If there’s anything Microsoft is known for over the past few years, it’s its relative willingness to play ball for both legacy software and older systems. For that reason, it took everyone by surprise when Windows 11, the newest version of Windows, arrived with arbitrary minimum requirements, killing a lot of pre-2017 PCs down the upgrade path.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Nonetheless, there are still some ways by which you can bypass Microsoft’s check and properly install Windows 11 on your PC. In this post, we will tell you about some of them.
Is Your PC Really Unsupported?
Before proceeding further and trying any of the methods in this post, you would probably want to check if your PC is indeed not supported by Windows 11. Directly from Windows Update.
First, check the minimum requirements, and see if your PC meets them. Chances are that if it’s a semi-recent PC, you’ll get them all. If you don’t feel like visiting Microsoft’s website, we have it right here for you.
Your PC must also be running at least the 2004 version of Windows 10 before you can take the update. And if you have S-Mode enabled, you’ll need to exit S-Mode. You can also check whether your PC is compatible by downloading the WhyNotWin11 tool. It will tell you whether your PC is good or not, and if not, it will tell you what’s wrong.
If it says you’re good, you don’t need to do anything—just wait until the update automatically pops up on your computer. The rollout is currently underway, and it will continue for the next few months, so don’t worry if your PC is running Windows 10 for some reason.
If it isn’t, check if it’s something you can fix. For example, if it’s a TPM issue, you may need to enable the TPM and Secure Boot before your PC is actually shown as compatible. Be sure to check out How to Enable TPM and Secure Boot to learn how to do this.
Install windows 11 iso
Surprisingly, the most direct way to install Windows on your unsupported PC is to just install an ISO. It wasn’t initially supposed to happen, but after an online backlash, Microsoft decided to tone down its new policy, allowing everyone with a compatible PC to install Windows 11 at their own risk. However, this will require a bit more elbow grease than your average Windows install.
First of all, download Windows 11 ISO file. To do this, visit this page. Here, you are going to choose whether you want to download the Media Creation Tool or directly download the ISO file. Both of these options will work well, but if you’re going to put the installer on a boot drive/disc, the Media Creation Tool is probably a better choice.
Open the media creation tool, hit “Accept” after reading the license terms, and tap “Create installation media for another PC”. Hit Next, then select the language, edition, and architecture of the Windows 11 install. These will be as per your choice.
Afterward, just insert your flash drive (it should have at least 8GB), and let the tool download the installer to your drive.
Tweak the Registry to Prepare for Windows 11
Once you’ve fully configured and set up your Windows 11 installer, you can’t just install it. First, you’ll have to jump through a few hoops via Registry Editor to get the installer to actually work properly.
And just like that, the Windows 11 installer should no longer be complaining about the lack of TPM 2.0 or your unsupported CPU. Now you should reboot your PC for good measure.
After that you can start taking updates. Either open Setup directly from the flash drive, or reboot your PC, boot into your flash drive, and access the Windows Installer.
Should You Install Windows 11 on Your Old PC?
The answer is complex. Microsoft doesn’t exactly condone you using Windows 11 on your old system — there’s a reason the company mandates those minimum requirements.
In response to the overwhelming backlash generated by the fact that older systems are out of the game, at least in an official way, Microsoft stated that the biggest focus of Windows 11 is security and reliability, and that the company feels that only supporting newer ones is more important. Chips with modern security features are the way to go about it.
While you can install Windows 11 on your unsupported PC despite Microsoft’s advice, there are still a few things you need to know. One is that your PC may not be entitled to receive the update. According to Microsoft’s own word, people have received Windows Update on their unsupported Windows 11 machine, but there is a chance that your PC may not.
While a world without Microsoft shoving updates down your throat every five minutes might seem like you’re in for a good time, those pesky updates actually go a long way toward keeping your PC secure. .