I need to run virtual machines for several classes using Debian, Ubuntu, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016 ISO files. However, my Lenovo ThinkPad has a Snapdragon X-series Qualcomm Oryon processor and uses an ARM64 version of Windows 11, and the virtualization programs I've tried either refuse to install or produce errors. The system has an 8-core CPU and Windows build 26200. Are there any virtualization options that will work, or do I need to use different hardware?
2 Answers
For this coursework, the practical answer is probably to use an x86-64 computer instead. Your older gaming laptop may work if you free up storage or add a larger SSD. Another option is a school lab computer or a hosted virtual machine, if your classes provide access to one. Software alone can’t fully solve the architecture mismatch between an ARM laptop and x86-only guest images.
The main limitation is the ARM64 processor. Most of the guest operating systems and virtualization tools used for classes target x86/x64 hardware, while your laptop is ARM. Hyper-V is the most promising built-in option on Windows, but it generally requires Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, and it still won’t provide ideal support for every x86 guest. ARM-compatible Linux distributions may work better, but Windows Server 2016 and standard x86 Windows 10 images could be extremely slow or fail to boot because they would need emulation rather than normal virtualization.
You could try installing an ARM-compatible Linux setup with QEMU and virt-manager, but running x86 guests through emulation will likely be slow. It may be usable for simple labs, but probably not a good solution for several full operating systems.
I do have an older gaming laptop that should be able to run the virtual machines, but it is short on storage. I’ll look into upgrading the drive or using a lab system instead.