Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on Sun Valley 2, the first major update to Windows 11 since its release in 2021, but users weren't sure if their PCs would be compatible.
According to Windows Latest (Opens in a new tab), there is a way to access the registry editor and check if your PC can be updated at 10:22pm when it becomes available (supposedly later this year).
Called Sun Valley 2 internally by the company, there has yet to be a clear indication of what the update will entail, but there have been announcements of tabs in File Explorer and other updates to the look and feel of Windows Media Player and Paint, for example.
We hope that these will be included in the main update, but of course it is of no use to you if your PC cannot update it. With that in mind, here's how you can check it out.
Registration check
The registry is the backbone of Windows and has been for decades. It is a series of values that will determine the configuration of each application and each aspect of the operating system.
Based on a certain value, the PC will follow this registry command. But due to its design, there is always a risk that the registry is incorrect, causing parts of your PC to show errors or simply not work as expected.
However, as far as this little guide is concerned, it's just about finding a registry value, without changing anything.
- On your Windows 11 PC, open the Windows Registry Editor by going to the Start menu > then type “regedit”.
- In Registry Editor, select the address bar at the top and delete it.
- Go to ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionAppCompatFlagsTargetVersionUpgradeExperienceIndicators
- Once there, open the NI22H2 record.
- If you double-tap this value, it should display "RedReason". If the value is NONE, your device is ready for the feature update.
- However, if this value indicates otherwise, your PC will not be eligible for 22H2.
While that won't give the reason why your PC won't be able to upgrade to 22H2, there are a few things you can quickly check and see if your eligibility changes. If you don't install the latest Windows updates or don't have enough storage space, you may not be eligible. So you just have to modify them to make your PC ready for 2H22.
If all this is in order, it could unfortunately be because your PC is too old to upgrade.
We don't yet know when this update will arrive, but with Microsoft aiming to release these big updates every year, we suspect it will be around November, to align with the original release of Windows 11 around that time in 2021. If you want to use the latest version of Windows at launch, you probably have until then to update your PC.
