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How to Install Windows 11 on PC With Unsupported Hardware

by Anchit Srivastava
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Want to run or upagrde to Windows 11 from Windows 10 but your PC isn’t officially supported? You’re not alone. Many users are looking for ways to bypass the hardware checks. Some PCs don’t meet Windows 11’s requirements. Others meet the requirements but still don’t show the upgrade option. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to install/upgrade Windows 11 on PCs with unsupported hardware.

How to Install Windows 11 on PC With Unsupported Hardware

What are the Windows 11 Hardware Requirements?

Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements, including:

  • RAM: 4 GB.
  • Storage: 64 GB or larger.
  • Processor: 1 GHz or faster with 2+ cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or SoC.
  • TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0(If not enabled, then have to enable it in BIOS settings).
  • Secure Boot: UEFI, Secure Boot capable.
  • Graphics: DirectX 12 compatible with WDDM 2.0 driver.
  • Display: 720p HD display greater than 9 inches.

These requirements exclude many older but still functional PCs. TPM 2.0 has been a major requirement many don’t have in their PC.

With Windows 10 support ending on October 14, 2025, many users want to upgrade to Windows 11 without buying new hardware. The current PCs might still run Windows 10 (read above linked article for support pricing plans), but they don’t meet the official Windows 11 requirements. Bypassing these checks allows installing and trying Windows 11 on your existing systems.

Note: We don’t recommend installing Windows 11 on an unsupported device nor it is supported by Microsoft. If you are a tinkerer and still want to proceed, here’s how to bypass the Windows 11 hardware requirements.

Using Rufus to Bypass Windows Hardware Requirements

Rufus is a free and open-source utility used to create bootable USB drives. It has been updated to include options specifically for bypassing Windows 11’s hardware checks.

Rufus modifies the Windows 11 installation files on the USB drive to disable checks for TPM, Secure Boot, RAM, and CPU compatibility during the installation process. This allows you to install Windows 11 on systems that don’t meet the hardware preresuisites.

How to use Rufus:

  1. Download the ISO file from Microsoft’s website.
  2. Download the latest version of Rufus (4.6 or later) from its official website.
  3. Use a USB drive with at least 8GB of free space (all data will be erased).
  4. Launch the Rufus application.
  5. Choose the correct USB drive from the Device dropdown.
  6. Click Select next to Boot selection to choose the Windows 11 ISO file.
  7. In the Image option, select Extended Windows 11 Installation (no TPM, no Secure Boot, no RAM).
  8. Click Start. Rufus will create the bootable USB drive.
  9. Restart your PC and boot from the USB drive
  10. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 11.

Here are some resources to help you get started with Windows 11:

Use Registry Editor to Bypass Windows Hardware Requirement

This method involves modifying the Windows Registry before starting the Windows 11 installation. When you add a specific value to the registry, you instruct the Windows 11 setup program to ignore checks for TPM and CPU compatibility. This method is most effective if your system has a TPM (even an older 1.2 version) or if only the CPU is preventing the upgrade.

It is most suitable for systems with older TPM versions or where CPU is not compatible. It won’t resolve issues for PCs lacking a TPM altogether or that fail to meet other system requirements.

How to perform the Registry Edit:

  1. Download the ISO file from Microsoft’s website.
  2. Double-click the ISO file to mount it as a virtual drive.
  3. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
  4. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup. If the MoSetup key doesn’t exist, right-click on Setup, select NewKey, and name it MoSetup.
  5. Right-click in the right pane, and select NewDWORD (32-bit) Value.
  6. Name the new value AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU.
  7. Double-click the newly created value and enter 1 in the Value data field. Click OK.
  8. Open the mounted ISO drive and run the setup.exe file to begin the Windows 11 installation.

Registry Editor (During Setup)

This method uses the Registry Editor during the Windows 11 setup process. By modifying the registry within the Windows Setup environment, you can bypass TPM and Secure Boot checks. This is useful if you already have a standard Windows 11 USB drive and can’t access Windows to perform the pre-installation registry edit.

Note: We recommend taking a backup of the Registry Editor before proceeding. If anything goes wrong, you can restore it to restore balance to your PC. These are system files and that can seriously alter how your computer functions.

How to modify the Registry Editor (During Setup):

  1. Insert the USB drive and boot your computer from it.
  2. Proceed through the initial setup screens until you reach the language selection screen.
  3. Press Shift + F10 to open a Command Prompt window.
  4. Type regedit and press Enter.
  5. In Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup.
  6. Right-click on Setup, select New Key and name it LabConfig.
  7. Right-click in the right pane of LabConfig, select New DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it BypassTPMCheck. Double-click it and set the Value data to 1.
  8. Repeat the previous step, but name the value BypassSecureBootCheck and set its Value data to 1.
  9. Close both windows.
  10. Continue with the Windows 11 installation process.

Bypassing Windows 11 requirements is possible, but it comes with risks. Consider upgrading your hardware for the best experience.

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