RunWin Help
RunWin runs Windows and Linux virtual desktops in a Mac window. Start here for installation, sharing and everyday controls.
Before you start
Use an Apple silicon Mac and an Arm64 operating system installer. Windows 11 requires its own licence. Keep enough free storage for your virtual disk and the files you plan to use inside it.
The release candidate was tested on an Apple M5 Pro Mac with 48 GiB of memory, running macOS 27.0.1. Ubuntu 26.04.1 Arm64 passed the live desktop and shutdown checks. Choose Windows 11 Arm64 for Windows guests.
Create a virtual desktop
- Choose Windows or Linux in RunWin and select a compatible Arm64 installer image.
- Review the virtual machine's processor, memory and disk settings.
- For Windows, select the VirtIO drivers disc as the Driver disc. It supplies the network driver used during installation.
- Create and start the virtual machine, then follow the operating system's installation screens.
Operating system licences, activation and account sign-in are handled inside the guest operating system.
Try Ubuntu without installing it
Get the Desktop image labelled 64-bit ARM from Ubuntu's official 26.04 download directory. The tested image is Ubuntu 26.04.1 desktop Arm64.
Choose Linux in RunWin, select that image and use 4 GiB of memory, 2 virtual CPUs and a 32 GiB virtual disk for the tested try-out. Create and start the virtual machine, choose Try or Install Ubuntu, then close the installer window to use the live desktop. This lets you try the desktop without installing Ubuntu on the virtual disk.
Windows network setup
Use the Fedora Project's VirtIO drivers disc, version 0.1.302. You can select the Driver disc when creating the virtual machine or in its Resources settings while it is shut down.
If Windows setup cannot continue at its network screen, choose Install driver and select NetKVM\w11\ARM64 on the drivers disc.
RunWin's guest-tools help links to the original driver downloads and explains the optional components.
Clipboard and Mac folder access
Open Sharing settings to choose the features you want to use. RunWin shows their connection status.
Windows text clipboard sharing uses the SPICE guest agent. Folder access uses the SPICE WebDAV helper and the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Arm64. The app's guest-tools help identifies the tested Arm64 helpers and their original publishers.
For version 1.0, these optional helpers are set up manually inside Windows. They require administrator approval and must be started again after each Windows sign-in. The guest-tools disc's automatic installer is not the documented setup route.
Windows can read the Mac folder you select. It cannot change files in that folder through RunWin's Windows sharing feature. Turn clipboard sharing off or revoke folder access in RunWin when you no longer need it.
For Linux, install the guest tools described in RunWin's help from your distribution's packages. Clipboard and folder sharing stay off until enabled in Sharing settings.
Everyday controls
Use a window or full screen. The guest desktop scales to fit the window. To change the Windows desktop resolution, use Windows Display settings.
Shut down the virtual machine before changing its processor or memory settings. Use Shut Down when you finish. If Ubuntu asks you to remove installation media and press Enter during shutdown, focus the guest and press Return.
If sharing does not connect
Check Sharing settings and the guest-tools help first. In Windows, confirm that the required helpers are running after the current sign-in. If access to a selected Mac folder has been removed or the folder has moved, select the intended folder again and review the permission prompt.
Remove a virtual machine or local data
Shut down the virtual machine before removing it. RunWin moves its own virtual machine bundles to Removed Items in the library so their files can be recovered. Remove from List for a virtual machine stored elsewhere leaves its files where they are.
To permanently remove the data, locate the virtual machine bundle and remove it through Finder. Check Removed Items and any backups separately. Turning off folder sharing does not erase files already copied into the guest. Contact support if you need help finding the files; do not send the virtual machine disk.
Contact support
Email [email protected] with the RunWin version, Mac model, macOS version, guest operating system version and the error shown on screen. Tell us what you were doing when it appeared.
Remove personal details from screenshots. Do not send passwords, account PINs, Windows licence keys or a complete virtual machine disk. If a diagnostic extract is needed, review it first because local logs can contain file paths and virtual machine names.