Month: November 2025
Windows ARM and a leg up?
What is Windows ARM?
Windows has recently become available for ARM based PCs in addition to Intel based PCs. The ARM processor is a smaller, so called RISC (Reduced Instruction Set) processor, that is now an option when purchasing a new PC. Some Microsoft Surface Pro machines have ARM, and anything with a Snapdragon X processor. This option has been available on Macs for some time, starting with the M1 family of processors. The new chips can be very fast, and have a lower power consumption than the Intel based equivalents, so it’s particularly useful for laptops for extended battery life.
You may be thinking of purchasing a new laptop following Microsoft’s discontinued support for Windows 10, so it is worth considering an ARM based one.
What’s the catch?
Most software that is currently built for Windows x64 will also run on ARM under compatibility mode, but this would not use the full potential of the processor, and equivalent apps can be slower under compatibility mode when compared to runnning natively. It is best, therefore, to run software that is compiled to run specifically on the ARM platform. If you install the StrataBugs windows bundle, you will find that the existing x64 launcher app in the ‘bundle’ (StrataBugs.exe) will not run, though if you download the x64 installer, you can run this on ARM.
StrataBugs on ARM
We’ve recently released 3.0.100, which is the 100’th update of the 3.0 application!
From StrataBugs 3.0.100, you have the option of installing for Windows ARM. Only use this installer option if you are running on ARM – you will not be able to install or run this version on an Intel based machine. If you install the x64 package on ARM, it will run in compatiblity mode.
Either way, if you are using a local StrataBugs database, it’s fully compatible across platforms (even to MacOS).
Any drawbacks?
At the time of writing, it is not possible to obtain an ARM build for the SQL Server native client, which means only the thin client JDBC database driver is available. This means that if you are connecting to a SQL Server database on your local network which relies on “Windows authentication” for your access, it won’t work under ARM. This does not affect username/password connections, or connections to databases running in the Azure cloud.
Most devices will work fine under ARM, but not all devices are supported yet. We have a Canon printer and at the time of writing, it wasn’t possible to install a printer driver for it from Canon. Check your key peripherals first.