I decided to upgrade to Windows 11 and downloaded Win11_English_x64v1.iso from the official link, tried to install the OS via setup.exe, and here is what happened:
This PC doesn't currently meet Windows 11 system requirements
Here's why:
- The processor isn't supported for this version of Windows.
- The PC must support TPM 2.0
- The PC must support Secure Boot
Hardware compositions of the computer I am using:
| Component | Model |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4430 @ 3.00GHz |
| RAM | Kingston 16 GiB DDR3 1600 MHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1050 Ti |
| Mainboard | BIOSTAR H81MHV3 |
| Storage | multiple devices 5587.94 GiB |
I checked the official list of supported CPUs and my CPU is not listed.
TPM 2.0 stands for Trusted Platform Module 2.0 and according to this, my motherboard doesn't have it.
Double checked with device manager, there is no "Security Devices":
msinfo32.exe says Secure Boot is unsupported
But here is the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11 according to official Microsoft specifications:
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Processor | 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC). |
| RAM | 4 gigabyte (GB). |
| Storage | 64 GB or larger storage device Note: See below under “More information on storage space to keep Windows 11 up-to-date” for more details. |
| System firmware | UEFI, Secure Boot capable. Check here for information on how your PC might be able to meet this requirement. |
| TPM | Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0. Check here for instructions on how your PC might be enabled to meet this requirement. |
| Graphics card | Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver. |
| Display | High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per color channel. |
My monitor's resolution is 1920x1080.
According to the minimum requirements, all the hardware components exceed the minimum performance requirements by far, but my hardware is listed as unsupported...
TPM is mostly useless, it is related to Windows Defender and Smart Screen and other bloatware, I have disabled Windows Defender and Smart Screen and other crap that were designed to make your computer "more secure" a long time ago, and all this time without using any and all anti-virus software, for several years, and my computer is fine.
My motherboard does support UEFI and Secure Boot, but enabling them introduces all sorts of problems when setting dual boot with Fedora 34 using EasyBCD, so I disabled them, and I don't want to enable them.
Now obviously I can't install Windows 11 via the installer without tweaking the system.
I am very literate in computers and very experienced in Python and PowerShell, and I have multiple disks, so I can install it using DISM
According to this:
PS C:\Windows\System32> dism /get-imageinfo /imagefile:I:\sources\install.wim
Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.19041.844
Details for image : I:\sources\install.wim
Index : 1
Name : Windows 11 Home
Description : Windows 11 Home
Size : 15,918,540,541 bytes
Index : 2
Name : Windows 11 Home N
Description : Windows 11 Home N
Size : 15,229,765,223 bytes
Index : 3
Name : Windows 11 Home Single Language
Description : Windows 11 Home Single Language
Size : 15,921,439,394 bytes
Index : 4
Name : Windows 11 Education
Description : Windows 11 Education
Size : 16,201,186,274 bytes
Index : 5
Name : Windows 11 Education N
Description : Windows 11 Education N
Size : 15,500,722,223 bytes
Index : 6
Name : Windows 11 Pro
Description : Windows 11 Pro
Size : 16,198,033,078 bytes
Index : 7
Name : Windows 11 Pro N
Description : Windows 11 Pro N
Size : 15,515,196,102 bytes
Index : 8
Name : Windows 11 Pro Education
Description : Windows 11 Pro Education
Size : 16,201,137,484 bytes
Index : 9
Name : Windows 11 Pro Education N
Description : Windows 11 Pro Education N
Size : 15,500,672,533 bytes
Index : 10
Name : Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
Description : Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
Size : 16,201,161,879 bytes
Index : 11
Name : Windows 11 Pro N for Workstations
Description : Windows 11 Pro N for Workstations
Size : 15,500,697,378 bytes
The operation completed successfully.
I want Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, so all I need to do is:
Dism /apply-image /imagefile:I:\Sources\install.wim /index:10 /ApplyDir:F:\
BCDboot F:\Windows /s F: /f ALL
But I haven't run it yet, because the only SSD in the computer is the boot drive of the current OS I am using, and installing the OS to HDD means long boot time, so in order to have short boot time I have to wipe the current boot disk and reinstall all the software I am using...
But according to this, I can use the following tweaks to allow Windows 11 to be installed via setup.exe:
New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig" -Name "BypassTPMCheck" -Type "DWord" -Value 0x00000001
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig" -Name "BypassRAMCheck" -Type "DWord" -Value 0x00000001
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig" -Name "BypassSecureBootCheck" -Type "DWord" -Value 0x00000001
But I haven't tested it yet, because if any problems occurs, I have to do a clean install again... Like the fiftieth time...
So before I proceed I need to know exactly what issues I should expect if I install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, and if installing Windows 11 on this computer is a stupid idea.
I have seen the official disclaimer, but they don't actually spell out what issues might arise, they only state that your computer will no longer receive updates.
I am not like most users, I am extremely tech-savvy and very competent in programming, but I have never done this before so I want to know what I should expect.
None of the reinstalls were due to viruses and the like, they were because of corrupted user profiles caused by blackouts which happens rather frequently in my locale, and I don't use BitLocker, Windows Hello and biometrics and all other fancy security features, I hate them and disabled all of them.
