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Most of our existing Windows computers were seriously offended when their Windows 10 installations told them that they were unsuitable for upgrades. Windows 11 requires several hardware elements that weren\u2019t included in computers until relatively recently, and an officially approved processor. <\/p>\n
Windows 11 would have those older machines disposed of and replaced with shinier toys.<\/p>\n
The hardware requirements of Windows 11 ostensibly make it a more secure environment. The degree of its enhanced security is somewhat theoretical, however. If you feel that you rather than Microsoft should be the final arbiter of your system security, you might take comfort in knowing that Windows\u2019 pronouncement on the worthiness of your current computer is far from absolute.<\/p>\n
You can sneak around its wall and install Windows 11 with relatively little work.<\/p>\n
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Newer and faster processors are a treat, but you can run Windows 11 on far more modest hardware. We\u2019ve been doing so for several years as of this writing \u2013 it\u2019s actually a bit quicker than Windows 10 in some regards. <\/p>\n
The timeless Dell desktop computer at the beginning of this posting was one of the recipients of Windows 11. Back in the day, it shipped with Windows 7.<\/p>\n
This posting will discuss installing Windows 11 where it might not officially want to be. As you might imagine, there are a few catches to doing this, to wit:<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> The following discussion involves making changes to the system settings and major changes to your computer\u2019s operating system. While the likelihood of all this going sideways and negatively impacting Windows\u2026 and your ability to use it\u2026 is remote, the possibility exists. By reading beyond this paragraph you agree that Alchemy Mindworks accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or expense caused by your use of this page and the information therein, however it occurs. If you read any further, you accept these terms and you indemnify and hold blameless Alchemy Mindworks and all its stockholders, employees and suppliers from any and all monetary costs including attorney\u2019s fees and court costs arising out of your use of this page and any information provided by it. We are unable to provide assistance with anything discussed in this posting.<\/p>\n Windows 11 wants to see some specific hardware resources to run Windows 11, these being Secure Boot, TPM and EUFI Boot. While we won\u2019t get into what these are up to just now, you should begin this adventure by finding out if they\u2019re available in your hardware. Restart your computer and access its BIOS screen \u2013 usually by holding down the F2 key while the system starts up. Make sure there are options available to enable Secure Boot and TPM, and a choice between Legacy and EUFI booting. Don\u2019t enable anything yet.<\/p>\n You can exit the BIOS screen and boot your computer normally.<\/p>\n To be sure what hardware Windows thinks your computer has, you should also get to a command prompt and run Msinfo32.exe<\/strong>. Make sure that the Secure Boot State option is present, and preferably, is on. It can be enabled in the aforementioned BIOS screen if it\u2019s available, but not active \u2013 we\u2019ll get back to some BIOS settings later in this posting.<\/p>\n Finally, run Tpm.msc<\/strong> to see if TPM is enabled. Once again, if it\u2019s not, you\u2019ll be able to light it up from your BIOS screen when we\u2019re done, assuming it\u2019s available.<\/p>\n In the event that your computer proves not to have Secure Boot and TPM options, read a little further in this posting for a procedure to get around these requirements.<\/p>\n In order to upgrade to Windows 11, you\u2019ll need to download the Windows 11 DVD-ROM<\/a> installer image, an ISO file, from Microsoft. Click on the foregoing link to get it.<\/p>\n The first step in upgrading to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware involves some registry editing. Get to a command prompt and type regedit<\/strong>. Windows\u2019 registry editor will open.<\/p>\n Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE<\/strong> and navigate to SYSTEM\\Setup\\MoSetup<\/strong>. If there is no entry for MoSetup<\/strong>, create one, like this:<\/p>\n You\u2019ll now need to add a new DWORD<\/strong> to SYSTEM\\Setup\\MoSetup. Select MoSetup<\/strong> and right-click anywhere near it. Select the menu item to create a new DWORD. Change the name of the new DWORD to AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU<\/strong>. Double-click on your new DWORD and change its value to 1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You can exit the registry editor and restart your computer.<\/p>\n Windows is now ready for an upgrade. Open File Explorer and navigate to where you downloaded the Windows 11 installation ISO file Double-click on the ISO to mount it in a virtual drive. Its contents will include setup.exe<\/strong>. Double-click on this item to begin the upgrade. You\u2019ll see a scary message about your hardware being unworthy and ill-regarded. Click on Accept.<\/p>\n The Windows 11 upgrade has options to keep your current applications, settings and files; keep your current settings only; or wipe your hard drive and install a completely pristine Windows 11 environment. The latter two choices will necessitate reinstalling a lot of files and software, and likely will not be where you want to go. Select the option to keep your applications, settings and files.<\/p>\n Once the Windows 11 upgrade gets started, you should arguably leave the room and make yourself a sandwich, pour some wine, find some nearby woods and go for a prolonged hike or otherwise prepare for a substantial wait. <\/p>\n When the Windows 11 upgrade is complete, you\u2019ll need to restart your computer and return to its BIOS screen as discussed earlier, probably by holding down F2 as it boots up. Switch from Legacy to EUFI booting, and enable Secure Boot and TPM. Save these changes and exit your BIOS screen to allow your computer to boot up Windows 11.<\/p>\n If everything worked, you should have a Windows 11 installation that looks more or less like Windows 10 did, with all your existing software installed and ready to rock.<\/p>\n Chances are you\u2019ll want to repair and refine a few minor issues. Also, be prepared for a Windows environment that\u2019s not quite as friendly as Windows 10 was, at least by default. We’ll get to these issues in a moment.<\/p>\n If you have a really old computer to upgrade to Windows 11 \u2013 one that lacks TPM and a Secure Boot boot option \u2013 you\u2019ll need to pursue a somewhat more elaborate installation process. Grab something solid.<\/p>\n Before you can install Windows 11 on a older computer, you\u2019ll need to persuade it to relent concerning its insistence on what Microsoft considers secure hardware. Having run regedit<\/b> to add a MoSetup<\/b> key, as discussed earlier, you\u2019ll want to leave regedit open and add a few more keys, as follows.<\/p>\n Navigate back to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\Setup<\/b>, right-click on Setup<\/b> and create a new key called LabConfig<\/b>. <\/p>\n Select LabConfig<\/b> and click in the right pane of regedit. Create a new DWORD and name it BypassTPMCheck<\/b>. Right-click on BypassTPMCheck<\/b> and modify its value to 1<\/b>.<\/p>\n Now repeat the foregoing paragraph, and create a new DWORD. Rename it BypassSecureBootCheck<\/b>. Modify its value to 1<\/b>.<\/p>\n You can close regedit.<\/p>\n As of this writing, the current major release of Windows 11 is 24H2. This build of Windows 11 uses a number of low-level processor instructions that weren\u2019t supported by the processors of computers long, long ago. If you install it on a sufficiently antiquated computer, the installation process will complete, and then display an error message to the effect that Windows 11\u2019s install failed at the \u201csafe_os phase.\u201d It will thereafter return your computer to whichever Windows installation was previously running. To the best of our understanding, there\u2019s no work-around for this issue.<\/p>\nBefore You Begin<\/h6>\n
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While our experience of upgrading unsupported hardware to Windows 11 was entirely unadventurous, we hasten to observe that doing so has the potential to trash your existing Windows 10 installation and leave your computer completely bricked. We\u2019d like to urge anyone reading this post to clone the hard drives to be upgraded<\/a> before doing anything else. Click on the foregoing link for a discussion of how this works. If the whole circus becomes pear-shaped, you\u2019ll be able to restore your pristine Windows 10 installation and try again.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t Look Back<\/h6>\n
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Ancient Times<\/h6>\n
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