The only practical way of running x86 VMs on Apple M1 seems to be QEMU based UTM
Posted by jpluimers on 2022/07/01
Few articles exist on running x86 VMs on Apple M1 architecture.
This is the best I found, and clearly states that QEMU based UTM is the way to go, but notably lacks 3D support: [Wayback/Archive.is] Apple Silicon M1: How to run x86 and ARM Virtual Machines on it? | by Dmitry Yarygin | Mar, 2021 | Medium
Without VMs, but running Windows x86_64 code is already possible using Windows 10 for ARM via Parallels: [Wayback] Windows 10 on M1 Macs: What you can do (virtualization, sorta) and can’t (Boot Camp) | Macworld.
VMware Fusion is not going to support x86_64 virtualisation anytime soon as per [Wayback/Archive.is] Fusion on Apple Silicon: Progress Update – VMware Fusion Blog – VMware Blogs
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What about x86 emulation?
We get asked regularly about running x86 VMs on M1 Macs. It makes total sense… If Apple can emulate x86 with Rosetta 2, surely VMware can do something too, right?
Well, the short answer is that there isn’t exactly much business value relative to the engineering effort that is required, at least for the time being. For now, we’re laser focused on making Arm Linux VMs on Apple silicon a delight to use.
So, to be a bit blunt, running x86 operating systems on Apple silicon is not something we are planning to deliver with this project. Installing Windows or Linux from an x86 ISO, for example, will not work.
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More on UTM, which is open source:
- Downloads:
- [Wayback/Archive.is] UTM | Virtual machines for Mac
- [Wayback/Archive.is] UTM: Run virtual machines on iOS
- Github:
- [Wayback/Archive.is] utmapp/UTM: Virtual machines for iOS
- [Wayback/Archive.is] UTM/README.md at master · utmapp/UTM
UTM is a full featured system emulator and virtual machine host for iOS and macOS. It is based off of QEMU. In short, it allows you to run Windows, Linux, and more on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. More information at https://getutm.app/ and https://mac.getutm.app/
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Features
- Full system emulation (MMU, devices, etc) using QEMU
- 30+ processors supported including x86_64, ARM64, and RISC-V
- VGA graphics mode using SPICE and QXL
- Text terminal mode
- USB devices
- JIT based acceleration using QEMU TCG
- Frontend designed from scratch for macOS 11 and iOS 11+ using the latest and greatest APIs
- Create, manage, run VMs directly from your device
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- [Wayback/Archive.is] Home · utmapp/UTM Wiki
- [Wayback/Archive.is] Known Issues · utmapp/UTM Wiki
- [Wayback/Archive.is] Install Ubuntu ARM64 on Apple M1 · utmapp/UTM Wiki
- [Wayback/Archive.is] Install Windows ARM64 on Apple M1 · utmapp/UTM Wiki
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Due to an issue with QEMU handling of VHDX images, sometimes Windows will be corrupted from normal usage. This would result in BSOD or random application crashes/errors. To work around this issue, it is recommended that you convert the VHDX image to a QCOW2 image. Currently, UTM does not provide this functionality in the UI so you have to do it directly from QEMU.- Install Homebrew if you do not have it already.
- Run
brew install qemu - Run
qemu-img convert -p -O qcow2 /path/to/Windows10_InsiderPreview_Client_ARM64_en-us_21286.VHDX /path/to/output/Windows10_InsiderPreview_Client_ARM64_en-us_21286.qcow2replacing the paths with your own. - Use the QCOW2 image with UTM. It is recommended you do this with a fresh VHDX from Microsoft in case your image was already corrupted.
- [Archive.is] How to expand an already created Linux VM’s space? · utmapp/UTM Wiki
- [Wayback/Archive.is] UTM/MacDevelopment.md at master · utmapp/UTM
Now hopefully someone posts a Wiki of running x86_64 Windows on Apple M1 (:
This is a small start that it can be done [Wayback/Archive.is] Has anyone tried running Delphi on Windows ARM? – Delphi IDE and APIs – Delphi-PRAXiS [en]
It works well. I’ve managed to build and run my VCL and FMX projects on Android, iOS, Windows and Mac without any problems.Note that both Windows ARM and the way it runs Delphi are still in preview so tread carefully!On 4/18/2021 at 8:01 PM, Der schöne Günther said:Can you confirm it cannot only build projects but also debug them?I can debug Windows and Android no problem. I’m having issues debugging iOS as it’s stopping in the IDE but showing the CPU rather than code views. I believe this might be a badly built component I need to re-install rather than an issue with the environment but can’t confirm either way at the moment.…
An update on the debugging issues on iOS – it’s all working now. My VM just needed a restart and I can debug without problems now.
–jeroen
The Wiert Corner - irregular stream of stuff 
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