Microsoft makes a version of Windows 10 that runs on devices with ARM processors. But for the most part, the only way to use it is to buy a device like the Asus NovaGo or Lenovo Yoga C630.

Some folks have managed to get Windows 10 on ARM up and running on some old Windows smartphones. But want to install Windows 10 on something else… like maybe a Raspberry Pi? The closest you can officially get is to install Windows 10 IoT, a stripped-down version of Windows that’s not meant to be used as a desktop operating system.

But there is now an unofficial Windows 10 on ARM installer for a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or B+.

The appropriately-titled WoA Installer for Raspberry Pi 3 showed up on GitHub last week, and it’s basically a simple tool that lets you load an ARM-friendly version of Windows 10 onto a microSD card so that you can boot the operating system on a Raspberry Pi.

Of course, you can only do that if you first have a copy of Windows 10 that’s compiled for ARM architecture. That’s something Microsoft doesn’t really offer end users. But there is a page that explains how you can download and compile the operating system… something that may be illegal, or at the very least a violation of Microsoft’s licensing terms.

Still, until Microsoft offers an official option for purchasing a version of Windows 10 that you can install on Raspberry Pi’s $35 single-board computers, this may be the simplest option available for folks that want to try running a desktop version of Windows on the little devices.

Or you could just stick with Raspbian, a GNU/Linux distribution that’s free for anyone to download, use, and modify.

Update: Unsurprisingly, while you can run Windows 10 on a Raspberry Pi 3, it’s painfully slow. Tom’s Hardware has the details.

via Hexus

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