Oracle Virtual Box + Windows 11 + Mac ARM (M series)

[Mork]

Has anyone set up Windows 11 (ARM) on Oracle's Virtual Box on an Apple M Series processor with good results?

My current mac is about 5 years old and my working Windows 10 VM is holding me back from going to M series due to Windows 11 (being spyware and all) expense and the entire chore of getting everything re-installed from scratch.

Thanks in advance,

 

[jdb8167]

VirtualBox doesn't work natively on Apple silicon Macs. I think there is a beta that will emulate an 32-bit x86 CPU but that is probably going to be agonizingly slow. There are better choices. VMWare, Parallels, free UTM.

 

[Mork]

It looks from this site, that Virtual Box does run natively on Apple ARM processors as of about October, 2022.

You Can Now Run VirtualBox on Apple Silicon (M1 / M2)

Mac VirtualBox users will be happy to know that VirtualBox now runs natively on Apple Silicon ARM processors, including the M1 and M2. VirtualBox is virtualization software that allows you to run o…

osxdaily.com

Am I misinterpreting this information?

----

Is anyone using Virtual Box with good results to run Windows ARM on Apple Silicon?

Thanks,

 

[kitenski]

Do you have to stick with oracle? VMware fusion is working well for me but not doing that much heavy lifting with it

 

[jdb8167]

It looks from this site, that Virtual Box does run natively on Apple ARM processors as of about October, 2022.

You Can Now Run VirtualBox on Apple Silicon (M1 / M2)

Mac VirtualBox users will be happy to know that VirtualBox now runs natively on Apple Silicon ARM processors, including the M1 and M2. VirtualBox is virtualization software that allows you to run o…

osxdaily.com

Am I misinterpreting this information?

----

Is anyone using Virtual Box with good results to run Windows ARM on Apple Silicon?
Thanks,

I don’t know. I did a Quick Look on their forums and didn’t see much except the emulated 32-bit x86 version. I’m willing to take your word on it.

Edit: I went to the link on that page download and didn’t see anything but Intel hosts. The page says:

Go to https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads to find the appropriate download, listed as “Developer preview for macOS / Arm64 (M1/M2) hosts”

but I don’t see that.

Edit the 2nd: I found this on the forums:

We decided to pull the 7.0 ARM builds because they don't see any significant progress apart from the usual fixes the other packages get as well. No performance improvements will be backported to 7.0. If one wants to have a peek whats cooking for VirtualBox on ARM use the development testbuilds.

 

[Mork]

I don’t know. I did a Quick Look on their forums and didn’t see much except the emulated 32-bit x86 version. I’m willing to take your word on it.

Edit: I went to the link on that page download and didn’t see anything but Intel hosts. The page says:

Go to https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads to find the appropriate download, listed as “Developer preview for macOS / Arm64 (M1/M2) hosts”

but I don’t see that.

Edit the 2nd: I found this on the forums:

Thanks. Good info.

 

[Mork]

Do you have to stick with oracle? VMware fusion is working well for me but not doing that much heavy lifting with it

I use VM Fusion now, but now that Broadcom has bought/ruined the perpetual license I've always had with VM Fusion, I won't be using it any longer...

 

[kitenski]

I use VM Fusion now, but now that Broadcom has bought/ruined the perpetual license I've always had with VM Fusion, I won't be using it any longer...

I've not paid for it and it seems to work fine. I switched from Parallels about a year ago.

 

[Mork]

It doesn't seem like Broadcom has yet implemented the written-about subscription-only change with version 13.

So, you're using version 13 on Mac ARM with no issues? Is it fast? I find that VM Fusion on W10 is super quick.

Thanks,

 

[kitenski]

So, you're using version 13 on Mac ARM with no issues? Is it fast? I find that VM Fusion on W10 is super quick.

yes, v13.50 with Win 11. I'm on a M1 Air, from pressing startup it took 16 seconds to the Windows login screen. This has all you need to know The Unofficial Fusion for Apple Silicon Companion ... - VMware Technology Network VMTN

 

[Mork]

yes, v13.50 with Win 11. I'm on a M1 Air, from pressing startup it took 16 seconds to the Windows login screen. This has all you need to know The Unofficial Fusion for Apple Silicon Companion ... - VMware Technology Network VMTN

Man, thanks a lot!
Do you know if I'll need to purchase another VM Fusion license (13.5) to run on Windows ARM or will my existing license still work if I re-install VM Fusion on Apple Silicon?

 

[kitenski]

Do you know if I'll need to purchase another VM Fusion license (13.5) to run on Windows ARM or will my existing license still work if I re-install VM Fusion on Apple Silicon?

I don't know, all I can say is that I have not purchased any licenses at all and it works fine with no restrictions.