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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Most PCs constructed within the final 15 years can run Home windows 11, even when they fail compatibility checks.
- PCs bought with Home windows 10 can normally improve after a easy registry edit.
- On older or unusually configured PCs, a third-party utility will get the job performed.
On Oct. 14, 2025, Microsoft formally ended help for Home windows 10. Your previous PC will no longer receive security updates until you enroll it within the Extended Security Updates program.
When you attempt to improve to Windows 11 on a PC that is greater than 5 – 6 years previous, you may most likely encounter an error message telling you — in no unsure phrases — that your previous PC does not qualify as a result of its CPU is not on the official list of compatible processors. Additionally, you will hit roadblocks in case your PC does not have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) model 2.0, or if the TPM shouldn’t be enabled.
Additionally: How to get free Windows 10 security updates through October 2026
That may be the official coverage, however — as with all the things Home windows-related — it pays to learn the fantastic print.
These pesky restrictions forestall you from mechanically upgrading to Home windows 11 utilizing Home windows Replace or the Home windows 11 Set up Assistant. But, as hundreds of ZDNET readers have reported this year alone, there are documented workarounds for many PCs that had been initially constructed for Home windows 10.
Over the previous few years, Microsoft has performed a cat-and-mouse recreation with fanatics, including occasional pace bumps that make it harder to bypass these compatibility checks. There are strategies that assist you to bypass these restrictions on most trendy PCs, however some older gadgets, particularly these constructed utilizing AMD processors, may be out of luck. The directions on this article take all these developments into consideration.
Additionally: Can’t upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You have 1 week left – and 5 options
These directions additionally assume that you’ve got a PC with an x64 CPU (not ARM and never 32-bit), operating a retail or OEM version of Home windows 10 (House or Professional), and that you’re signed in as an administrator on the PC you wish to improve. You additionally want ample free area in your system drive. The official necessities specify that you simply want 64 GB of free area, however an improve ought to work with a minimal of 25-30 GB free. If you do not have that area free, you may have to uninstall apps or take away information to achieve the minimal.
Which choice do you have to select?
Please do not skip over this part.
This text describes two improve choices. To reap the benefits of the workaround described in choice 1 beneath, your pc should meet all the opposite necessities for Home windows 11.
- It have to be configured to start out up utilizing UEFI, not a legacy BIOS configuration.
- Safe Boot have to be supported, though it doesn’t must be enabled. (However critically, people, it is best to allow Safe Boot.)
- A TPM must be enabled; model 1.2 is OK, however a system with none TPM or with the TPM disabled will fail. Any PC that was initially designed for Home windows 10 ought to embrace a TPM 2.0.
To examine these particulars on a PC you are contemplating upgrading, run the System Data utility, Msinfo32.exe, and have a look at the System Abstract web page. Pay particular consideration to the BIOS Mode worth. If it says “Legacy,” you may have to reconfigure your system to UEFI mode (and convert your system disk from MBR to GPT partitioning) earlier than you’ll be able to set up Home windows 11 as a traditional improve.
To see whether or not your PC has a TPM enabled, run the Trusted Platform Module Administration instrument, Tpm.msc. In case your pc features a TPM and it is turned on, this app will show details about it. Underneath the TPM Producer Data heading, examine the specification model to substantiate that it’s 2.0. If there is no TPM, or if the TPM is disabled in firmware settings, you may see a message that claims “Appropriate TPM can’t be discovered.”
When you’re unable (or unwilling) to alter from Legacy BIOS to UEFI, or in case you have an older PC that does not have a TPM choice in any respect, you may want to make use of the second choice, which takes benefit of an undocumented hack that lets you bypass the compatibility checks and full the improve. Skip to the Choice 2 part of this publish for particulars on easy methods to use the free Rufus utility to carry out this improve.
Lastly, observe that Microsoft added a brand new set of restrictions starting with the Home windows 11 model 24H2 replace. These adjustments require a CPU that helps particular directions — SSE4.2 and PopCnt. Most PCs with Intel CPUs from 2009 or later will meet this customary. AMD CPUs from 2013 or later must also meet these necessities. However it’s not possible to improve to a supported model of Home windows 11 on a PC that was in-built 2008 or earlier. For particulars, see “Microsoft blocked your Windows 11 upgrade? This trusty tool can (probably) fix that.”
Additionally: Microsoft said these 400 readers couldn’t upgrade to Windows 11. They did it anyway
When you plan to carry out a clear set up of Home windows 11, you’ll be able to boot from set up media and run Home windows Setup. That choice skips the CPU compatibility examine utterly (however nonetheless requires a TPM and Safe Boot help). After the set up completes, you may have to reinstall all of your apps, restore your knowledge information, and tweak settings to personalize your system preferences.
Need to keep away from all that trouble? Select the choice that is acceptable on your {hardware}.
Choice 1: Use this straightforward registry edit
With this registry edit, you’ll be able to bypass CPU checks and settle for any TPM model. Please bear in mind that this selection requires that you simply run the Setup program from inside your present Home windows set up. You possibly can’t boot from a USB flash drive and improve to Home windows 11 this manner.
This course of requires 4 steps.
It is advisable make one small change to the Home windows registry. For greater than three years, this variation was documented at Microsoft’s help web site, however the firm eliminated these directions in December 2024. (Here is an archived version of that support article.) This modification tells the Home windows 11 Setup program to skip the examine for suitable CPUs and to permit set up on a PC with an older TPM (model 1.2). The same old warnings apply when working with the registry; I like to recommend you make a whole backup earlier than continuing.
Open Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to the next key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetupMoSetup
If the MoSetup key does not exist, you want to create it. Proper-click the node for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetup within the left-hand navigation pane, then select New > Key. Title it MoSetup and press Enter.
Additionally: Wiping your Windows laptop? Here’s the simplest way to erase all personal data
Choose the MoSetup key after which right-click in any empty area within the pane on the precise. Select the choice to create a brand new DWORD worth. (Do not select the QWORD choice!)
Exchange the default identify for that key by typing the textual content AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU after which press Enter. Then double-click the brand new worth and alter the “Worth knowledge” field to 1. The outcome ought to appear like this:
Use this registry tweak to override the Home windows 11 CPU compatibility examine. It’s essential to have a TPM (any model) and Safe Boot have to be enabled.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Examine for errors earlier than continuing — Home windows is frustratingly literal in regards to the contents of the registry, and for those who misspell the important thing or worth identify, or for those who create the required worth within the unsuitable location, your improve will fail. Click on OK to save lots of your change, after which restart your PC.
On the PC you wish to improve, go to the Home windows 11 Obtain web page (aka.ms/DownloadWindows11) and select the choice on the backside of the web page, “Obtain Home windows 11 Disk Picture (ISO) for x64 gadgets.” Save the ISO file in your Downloads folder.
Word that this can be a large file. Relying on the pace of your web connection, the obtain may take some time.
Additionally: Your complete Windows 11 upgrade guide: Everything to know – before you ditch Windows 10
For these operating Home windows with a non-U.S. language, you would possibly run into issues throughout the set up course of. The default obtain is English (United States) however you even have the choice to decide on English (Worldwide) when prompted for a product language. A number of readers with Home windows 10 PCs configured to make use of English (UK) have reported that selecting the unsuitable language ends in an improve that didn’t permit them to maintain put in apps and knowledge information. If that occurs to you, again out of the improve, obtain the opposite language choice, and take a look at once more.
After the obtain completes, open File Explorer and double-click the ISO file you downloaded within the earlier step. Doing so mounts the file as a digital DVD drive in its personal folder, with its personal drive letter.
When you’ve put in another file compression app like 7-Zip, you would possibly get an error message complaining that the file ‘Autorun.dll’ can’t be loaded. When you see that error, right-click the ISO file and select Open With > Home windows Explorer.
In File Explorer, discover the Setup.exe file within the digital drive you opened within the earlier step and double-click it to start the improve. You may see a dialog warning you in scary language about compatibility points and the likelihood that performing an improve will imply you aren’t entitled to future updates. You possibly can safely click on Settle for to maneuver previous this message and proceed the improve. (For particulars on what that warning message actually means, see “Is Microsoft really going to cut off security updates for your ‘unsupported’ Windows 11 PC?” Spoiler: They don’t seem to be going to chop off safety updates.) After you click on OK on that dialog field, your improve ought to proceed with none severe points.
Additionally: Why Windows 11 requires a TPM – and how to get around it
When you’re upgrading from the identical version (House or Professional), you may have three choices: You possibly can preserve your apps, settings, and information (Full Improve); preserve your knowledge information however begin recent with apps and settings (Hold Knowledge Solely); or begin utterly recent (Clear Set up).
One final piece of recommendation: Watch rigorously at first of Setup for an choice labeled “Change how setup downloads updates.” To extend your probabilities of a profitable improve, click on that hyperlink and select the “Not proper now” choice. That ought to permit Home windows Setup to complete quicker — you may have an opportunity to obtain these updates after the improve is full.
When you encounter any difficulties or if the improve fails, examine this text for detailed recommendation on what to do to seek out and repair the issue: Windows 11 upgrade failed? These are my 4 most powerful troubleshooting secrets
Choice 2: Use the free Rufus utility
On older PCs with out a TPM and on PCs that do not help Safe Boot and UEFI, you may want to make use of an undocumented hack to bypass the compatibility checker. It’s technically doable to do that manually by changing the Appraiserres.dll file (within the Sources subfolder on the Home windows 11 installer drive) with a zero-byte model after which making a collection of registry edits. However it’s easier to make use of the free, open-source Rufus utility to create set up media (on a USB flash) drive that features these tweaks mechanically.
To get began, obtain the latest version of Rufus. Variations sooner than 4.6 will not work, due to changes Microsoft made in October 2024 to its compatibility checking instruments. For particulars of how the newer variations work, see “Microsoft blocked your Windows 11 upgrade? This just-released tool can get the job done.”
As well as, bear in mind that utilizing Rufus won’t assist you to bypass the brand new restrictions on very previous PCs that had been launched with Home windows 11 model 24H2. You probably have a PC with a CPU that lacks help for SSE4.2 and PopCnt directions, not even Rufus may help. (After all, any PC that fails that check might be 15-20 years previous and deserves to be retired.)
Additionally: You can still upgrade old PCs to Windows 11, even if Microsoft says no: Readers prove it
To get began, you may have to obtain the Home windows 11 ISO from aka.ms/DownloadWindows11. Select the choice on the backside of the web page, “Obtain Home windows 11 Disk Picture (ISO) for x64 gadgets.” (Though Rufus gives an choice to obtain the ISO file, I like to recommend that you simply get it instantly from this official web page as a substitute.)
Save the ISO file within the Downloads folder of your Home windows system drive so you will discover it simply. You may additionally want a USB flash drive of not less than 16 GB in dimension. You’ll reformat this drive as a part of the method, so again up any knowledge on that drive first — and don’t retailer the Home windows 11 ISO right here!
- Obtain Rufus from the developer’s site or from the Microsoft Store and run the app.
- In Rufus, select your USB drive after which select the “Disk or ISO picture” choice.
- Click on the Choose button and select the Home windows 11 ISO you downloaded earlier (trace: it is in your Downloads folder). After you make that choice, affirm that the Partition Scheme and Goal System choices match the system you propose to improve. That is particularly essential for those who’re upgrading an previous system with a Legacy BIOS somewhat than UEFI. (For many PCs in-built 2015 or later, the default settings will likely be right.)
- Click on Begin.
- Within the Home windows Person Expertise dialog, choose the primary checkbox to take away {hardware} necessities, as proven within the screenshot beneath. (When you see an error message a few revoked UEFI bootloader, obtain a recent ISO file and begin over.) Modify every other settings as you favor.
- Click on OK to just accept these adjustments after which click on Begin to start creating the bootable set up drive.
You’ll want to select the highest checkbox right here to bypass the compatibility examine for the Home windows 11 improve.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
After Rufus efficiently creates your installer, open that USB drive in File Explorer, and double-click Setup. Don’t attempt to improve by booting from that USB drive and performing a clear set up; it will not work.
A number of readers have reported that Setup failed prematurely and displayed an error message (“An unsupported operation was tried”) when run from media created utilizing Home windows 11 model 24H2 and the newest model of Rufus. The repair? Watch rigorously at first of Setup for an choice labeled “Change how setup downloads updates.” Click on that hyperlink and select the “Not proper now” choice, as proven right here. That ought to permit setup to proceed with out interruption.
If Setup quits unexpectedly with an error message, attempt once more however select this selection insted.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
As is the case with the opposite choice, you may see a warning about compatibility points. It is a scare tactic. (For particulars on what the language in that warning message truly means, see “Is Microsoft really going to cut off security updates for your ‘unsupported’ Windows 11 PC?”) After you click on Settle for on that dialog field, your improve ought to proceed with none severe points.
Additionally: Consumer Reports slams Microsoft for Windows 10 mess, urges extension of free updates
My ZDNET colleague Lance Whitney has extra particulars on the opposite choices obtainable with Rufus in “How to install Windows 11 the way you want (and bypass Microsoft’s restrictions).”
Did your improve work?
When you’ve tried this improve, I wish to hear about your expertise. If it labored, please share the small print. When you run into snags, ship me an electronic mail so we will work out what is going on unsuitable.
You’ll want to embrace particulars — the make and mannequin of your PC and screenshots of any error messages. When you’re capable of create a report utilizing the SetupDiag utility, please embrace that as effectively — you may discover detailed directions in my Windows 11 upgrade troubleshooting guide. I’ve arrange a particular inbox only for this suggestions: Win11Upgrade [at] realworldwindows.com.
