Why can’t my computer run Windows 11?
QMy Windows 10 computer informs me it cannot update to Windows 11 because it needs to support Secure Boot. I followed the link on the displayed box to find out more about this, which took me to the Microsoft page at www.
snipca.com/41466. I then followed these instructions, trying all four options in the Boot tab of my computer’s BIOS.
However, I still get the same result. What am I doing wrong? Jack Gale
AJudging by the screenshot you sent, we can see that you’re looking in the wrong place. The option that needs to be enabled should be literally labelled Secure Boot, but it is almost certainly in the Security tab of your PC’S BIOS – not Boot.
But before you do that, check that your PC’S boot drive (C:) is configured to use what’s known as a globally unique partition table (or GPT, for short) – because this is required for Secure Boot. Press Windows key+x to open the Quick Link menu, then click Disk Management. Now right-click the boot drive (almost certainly labelled ‘Disk 0’) and choose Properties (see screenshot 1 ).
On the dialogue that appears, click the Volume tab and then look alongside the ‘Partition style’ label: if it says GPT here 2, you’re good to proceed as explained above.
Hopefully, there’ll be nothing more for you to do. However, if your PC’S boot drive is configured as MBR drive, then you’ll need to convert it to GPT. This is safe and won’t result in any data loss unless something goes wrong, but we recommend strongly backing up before proceeding. Now follow Microsoft’s guide to the conversion process, at www.snipca.com/41467.
Finally, return to your BIOS to enable Secure Boot and you should now be able to install Windows 11.
If you want to know why your computer can’t upgrade to Windows 11, ask us and we’ll explain in this box every issue