Fancy a $50 computer but not sure you want to take the risk? You're not a cheapskate, you're just being wise. And getting a good preview of what you're going to buy is simply common sense.

Rather than buy a Raspberry Pi and risk disappointment, why not just run the operating system? This can be installed in the QEMU emulator, a virtual machine, or as a live CD.

Here's what you need to know.

Turn Your PC Into a Raspberry Pi

You've probably heard of emulation. It essentially enables you to run software on systems where it would otherwise be incompatible. Windows itself has emulation built in---you might have seen compatibility mode, which allows some older software to run.

Virtual machines, meanwhile, are ideal for anyone wanting to experience a new operating system (OS) without upsetting their digital balance. VMware and VirtualBox are often recommended to anyone wanting to try Linux for the first time, for instance. The same tools can be used to run an older version of Windows, or even macOS.

Want to run Raspberry Pi software on your PC?

Emulate a Raspberry Pi in QEMU

You have three options:

  1. Emulate Raspbian with QEMU
  2. Run the Raspberry Pi Desktop as a live disk
  3. Install Raspberry Pi Desktop in a virtual machine

Let's look at each of these methods below.

Emulate a Raspberry Pi on Windows With QEMU

Virtual machine utilities like VMware and VirtualBox create a virtualized hardware environment. However, these are almost always based on the 32-bit and 64-bit (x86/x64) architecture. While this makes them ideal for most operating system virtualization, any OS that runs on ARM chipsets is incompatible.

This is where QEMU comes in. Quick EMUlator emulates ARM chipsets, such as that found in the Raspberry Pi. Consequently, it can be used create a virtualized Pi on any PC.

While it is possible to install QEMU and configure the Raspberry Pi OS from scratch, this takes a while to set up. For simplicity's sake, we're going to show you how to use the QEMU Raspbian package from Sourceforge, instead.

Download: QEMU Raspbian for Windows (Free)

After downloading, you'll need to set the package up.

  1. Browse to the download folder
  2. Unzip QEMU.zip to your HDD (use C:/QEMU)
  3. Open the QEMU subfolder
  4. Double-click bat to get started
  5. A virtualized Raspberry Pi will appear, with Raspbian Wheezy booting up
  6. Wait while this completes---it should progress as illustrated in this video

Once complete, Raspbian will boot straight into raspi-config, a configuration tool for the Raspberry Pi. It isn't advisable to tweak too much, as this can lead to stability problems. Avoid using the update option or running any of the usual Raspberry Pi update or upgrade instructions where possible.

Note that this configuration tool can be relaunched at any point from a command prompt using

        sudo raspi-config
    

When you're done, use the arrow keys to select Finish, then tap Enter.

With the configuration complete, you'll see the command line prompt. You can either try out some basic Linux commands or enter startx to launch the Raspbian desktop.

Here you'll gain familiarity with the various pre-installed tools, such as Minecraft-Pi, and the basic building block development tool for children, Scratch.

It's time to play!

Forget Emulation: Run Raspberry Pi OS on Your PC as a Live CD

While using QEMU is good enough in most cases, it has some shortcomings. Chief among these is that the process uses an old version of the Raspberry Pi operating system.

Raspbian is no longer developed in its old form; it is now known as Raspberry Pi OS. For a more up to date representation of the Pi environment, the Raspberry Pi OS is available for x86/x64 computers as Raspberry Pi Desktop.

All you need to do is download it, burn it to a USB stick or DVD, and reboot your computer. You'll see the option to boot into the Raspberry Pi Desktop, which gives you a good idea of the Pi computing experience.

Download: Raspberry Pi Desktop (Free)

If you like it, you can also install Raspberry Pi Desktop on a computer using the live CD. Note that while most software should run, you won't be able to use anything that relies on GPIO pins.

Enjoy Raspberry Pi OS in a Virtual Machine

If you find you like Raspberry Pi Desktop, it can be run without the live CD and associated rebooting. All you need is a virtual machine utility such as VirtualBox or VMware Workstation.

The general process is simple:

  1. Install the virtual machine software
  2. Create a virtual machine
  3. Attach the ISO disk image of the Raspberry Pi Desktop live disk
  4. Boot the virtual machine
  5. Install the Raspberry Pi OS
  6. Enjoy your virtual Raspberry Pi

However, the specifics for each virtual machine tool differ. We've produced guides for installing Linux in a virtual machine. As Raspberry Pi Desktop is based on Linux, you'll find everything you need to know in these guides:

Follow the steps outlined in the appropriate guide to create your own virtualized Raspberry Pi.

Emulation and Virtualization vs Buying a Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pis are extremely affordable, so why would anyone want to spend their time using an emulator?

Raspberry Pi 4 is the most powerful yet

Well, several reasons spring to mind.

  1. Using a virtualized Raspberry Pi environment lets you try out the operating system with little effort. All the messing around that is involved with writing a disk image to SD is avoided. Further, virtualization gives anyone wanting to dip a toe in the pie (!) a quick chance to do so.
  2. A virtual Raspberry Pi offers the chance to gauge how the various apps will run. This might be useful to children using Scratch or other development tools. Making screenshots on the Raspberry Pi is simple enough but exporting them can be tricky---virtualization circumvents that. It's also good practice to test a new operating system in a virtualized environment.
  3. Raspberry Pi fans love to play and tinker. Virtualization is just another way of looking at things. It may not feature a physical computer, but it can be a time saver, and a bit of a game changer in some scenarios. If you're a Raspberry Pi owner, it's certainly worth having access to a virtual Pi---you never know when you might it!

It doesn't matter whether you use QEMU to run a virtualized ARM environment with Raspbian or run Raspberry Pi Desktop in a VM or as a live CD. Either way, you're enjoying the Raspberry Pi experience on your PC.