Original link: https://blog.kelu.org/tech/2023/05/12/install-x86-windows-in-mac-m1.html

Running the x86 version of Windows 7 today on my M1 MacBook Air. Make a simple note here.

installation steps

Download and install UTM

First, visit the official UTM website to download the UTM application . Follow the prompts to install on your Mac.
Prepare a Windows x86 ISO file

It should be noted that not all x86 can run on UTM.

I have tried several win 10/7 images, all of which can be installed, but they will report errors when they are finally run.

You need to confirm on the official website, they have tested the image that must run: https://mac.getutm.app/gallery/

Enter the Windows 7 stuff:

You can find the content of Requirements section, which is very clearly written. What is needed is such a mirror image:

en_windows_7_ultimate_with_sp1_x64_dvd_u_677332.iso

The corresponding hash value is 36ae90defbad9d9539e649b193ae573b77a71c83 .

It can be downloaded in many places, for example, I downloaded it here: en_windows_7_ultimate_with_sp1_x64_dvd_u_677332 .
import image

Select the second “emulate”:

Just go all the way down:
After the installation is complete, you can simply use:
Although the official website has the function of sharing folders with the host Mac , just install this software: SPICE guest tools

But I never succeeded.

My final solution is to use Python to start a temporary server on the host Mac:
```
 python3 -m http.server 9000 
```
Access Mac’s ip:9000 in the virtual machine:

problems encountered

Installing some software prompts NSIS Error , Error launching installer :

Generally, it is caused by downloading software from the Internet, and there are Chinese characters in the saved path. Because the system is in pure English, the support for Chinese is not very good.

Simply move the file to the desktop to skip this question.
Unable to install chrome and edge.

I have changed no less than 10 versions of offline versions of chrome and edge, and they all prompt problems.

At this time, you still have to rely on the 360 speed browser.

But it should be noted that it is still quite resource-intensive. I see that the cpu in the system monitor is often 100%.

Summarize

UTM is a QEMU-based virtual machine that also functions as an emulator. The main difference between virtualization and emulation is the way they handle hardware and software.

Virtualization is the process of creating virtual hardware on top of physical hardware and then running operating systems and applications on those virtual hardware. A virtual machine can run a different operating system than the host machine. For example, on a Mac running macOS, you can use virtualization software to run Windows or Linux.

The simulator is used to simulate different hardware platforms, it can simulate another hardware architecture on one hardware architecture. For example, you can use an emulator to run Windows on x86 on an ARM-based Mac (such as the M1 Mac).

Therefore, we use UTM to run x86 Windows on M1 Mac, and UTM needs to realize this hardware architecture conversion through emulation. This process requires a lot of computing resources, so it will feel that Windows is relatively stuck, especially when running software such as chrome that takes up a lot of memory. The CPU in my current virtual machine often spikes to 100%.

Both virtualization and emulation have their own advantages and disadvantages. Virtualization is better than emulation in performance, but requires the same hardware architecture as the host machine. Emulation can be converted between different hardware architectures, but some performance will be sacrificed.

Currently UTM also works on iOS. I will record related operations another day.

References

This article is transferred from: https://blog.kelu.org/tech/2023/05/12/install-x86-windows-in-mac-m1.html
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