If you're like most PC users, your current computer can't run Windows 11. Microsoft has drawn a line in the hardware arena to ensure that only modern machines with certain security-enhancing specifications can run Windows 11.
Kind of. The company offers a solution, which I'll talk about in a moment. The question is whether you should take advantage of this flaw to upgrade PCs (either yours or your users') to Windows 11.
First, if you want to find out if a computer can run Windows 11, you can use the PC Health Check app, Microsoft's diagnostic tool. But if your PC isn't compatible with Windows 11, Microsoft's app doesn't explain why. Instead, I recommend using the Windows 11 Requirements Checker from ByteJams.com or WhyNotWin11, available on Github. Both tools provide granular details on why a machine isn't running Windows 11. On my personal laptop at home, for example, the CPU can't support hardware for hypervisor-enforced code integrity, and Windows 11 doesn't like the screen either. graph.
But do you need to meet all of Microsoft's requirements to have a decent Windows 11 experience? What if a machine isn't that old but something protects it from Windows 11?
Windows 11 hardware lock bypass
As it has often done over the years, Microsoft has left some wiggle room in the Windows 11 hardware mandate, indicating that you can use the following registry key to bypass the hardware lock:
Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetupMoSetup
Name: AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
This technique comes with a warning from Microsoft that if you install Windows 11 on a PC that doesn't meet the minimum hardware requirements, "your PC will no longer be supported and you won't be eligible to receive updates." Damage to your PC due to incompatibility is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
Note, however, that Microsoft has not yet enforced its threats to stop these users from receiving updates. Personally, I think it's more of a performance caveat - if there's some kind of performance issue with some unsupported processors, I guess Microsoft won't work to fix the problem.
For personal computer systems, especially savvy end users who like to try new things and have good backups, and especially who have extra computers to fall back on, I have fewer concerns about using the workaround than Microsoft itself. have proportioned. He obviously closes his eyes and understands that we might want to play.
But do you really want to use this alternative solution in business?
For some businesses, I'd say you don't need some of those hardware mandates. The truth is that Microsoft added these security mandates more for its enterprise customers than for individuals or small businesses. Many of the key security features of Windows 11 are only supported if you have the proper license and Windows Enterprise, for example Credential Guard, of which Microsoft writes:
“Windows 11 uses virtualization and hardware-based security capabilities to help protect systems against credential theft attack techniques such as pass-the-hash or pass-the-ticket. It also helps prevent malware from accessing system secrets, even if the process is running with administrator privileges. Going forward, Credential Guard will be enabled by default for organizations using the Enterprise edition of Windows 11."For this reason, you need hardware virtualization support and TPM 2.0 chips to run Windows 11. But unless you buy Windows 11 Enterprise, you won't have support for implementing Credential Guard.
Staying on Windows 10 is a better option for many
That said, it may be premature to move your users to Windows 11 at this point anyway. Even businesses that are now buying computers capable of running Windows 11 might be better off using Windows 10 for many years to come.
For many of us who have a computer at home and a computer that we use at work, having a different operating system on the two machines can be confusing. The two things that trip me up between Windows 11 and Windows 10 are the centered Start menu and the taskbar. With the Windows 10 menu on the left side of the screen and the Windows 11 widgets now on the left, I find myself clicking on the widget menu when I want to shut down the Windows 11 computer. And the modified Windows taskbar 11 means I still stumble a bit finding cut, paste, and other tools.
If your computer is managed by Windows Update and eligible for Windows 11, it should already be available on your system. If you choose not to install Windows 11, it may be offered later. Remember that you can use registry keys or group policies, as well as Intune to keep machines on Windows 10 instead of upgrading to Windows 11. Commercial devices managed by Intune or WSUS will not be offered with Windows 11; an administrator must specifically approve the Windows 11 upgrade.
Lately I've been helping people buy new computers, often slightly older laptops that are good value for money. These PCs support running Windows 11, but for now I'm setting registry keys to keep systems running on Windows 10. I plan to help them migrate up to 11 when the time comes.
As for my own company, since many of my users still have Windows 10 at home, I choose to keep the company computers running Windows 10 for the time being. I find it easier for users to have similar computers at home and at work. Over time, we'll migrate to more and more machines running Windows 11, and then I'll decide if I'll use the fallback technique to install older systems on Windows 11.
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