Let’s start this post with a discussion of why people want to run Windows on mac. Well, there are many reasons for this. Apple is known for its quality products, and MacBooks are considered the best available laptops in the market. When it comes to the operating system, Mac is popular, but what about Windows? Windows is dominating. Windows has the largest community than any other operating system. Especially in the gaming landscape. As per the report, more than 96% of gamers use Windows. In general, Windows tops the list. It has taken more than 76% of the market. Mac is ranked second with 17% of the market share. There are many people who want to buy MacBook with Windows 11, the latest Windows operating system for desktop users. That is just possible only in dreams at this point in time. However, we are here to help you succeed in your dream. Well, there are many ways to run Windows 11 on Mac. Don’t worry. We are here to show you how to run Windows 11 on mac using VMWare Fusion. Let’s get started.
Microsoft introduced lots of security features to make Windows 11 secure more than any other Windows operating system. One such security feature is TPM. To run Windows 11, it is necessary to have a TPM v2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) hardware module on your computer. Since we are dealing with a Virtual Machine in this scenario, no need to worry so much. VMWare has a couple of workarounds to run Windows 11 on mac using VMWare platforms like VMWare Fusion. Thanks to VMWare for this wonderful workaround.
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Reasons To Run Windows On Mac:
If you’re a Mac user, there are plenty of reasons to run Windows on your Mac. Whether you need to use specific Windows-only software for work or you want to take advantage of the stability and performance of a Mac, running Windows 11 on your Mac is a great solution. Here are five reasons to do it.
- There are users who need both Mac & Windows to manage their work.
- Newly migrated users from Windows to Mac or Mac to Windows want to run Windows on Mac.
- Mac provides the best hardware, but Windows is the most popular.
- Gamers may want to run Windows on Mac as most games support only Windows.
- You can get the best of both worlds with a Mac/Windows hybrid.
Prerequisites To Run Windows 11 On Mac:
Basically, you need a Windows 11 ISO image, VMware Fusion with a free license, and of course a MacBook. That’s all.
- Windows 11 ISO image: It is a must to have a Windows ISO image. Visit the Microsoft web page to download the Windows 11 ISO image. Click here to download.
- VMware Fusion player: VMWare team is offering a free license for personal use. Click here to register and download the VMware Fusion player with a license. Please don’t ignore to verify the compatible version of VMware Fusion.
- MacBook: A MacBook with a minimum of 8GB of RAM and 250 GB of storage disc is required. We recommend having 16GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Because you may need 4 GB of RAM and 100 GB of storage to run a VM (Virtual Machine). There is a dependency on intel processors, you can’t run Windows x86 on an M1 chip.
Time needed: 30 minutes
How to Run Windows 11 on MAC using VMWare Fusion?
Let’s begin the actual post for which you are here. Let’s see how to run Windows 11 on mac using VMWare Fusion. We presumed that you have installed VMWare Fusion on your mac. If you feel you need assistance in installing VMWare Fusion on mac, please visit this post.
- Create New VM for Windows 11 on VMWare Fusion
Let’s create a new Virtual Machine on VMware Fusion.
Open Virtual Machine Library –> Click on ‘+‘ –> In the drop down list Click on ‘New‘.
- Select the Virtual Machine Installation Method in VMWare Fusion
New VM Installation Wizard opens and Lists of Installation Methods. Click on ‘Create a custom virtual Machine‘ and click on ‘Continue’.
- Choose the Operating System to be Used in this Virtual Machine
Select ‘Microsoft Windows’, since Windows 11 is not made available in VMware, select latest Client Operating System ‘Windows 10 and later x64‘ and click on ‘Continue‘.
- Choose Firmware Type to Boot the Virtual Machine
Select the Boot firmware as ‘UEFI‘ and select ‘UEFI Select Boot‘. Click on ‘Continue‘
- Select Virtual Disk to be Used in this Virtual Machine
Select ‘Create a new virtual disk‘ and click on ‘Continue‘.
- Take a Look at the Virtual Machine Summary
For Modification, Click on ‘Customize Settings’.
Save the VM with a nameRename VM as ‘Windows 11’ and click on ‘Save’ again click on ‘Finish’ to complete the wizard
- Mount CD/DVD(SATA on VMWare Fusion
Open for VM settings, click on ‘CD/DVD(SATA)‘ to import the downloaded Windows 11 ISO image.
- Import Windows 11 ISO image to CD/DVD(SATA on VMWare Fusion
Select ‘Connect CD/DVD Drive’ and browse the ISO file. Click on ‘Show All’.
- Choose the Startup Disk to Boot Windows 11
Click on ‘Startup Disk’ to change the Startup Disk of VM.
- Power On the VM on VMWare Workstaion
Select ‘CD/DVD’ and click on ‘Restart’ to Start the VM with mounted ISO image.
- Begin the Installation of Windows 11 on VMWare Fusion
As soon as the VM powered on Windows 11 Installation will get started from the ISO image stored in CD/DVD. Select Language, Time Zone and Keyboard, click on ‘Next‘.
- Click on ‘Install Now’ Button to begin the installation of Windows 11 on VMWare Fusion on mac
- Enter the Product Key
Update valid Product Key (if you have). You can Activate Windows with Product Key even after OS installation. Click on ‘I Don’t have a product key‘ if you want to continue without the product key.
- Select the Versions of Windows 11 to Install
Select the Version of Windows 11 to install and click on ‘Next‘.
- Error Message will Appear “This PC can’t run Windows 11”
This error will appear due to System Requirement Failure and get below message. Click on ‘Back‘ to go back to OS Versions selection window.
- Create Registry Keys to bypass the System Requirement Validation which helps to Install Windows 11
Click on ‘Shift + fn + F10′ keys simultaneously in keyboard to open CMD window. Type ‘regedit‘ and click on ‘Enter‘ to open Registry Editor.
- In Registry Editor, navigate to ‘Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup‘.
- Create a New Key ‘LabConfig’ under key ‘Setup’
To create New key, Right click on ‘Setup‘ –> Select ‘New‘ –> Select ‘Key‘ –> Rename to ‘LabConfig‘
- A New Key ‘LabConfig’ is created under key ‘Setup’
- Create 4 Bypass Entries under key ‘LabConfig’ to Bypass System Requirement Validation
Right-click on the newly created ‘LabConfig‘ key and select ‘New‘ –>DWORD (32-bit) Value –> Rename to ‘BypassTPMCheck‘.
- Configure ‘BypassTPMCheck Registry Key To Disable TPM Check in the Windows 11 installation Process
Double click on ‘BypassTPMCheck‘ and change the Value date to ‘1‘ and select Base as ‘Hexadecimal‘ –> click ‘OK‘.
Note: By Enforcing value to 1, we have disabled TPM check successfully.
- TPM Check is Bypassed in the Windows 11 installation Process
- Create other 3 DWORD (32-bit) Value under ‘LabConfig’ key to bypass Secure Boot, CPU and RAM
To enforce Secure Boot check, create New DWORD (32-bit) Value ‘BypassSecureBootCheck‘ and set Value data as ‘1‘
To enforce CPU check, create New DWORD (32-bit) Value ‘BypassCPUCheck‘ and set Value data as ‘1‘
To enforce RAM check, create New DWORD (32-bit) Value ‘BypassRAMCheck‘ and set Value data as ‘1‘
- Continue the Installation of Windows 11 on VMWare Fusion
Now we can continue to install Windows 11 without any roadblocks. Accept the Licence Agreement and click on ‘Next‘.
- Choose the Type of Installation you Want
Click on ‘Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)‘ to make changes in the Drive Partitions. It up to you how do you want to install the Windows 11.
- Partition the Disk
Selecting complete 60 GB for OS drive and click on ‘Next‘. Based on requirement you can change the Drive Partitions.
- Installation of Windows 11 begins and in Progress
- Set up a Microsoft Account or a Local Account
After Windows 11 Installation, configure with profile with Microsoft account / Local account.
- Installation of Windows 11 is Completed Successfully on mac using VMWare Fusion
We hope this post would help you know how to run Windows 11 on MAC using VMWare Fusion. Please share this post if you find this interested. Visit our social media page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Telegram, Tumblr, Medium & Instagram, and subscribe to receive updates like this.
Frequently Asked Questions:
VMware Fusion is a virtualization software developed by VMware that allows users to run multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and other macOS versions, on a single Mac host. It provides an easy and seamless way to run Windows applications on a Mac without the need for rebooting or partitioning.
Yes, you can run Windows 11 on your Mac using VMware Fusion. You’ll need to have a compatible Mac and a licensed copy of Windows 11. Follow the steps provided in the guide to set up and install Windows 11 in a virtual machine using VMware Fusion.
To run Windows 11 on VMware Fusion, your Mac must meet the following requirements:
1. A Mac with macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
2. VMware Fusion 12 or later
3. At least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
4. At least 64 GB of free disk space for the Windows 11 virtual machine
5. A 64-bit Windows 11 ISO file or installation media
6. A Windows 11 product key or a valid Microsoft account
Yes, you can upgrade your existing Windows 10 virtual machine to Windows 11, provided your virtual machine meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. Make sure to back up your virtual machine before proceeding with the upgrade.
To share files between your Mac and the Windows 11 virtual machine, you can enable the “Shared Folders” feature in VMware Fusion. This allows you to create a shared folder on your Mac that can be accessed from the Windows 11 virtual machine.
Yes, VMware Fusion allows you to run macOS and Windows 11 side by side in separate virtual machines. This enables you to switch between macOS and Windows 11 applications seamlessly without the need for rebooting your Mac.
Yes, VMware Fusion supports connecting USB devices and printers to your Windows 11 virtual machine. When you connect a USB device or printer to your Mac, VMware Fusion will prompt you to choose whether to connect the device to your Mac or the Windows 11 virtual machine.
To uninstall Windows 11 from your Mac, simply delete the virtual machine containing Windows 11 in VMware Fusion. This will remove Windows 11 and all associated files from your Mac. Before doing this, make sure to back up any important data stored in the Windows 11 virtual machine.
VMware Fusion does not currently support running Windows 11 on Apple Silicon (M1) Macs. However, you can use alternative virtualization software, such as Parallels Desktop, to run Windows 11 on an M1 Mac.
Yes, VMware Fusion supports running various operating systems, including different Linux distributions, on your Mac. You can create multiple virtual machines, each running a different operating system, and switch between them as needed.
