In order to run extensions on Windows I created an installer for the Extension Manager, but it has some room for improvement:
- The stability hasn’t been great for everyone
- It doesn’t support the Docker based extensions, like the Meridian extension from Roon Labs, the CD Player, CD Ripper, etc.
It was always difficult for me to give support for the Windows installer because I did not have a Windows machine, but that now changed.
My new desktop PC came with a Windows license, so this was a good opportunity to search for alternative ways to run extensions. It turns out that you can run extensions by creating a DietPi virtual machine. This has the advantage that all extensions become available, also those that are Docker based.
I documented the steps that I took so that also others can give this a try. Move over to the CD Player/Ripper instructions and follow the VM Setup Instructions in the note of Step 1, followed by Step 2. This should give you a running Extension Manager. Optionally you can follow the other steps to also play and rip CDs.
Let me know how this works out!