Written by
Amanda Wong
Summary: If you want to install Windows on a Mac shipped with an Apple Silicon chip, you can use UTM. This post provided by iBoysoft guides you through the process of installing Windows on a Mac with UTM step by step. Free disk space with iBoysoft DiskGeeker to ensure enough disk space for running Windows on Mac via UTM.
Some computer users need to work across platforms, on both Windows and macOS and then they want to dual-boot Windows and macOS on the same device. This can be achieved on an Intel-based Mac via Apple's solution Boot Camp Assistant.
Even if Boot Camp Assistant is not available on Apple Silicon Macs, you can still run Windows on M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs. Here, we will guide you on how to install Windows on Mac with UTM.
What is the UTM for Apple Silicon Mac?
UTM is a free virtualization program for Macs with Apple silicon. Its foundation is the open-source virtualization and emulation program QEMU, which has been in use for a long time. Additionally, it offers a familiar experience, much like VirtualBox or Hyper-V, where the virtualized OS operates within a host OS window. It's good that you can display this window full-screen, of course.
UTM makes it much easier to set up a virtual machine using QEMU so that you can install Windows (or macOS, or another operating system) on it. Because both operating systems use the same processor (ARM64) architecture, you will receive a fully working Windows for ARM installation that runs at speeds close to native.
Recommend this free tool for running Windows on M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs!
How to install Windows on Mac with UTM step by step?
If you want to run Windows 11/10 on an Apple Silicon Mac with UTM, the free tool, this part will give you a detailed tutorial for you to follow, when it is done, you can run Windows 11/10 on the M1/M2/M3/M4 Mac. Let's start.
Step 1. Download and install UTM
You can get the UTM app for free from the UTM website. You can also purchase the Mac App Store version, which offers automatic updates. After downloading the tool, double-click the UTM.dmg file and drag it to the Applications to install UTM on your Mac.
Step 2. Get the Windows .ISO file
To install Windows on Mac, you will need the ISO file of the target Windows version. The easiest way to get Windows .ISO files is using CrystalFetch, a free tool for lawfully downloading the most recent Windows builds from Microsoft. Follow the steps below to download the Windows .ISO file.
- Download CrystalFetch from the App Store or from GitHub.
- Choose which version of Windows you wish to download (in this case, Windows 11 for Apple Silicon in your preferred language), then click Download. The size of the Windows .ISO file is 5.1GB, if your Mac hard drive is almost full, you should free disk space first.
- Choose where to put the ISO file when it asks, and select a location you prefer such as the Downloads folder.
- Close CrystalFetch.
Step 3. Create the virtual machine with UTM
With the Windows .ISO file and UTM software ready, it's time to create a virtual machine with UTM to run Windows on Mac. Just follow the steps below.
- Head to Finder > Applications, click UTM, wait for it to verify the app, and click Open on the prompt dialogue.
- Click Create a New Virtual Machine and choose Virtualize.
- Select Windows from the list of operating systems.
- Make sure that Install Windows 10 or Higher is checked, and then tap Browse and navigate to the Windows 11 .ISO you downloaded earlier. Click Continue.
- Allocate memory (RAM) and CPU cores and click Continue to proceed, such as 8 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage to the Windows 11 VM.
- Specify a drive capacity for your boot volume and hit Continue.
- Browse the Mac to choose a shared directory path if you prefer, and click Continue.
- Review your VM settings, rename it, and hit Save to finalize.
Step 4. Install Windows on your Mac
The next step is to install Windows 10/11 on the created virtual machine to run Windows on your Mac.
- Hit the Play button on your virtual machine within UTM to start. When it prompts Press any key to boot from CD or DVD, hit a key on your keyboard. If you miss it, restart the VM and try again.
- The Windows 11 setup wizard appears, just follow the setup process. When it asks for a serial number choose I don't have a product key. Click Next.
- Choose a volume where you can install Windows, the volume you created with the UTM setup wizard earlier. Click Next.
- Wait for it to install Windows, and it will restart a few times during the process.
- Select a region, keyboard layout, and other similar options.
- After you finish the setup, you will see the Windows 11 desktop.
- You can install the SPICE Guest Tools from the pop-up dialogue, an open-source tool for remotely accessing your virtual machine.
- Now, you can enjoy the Windows on the Mac device.
Share this free method to help others install Windows on Apple Silicon Macs!
