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If you’re upgrading a PC that’s more than a few years old to Windows 11, you’ll be told outright that your old PC isn’t eligible because its CPU isn’t on the official list of compatible processors. Microsoft has made it abundantly clear that these requirements will not be revised. You will also run into a failure if your PC does not have Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.
This may be the official policy, but as with all things Windows-related, it pays to read the fine print.
These annoying limitations prevent you from automatically upgrading to Windows 11 using Windows Update or the Windows 11 Installation Assistant. Still, there are fully supported workarounds, as described in ZDNET’s Windows 11 FAQ.
Also: Yes, you can upgrade your old PC to Windows 11 even if Microsoft says no. These readers proved it
Important note: To take advantage of the workaround described in option 1 below, your computer must meet all other Windows 11 requirements.
It must be configured to boot using UEFI instead of the traditional BIOS configuration. Secure Boot must be enabled. Additionally, TPM must be enabled. Version 1.2 is fine, but will fail on systems without a TPM or on systems where the TPM is disabled.
To find these details on a PC that you are considering upgrading, run the System Information utility Msinfo32.exe and check the System Summary page. Pay special attention to the BIOS mode value. If it says “Legacy,” you’ll need to reconfigure your system to UEFI mode (and convert your system disk from MBR to GPT partition) before installing Windows 11 as a regular upgrade.
To check if TPM is enabled on your PC, run the Trusted Platform Module Management tool Tpm.msc. If your computer has a TPM and it’s turned on, this app will show you information about it. If you don’t have a TPM, or if it’s disabled in your firmware settings, you’ll see a “No compatible TPM found” message.
If you can’t (or don’t want to) change from a legacy BIOS to UEFI, or if you have an older PC that doesn’t have any TPM options, you’ll need to use an undocumented hack to complete the upgrade. For more information on how to perform this upgrade using the free Rufus utility, see option 2 at the end of this post.
ALSO: Have a Windows 10 PC you can’t upgrade? Here are 5 options before support ends next year
If you want to perform a clean installation of Windows 11, you can boot from the installation media and run Windows Setup. This option completely skips CPU compatibility checking (but still requires TPM and Secure Boot support). Once the installation is complete, you will need to reinstall all apps, restore data files, and adjust settings to customize system preferences.
Want to avoid all that hassle? Follow these four steps.
Option 1: Use this simple registry edit to bypass CPU checks and accept the old TPM
One small change must be made to the Windows Registry as described in this Microsoft support document. This change instructs the Windows 11 Setup program to skip the compatible CPU check and allow installation on PCs with older TPMs (version 1.2). Of course, the usual caveats apply when working with the registry. We recommend creating a complete backup before proceeding.
Open Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup
If the MoSetup key does not exist, you must create it. Right-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup node in the left navigation pane and select (New) > (Key). Name it MoSetup and press Enter.
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Select the MoSetup key and right-click an empty space in the right pane. Select the option to create a new DWORD value. (Do not select the QWORD option.)
Type the text “AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU” to replace the default name for that key, and press Enter. Then double-click the new value and change the (Value data) box to 1. The result should look like this:
Use this registry tweak to override CPU and TPM compatibility checks in Windows 11.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Click (OK) to save your changes and restart your PC.
On the PC you want to upgrade, go to the Windows 11 download page (aka.ms/DownloadWindows11) and select the option (Download a Windows 11 disk image (ISO) for x64 devices) at the bottom of the page. Save the ISO file to your downloads folder.
Please note that this is a large file. Downloading may take some time depending on the speed of your internet connection.
Once the download is complete, open Explorer and double-click the ISO file. This will mount the file as a virtual DVD drive in its own folder.
Locate the Setup.exe file in File Explorer and double-click it to begin the upgrade. You will receive a strict warning about compatibility issues, but after you click OK in that dialog box, the upgrade will continue without any serious issues.
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There are three options. Keep your apps, settings, and files (full upgrade). Keep your data files, but start a new app and settings (keep data only). Or start completely new (clean install).
Option 2: Bypass the compatibility check completely using the free Rufus utility
Older PCs that don’t have a TPM or don’t support Secure Boot will need to use an undocumented hack to bypass the compatibility checker. To do this manually, replace the Appraiserres.dll file (in the Sources subfolder of your Windows 11 installer drive) with a zero-byte version. However, it is easier to create a USB drive containing this file using the free and open source Rufus utility.
Related article: Why Windows 11 needs a TPM – and how to avoid it
To get started, you’ll need to download the Windows 11 ISO and have a USB flash drive that’s at least 16 GB in size. You will be reformatting this drive as part of the process, so please back up the data on it first.
Download Rufus from the developer’s site or Microsoft Store and run the app. Select your USB drive and select the (disk or ISO image) option. Click the (Select) button, select the Windows 11 ISO you downloaded earlier, and click (Start). (Windows User Experience) dialog, select the first checkbox to remove the hardware requirement, as shown in the following screenshot. Click (OK) to start creating the drive.
Make sure to select the top checkbox here to bypass the Windows 11 upgrade compatibility check.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Once Rufus has successfully created the installer, open the USB drive in File Explorer and double-click (Setup).
ZDNET colleague Lance Whitney has a detailed look at other options available with Rufus in How to Install Windows 11 the Way You Want (And How to Get Around Microsoft’s Restrictions).
If you have tried this upgrade, please let us know what you think. If it works, please share the details. If you run into any problems, please email me. We’ll figure out what the problem is. Be sure to include details such as the make and model of your PC and a screenshot of any error messages. We’ve set up a special inbox just for this feedback: Win11Upgrade (realworldwindows.com).
This article was originally published on April 9, 2022 and has been updated multiple times since then. Last updated on September 29, 2024.
