If you already know the then you should know what it is about one of the most successful of all time and with which you can create all kinds of projects from home.
Mostly this device is operated by means of the linux distributions, But it can that allow you to turn this board into a complete computerso it can also be installed Windows 10.
This is how it provides support for this mini computer offering you the version of Windows 10 LoT, which is focused on the Internet of things. In order to learn much more about this, follow everything that we will teach you below:
Features and limitations of Windows 10 LoT on the Raspberry Pi
The first thing to take into account in this case is that the version of Windows 10 LoT is not the same as Windows 10 available for normal computers or even for mobile devices. Therefore, it should be mentioned that this time it is a more limited version in terms of functions, so there will be a limitation series than in the standard version they do not exist. This type of thing could affect the user experience with the operating system.
At this point it is important to note that the Win 10 LoT version will only be available to Pi 3 and Pi 4 modelsso the other versions of the Raspberry Pi will not be able to make use of the microsoft operating system. Performance problems can also become a limitation, in this case it should be mentioned that it has better performance on Pi 4 than Pi 3, but the OS will only be able to use 1 GB of RAM memory out of 4 GB available.
It should also be mentioned that some functions do not execute correctly as if it does in the version of Windows 10 for computersas can be the output for video, sound, GPIO, among some others, may not work in the best way on these microcomputers, all this due to the lack of implementation. In the same way, it is considered that it can be an OS a little unstable so some can be generated blue screenshots.
However, they are currently working to improve the operation of the OS on these devices:
Main features and functions of Windows 10 LoT on the Raspberry Pi
Despite all the limitations mentioned above, there are still many features and functions that can be used in these microcomputers, some of them are as follows:
- Functioning of HDMI, card reader SD/MMC and ports USB.
- BSP drivers Windows.
- Functioning of the ACPI drivers.
- Support for .
- Development, deployment and debugging of the specific drivers for Raspberry Pi.
- bootable SD card no additional bootloaders.
Learn step by step how to install Windows 10 on a Raspberry Pi mini PC from scratch
Before you begin to carry out installing windows 10 on your mini pc you will need to meet a set of requirements which ensure its proper functioning.
In this case you must comply with the following:
Installation requirements:
- You must have a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 for installation, other versions are not supported.
- A minimum Micro-SD of 16 GB storage.
- You have to download a Windows 10 WIM image for ARM. The most recommended thing here is to choose a stable Windows image. To download this you will be able to do it from the following link: https://github.com/WOA-Project/guides/blob/master/GettingWOA.md
- You also have to download WOA Deployer. Note that WOA Deployer You can find it in two different versions, one of them is the CLI version, to use it in terminal mode, with commands and the other is the GUI versionhas a graphical interface and is easier to use and which must be installed.
Installing Windows 10 LoT
Therefore, when all the above steps have been done, then the installation procedure can be started:
- In this case, as already mentioned, we will work with the GUI version of WOA Deployer. When this program is executed, a window very similar to the one shown below will appear. Keep in mind that there you must select the device for which you want to prepare the micro SD with Windows 10.
- When you have done this, then you can click on the button Deploy for the program to start running. Then a new window will appear where you will have to select the Windows 10 WIM image to arm, You must have already downloaded and installed it before, and the memory card where you want to install Windows 10 must already be connected to the computer.
- After this you must keep in mind that the memory card will be completely erased so that it can be install windows 10 in her. In this way you must be completely sure that you do not have any important information in it that you can lose and that you select the correct unit so as not to make mistakes. When it is already selected you must click on “Okay” and the creation of the memory card will begin.
- This is a time consuming process so you should allow yourself a bit of time while it is complete. Once I get to 100%, then you can disconnect the memory card from the computer and insert it into the raspberry pi and then boot. In this way the microcomputer will execute the Windows 10 version in almost the same way as a PC does.
The best models and versions of the Raspberry Pi to install Windows 10 without problem
As it has already been mentioned previously in the post, the possibilities of using the Windows operating system on the Raspberry Pi is quite limited, since only two of the versions of it are compatible with the OS of Microsoft, in this case it is the Pi 3 and Pi 4so you must have one of these two models to be able to enjoy Win 10 LoT.
With this in mind, here we mention a little about each of them:
Raspberry Pi 3
Before the arrival of this version, the main limitation of these mini computers was the lack of wireless connectivity, something that was solved with the arrival of Pi 3. This is how it is a version that maintains 1GB of RAM, but which is characterized by using a revision of the processor to BCM2837 ARMv8, which is 4 cores and runs at 1.2 GHz.
Also, it became the first version to use 64-bit instructions. In the same way, it must be said that the greatest novelty in this case was to include the functions of wireless and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity without the need to apply adapters for them, as well as its compatibility with the Microsoft operating system. However, shortly after a second model of this version would arrive, known as Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
It should be mentioned that this new model of the microcomputer ends up appearing when perhaps no one expected it, so It came as a surprise to almost everyone.. In this way, this new model presented a new plate design although the same size as the previous one and the same position of the elements were maintained.
However, it presented a change in the processor, since it had been modified by a more powerful one that works at 1.4 GHz and that also eliminates the connectivity bottleneck, which includes dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi connections, Bluetooth 4.2 and BLE, as well as network cards, Gigabit Ethernet, and is no longer limited to 100Mbpsbut it can easily reach the 300Mbps when running over USB 2.0.
It has the following specifications:
- 4 USB 2.0 ports.
- HDMI.
- RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM.
- CPU + GPU: Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC 1.4 GHz.
- WiFi + Bluetooth: 2.4 GHz and 5GHz IEEE 802.11.b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE.
- 40 pin GPIO.
- DSI port to connect a touch screen.
- CSI port to connect a camera.
- Power-over-Ethernet (PoE).
- Micro SD.
raspberry pi 4
It can be said that this has been one of the most anticipated versions of the mini computer board, it has clearly included improvements from its predecessor, this is how it has 4GB of DDR4 RAMallows the connection of 4k monitors moderately micro HDMI ports, has two USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports, which undoubtedly allows data transfer to be much faster via USB.
It is worth mentioning that the size of this plate is very similar to that of a credit card, so it can be easily transported from one place to another. For its use you simply need to connect it to a computer, keyboard and mouse and loads the latest operating system image, in this case the Windows 10 which is compatible. Among its characteristics to highlight is its power, which makes it ideal for large projects.
The Raspberry Pi 4 It still retains many of the features of its predecessor. Pi3B+, including pin 40 pin GPIO. As for wireless connections, the Pi 4 has a dual band 2.4 / 5.0 GHz and Bluetooth 5.0, while one of its new features compared to Pi 3 B+ is that of a usb connector type C for power, which replaces the Mini-B connector.
The best programs that you can install on your Raspberry Pi with Windows 10 to boost your mini computer
Keep in mind that the operation of a Raspberry Pi is very similar to that of a normal computer, so you will not only have to install an operating system for you to usebut you will also have to install programs on them that allow you to get the most out of your mini computer and above all to make it much more powerful.
This is how we show you a list with the best programs that you can install on it:
vlc player
Without a doubt, this is an application that cannot be missing in a raspberrypi, since it will allow you to play any type of multimedia file you need without any problem, so it gives you a wide variety of uses and alternatives when opening different file types. Therefore, to install this program on your microcomputer, all you have to do is go to the “Preference” and there enter the option “Add or Remove Programs” and from there we carry out its installation.
OpenVPN
Mostly users need For many reasons, there is clearly no VPN client for these mini computers, but OpenVPN can be used for it. It is an application vpn client which will allow you to connect to a vpn server using the credentials of an existing account, keep in mind that here you can connect to your favorite server.
steam link
Clearly the raspberry pi It doesn’t have the right hardware to run standard PC games, so you need something extra for it. In this case steam link it’s good enough for it as well as to pass it on. Therefore, thanks to this software you will be able to watch your favorite games of your video games. For it to work you simply have to download and install and run on the board every time you want to see a pc game streaming.
GIMP
Editing programs are others that cannot be missing…