not work and so Windows may think that there is still no internet connection.

Networking does not work

Make sure you installed the SPICE guest tools, which includes the network drivers.

If Windows 11 setup is stuck due to lack of network connection:

  1. Go to the language select screen (you may need to restart the setup if you are past this screen).
  2. Press Shift + F10 to launch Command Prompt.
  3. Type in OOBE\BYPASSNRO and press Enter.
  4. Your VM should reboot and at the setup screen you should see an option for “I don’t have internet.”
  5. Once Windows setup is completed, make sure to install the SPICE guest tools for network drivers.

SPICE tools did not install automatically

See this page for more details.