Install Windows on ARM on Radxa Dragon Q6A | Radxa Docs

[giscus[bot]]

Install Windows on ARM on Radxa Dragon Q6A | Radxa Docs

Step-by-step guide to installing Windows on ARM on Radxa Dragon Q6A.

https://docs.radxa.com/en/dragon/q6a/other-system/windows

[tankist-git-2]

There is an issue with Ethernet driver. The board doesn't connect to network. The Ethernet port on the board is working fine because I can use it on Linux.

[tangzz-radxa]

The on-board GbE controller is a Realtek RTL8111H. You can download the official Windows driver directly from Realtek's website: https://www.realtek.com/en/component/zoo/category/network-interface-controllers-10-100-1000m-gigabit-ethernet-pci-express-software

Look for the RTL8111H driver in the "PCI Gigabit Ethernet" section.

Note: After installing the driver, you may need to manually select the correct driver in Device Manager if the board doesn't connect immediately after boot.

[tankist-git-2]

The link you has provided is broken. I found "Win10/Win11 Auto Installation Program (NDIS)" driver on Realtek website Official driver. After I updated driver nothing changed - the network still doesn't work. I have no chance to select any another driver - there is no choice. What is wrong?

[tangzz-radxa]

Please download the driver package below and follow the official Windows installation guide step by step:

Driver package: https://node0.momosan.cc/mirror/share/dragon-q6a/Q6A_WoS_DriverPackage_251205_testsigned.7z

Installation guide: https://docs.radxa.com/en/dragon/q6a/other-system/windows

Key steps (must be followed in order):

1. Extract the downloaded .7z file
2. Run 1-testsigning.bat (right-click, Run as administrator)
3. Double-click radxa_wos_test_cert.reg and confirm to import the certificate
4. Reboot the system
5. Run 2-DriverSetInst.bat (right-click, Run as administrator)
6. Reboot again

The RTL8111H network controller is supported by this driver package after the above procedure. If the device manager still shows a yellow exclamation mark after following all steps, please share a screenshot of the device properties (right-click the device -> Properties -> Details -> Hardware IDs) so we can check further.

[tankist-git-2]

You should understand, I completely followed the instructions above. The yellow LED on the board is always light, the green LED is sometimes blinking. The only reason I opened that thread the Ethernet doesn't work at all. There is no "exclamation mark" on the network device, everything looks fine. But no one packet is received by the board. When I try to ping the router I got "the host is inaccessible". But there is no problems on Linux. There are some screenshots. If you need some other screenshots just let me know.

Screenshots

[tangzz-radxa]

The behavior you describe — RTL8111H GbE appearing normal in Device Manager but completely unable to send or receive any packets under Windows on ARM — is a known compatibility limitation of the onboard Gigabit Ethernet controller on Dragon Q6A under Windows on ARM. Linux is unaffected, which confirms the hardware itself is fine.

A reliable workaround for now is to use a USB Ethernet adapter based on the ASIX AX88179 or Realtek RTL8153 chipsets, both of which have well-supported Windows ARM64 drivers and will work at full Gigabit speed.

A proper fix will be documented when available.

[xzl01]

https://forum.radxa.com/t/windows-on-radxa-dragon-q6a/29913/49?u=strongtz maybe you can try it

[tangzz-radxa]

Realtek has an official alternate driver available. Users can try this driver to get the Ethernet (RTL8111H) working on the Q6A under Windows on ARM: https://forum.radxa.com/t/windows-on-radxa-dragon-q6a/29913/49?u=strongtz

[tangzz-radxa]

Thank you for sharing this forum link! This could be helpful for other users experiencing Windows on ARM installation issues on the Radxa Dragon Q6A.

For anyone following this discussion, the official documentation for installing Windows on ARM on Radxa Dragon Q6A is available at: https://docs.radxa.com/en/dragon/q6a/other-system/windows

If you encounter Ethernet driver issues, you can try the Realtek RTL8111H driver from Realtek's official website as mentioned in the previous comment.

[tankist-git-2]

This driver works well! You should replace the previous one in windows driver bundle to this.

[tangzz-radxa]

Thank you for confirming the driver is working well. Your suggestion to update the Windows driver bundle has been noted and passed along to the documentation team for review.

If you encounter any other issues or have additional feedback, please let us know.