Microsoft SQL Server in Windows on Arm

Hello! I keep encountering an error with this install, and can't seem to find a way around it. It just keeps giving me an "Oops... Unable to install SQL Server (setup.exe)." I've seen a number of posts, but nothing with a clear answer. Is this just not compatible with the M2 framework? If so, shouldn't Parallels find a workaround? Any bit of help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

I've been fighting the same, tried giving this a try but was unsuccessful: https://medium.com/@ayushya/how-to-install-ms-sql-in-apple-silicon-m1-m2-in-parallels-da22341c1748

 

The error arises from the possibility that your M2 Mac's virtual Windows 11 Pro isn't entirely compatible with the SQL Server installation. To fix this, make sure your virtual environment satisfies SQL Server's system requirements. You may also want to consult an expert in virtualization or official SQL Server support for advice.

 

Hi, I also have SQL Server installation issue, it was failing quite a lot of attempts finally I managed to install it with provided *.bat script, but now I can't login to SQL Server, login fails whatever I tried. Could you please advice?

 

I'm using MacBook with parallels win11, used this link https://github.com/jimm98y/MSSQLEXPRESS-M1-Install to install SQL Server and after a lot of attempts managed to install, but no way to login to SQL Server. Could you please advice?

 

there is no possible way to run sql Server on the pro version. it is so annoying

 

I'm currently learning programming and considering buying a new laptop, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and need to stick to a budget. In my courses, I'll be working with databases, SQL Server, and developing Windows Forms apps using C# in Visual Studio.

My question is: Would it be a good idea to buy a MacBook and use Parallels to run Windows on it? I'm concerned about how well SQL Server would work in this setup, and whether it's a practical solution for my needs.

 

Microsoft has not made SQL Server services capable of running on Windows for ARM.

 

Hi, I ran into the same issue. Have you been able to log in to SQL Server 2022 yet?

 

At long last, though not officially supported (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/s...talling-sql-server-2025?view=sql-server-ver17), but at least it runs in the Prism x64 translation layer! Of course the SQL Server Management studio does not seem to launch at this current time, or at least I could not get it to work, yet.

 

Hi Mikhail,

How did you do the install of SQL Server 2025? I tried it in 2 different Windows on ARM VM's and it is always failing. I downloaded the full cab file of the SQL Server 2025 CTP 2, mounted it as a DVD and launched the setup. I did choose the "Developer Enterprise" edition of SQL Server. In the SQL Server setup I made sure every feature except the "Database Engine Service" was unselected. All other settings related to security, TempDB,... where left to their default values.

After 20-30 seconds the setup just fails...

Action required:
Use the following information to resolve the error, and then try the setup process again.

Feature failure reason:
An error occurred for a dependency of the feature causing the setup process for the feature to fail.

In the log files I can see a bunch of errors:

: Target package: "E:\1033_ENU_LP\x64\setup\odbc\170\x64\msodbcsql.msi"
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: InstallPackage: MsiInstallProduct returned the result code 1602.
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: No retry-able MSI return code detected.
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper.Failed actionToExecute is 'Install_msodbcsql17_Cpu64_Action', stack trace at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.<>c__DisplayClass2_1.<ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper>b__0()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionHelper(ActionWorker workerDelegate)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper(WorkflowObject metaDb, ActionKey action, ActionMetadata actionMetadata, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.InvokeAction(WorkflowObject metabase, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.PendingActions.InvokeActions(WorkflowObject metaDb, TextWriter loggingStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionEngine.RunActionQueue()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.<>c__DisplayClass2_1.<ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper>b__0()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionHelper(ActionWorker workerDelegate)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper(WorkflowObject metaDb, ActionKey action, ActionMetadata actionMetadata, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.InvokeAction(WorkflowObject metabase, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.PendingActions.InvokeActions(WorkflowObject metaDb, TextWriter loggingStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionEngine.RunActionQueue()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.Workflow.RunWorkflow(WorkflowObject workflowObject, HandleInternalException exceptionHandler)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Infrastructure.Action.Execute(String actionId, TextWriter errorStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.<>c__DisplayClass2_1.<ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper>b__0()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionHelper(ActionWorker workerDelegate)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper(WorkflowObject metaDb, ActionKey action, ActionMetadata actionMetadata, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.InvokeAction(WorkflowObject metabase, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.PendingActions.InvokeActions(WorkflowObject metaDb, TextWriter loggingStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionEngine.RunActionQueue()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.Workflow.RunWorkflow(WorkflowObject workflowObject, HandleInternalException exceptionHandler)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Infrastructure.Action.Execute(String actionId, TextWriter errorStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.<>c__DisplayClass2_1.<ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper>b__0()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionHelper(ActionWorker workerDelegate)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionWithRetryHelper(WorkflowObject metaDb, ActionKey action, ActionMetadata actionMetadata, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.InvokeAction(WorkflowObject metabase, TextWriter statusStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.PendingActions.InvokeActions(WorkflowObject metaDb, TextWriter loggingStream)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionEngine.RunActionQueue()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.Workflow.RunWorkflow(WorkflowObject workflowObject, HandleInternalException exceptionHandler)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Setup.Setup.RunRequestedWorkflow()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Setup.Setup.Run(String[] args)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Setup.Setup.Start(String[] args)
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Setup.Setup.Main()
(01) 2025-06-03 19:32:09 Slp: Error: Action "Install_msodbcsql17_Cpu64_Action" failed during execution.
(

 

I've been testing Windows on Arm as well, and while Microsoft SQL Server isn't fully optimized for it yet, there are some workarounds. You can try running the x64 version via emulation, but performance might vary depending on your setup.

Curious to know -- are you trying this in Parallels or another virtualization tool? In my case, adjusting resource allocation (like CPU cores and RAM) helped a bit. Hopefully we'll get native support soon!