Windows 11 ARM 24H2 Release Preview works on Fusion

[Technogeezer]

I was able to get the Windows 11 ARM 24H2 Release Preview channel release working with Fusion 13.5.2 on Apple Silicon Macs.

There are a few items of things to note:

• You will need to obtain the 24H2 Release Preview and build the ISO from UUPdump. Look in the Quick Options section of UUPdump for the Latest Release Preview build for arm64. Note: The Microsoft Windows Insider web site does not have an ISO for the ARM architecture, only x86_64.
• Important: You will need to build the ISO on an existing Windows system (it can be physical or virtual, x86_64 or ARM) using the script generated from UUPdump. You will NOT be able to build the ISO natively on macOS or Linux using the scripts from UUPdump. 
• Make sure you have enough disk space in the Windows system to build the ISO. Plan on having at least 40GB free space available.
• The build will take some time, and will appear to make multiple passes to build the ISO. This is normal and is  because the build process is including some important Windows updates. Please be patient.
• Transfer the generated ISO to your Mac and use it to create your Fusion VM. The process to build a VM with the 24H2 Release Preview build is almost identical to building a VM using the 23H2 released build ISO.
• Important: The generated Release Preview ISO does not contain the VMware video and network drivers. You will need to install them manually after the VM boots from the hard drive the first time. See the Unofficial Fusion for Apple Silicon Companion Guide found here. The section describing installation of Windows 11 from VHDX files contains steps for installing VMware Tools early in the OOBE setup. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2024
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[drbill]

Can I build the ISO on my 23H2 VM and then use it to upgrade my VM rather than create a new VM?

[Technogeezer]

@drbill

You can definitely build the ISO from UUPdump on your 23H2 VM - that's how I did mine. Just make sure you have sufficient free disk space. The UUP build process takes up a lot of disk space. 

I'm not sure if the generated ISO will allow you to upgrade an existing VM. What I think you're asking is if the Release Preview ISO can be used to switch an existing release channel system to the release preview channel.  I can't say for sure whether that will work since I created a brand new VM.

I could give it a try and let you know what I find. 

I would assume that when Microsoft promotes 24H2 to the release channel that a 23H2 VM would be able to upgrade via Windows Update. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

Update: I was able to successfully switch in-place my 23H2 installation to the 24H2 Release Preview channel using the ISO built from UUPdump. 

One strange issue I encountered is that the Microsoft Store application did not launch after the update. That was fixed by repairing the Microsoft Store app from Settings > Installed Apps > System Components

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[drbill]

I gave it a try and yes it works.