Why can’t my computer run Windows 11?
Q
I read in Issue 623 that some readers have been able to download Windows 11 on PCS that don’t meet Microsoft’s stated requirements. How did they do it? My Surface Pro 5 (pictured) meets all the requirements except for the processor. Can I still download Windows 11? What might happen if I did? Anthony Snowdon
A
You must have missed the news that Microsoft itself has issued a workaround that lets users of some unsupported PCS upgrade. While it’s still not certain that any given set of unsupported specifications will be up to running Windows 11, the only real stumbling block for many is the requirement for TPM. However, with Microsoft’s workaround, Windows 11 will now run on PCS that use TPM 1.2, where previously it insisted on TPM 2.0.
Your computer has TPM 2.0, so there’s no problem there. All that’s preventing the upgrade is the processor, which is a 7th-generation model rather than the 8th-generation chips
Microsoft prefers.
At this point in Windows 11’s history, we’re pretty confident in saying that your Surface Pro 5 will run the latest version of the operating system – but you still proceed at your own risk.
With that clear, you can force Windows 10 to ignore the fact that your processor is supposedly inadequate by applying a registry hack. We explained how to do this in Issue 625 (page 62), in our feature examining whether you should upgrade when Micrisoft says you can’t.
To recap, press Windows key+r, type regedit and press Enter. Now use the left-hand pane to navigate to HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\SETUP\
Mosetup and then, in the right-hand pane, right-click the Allowupgrades Withunsupported TPMORCPU value and choose Modify. Now set the ‘Value data’ field to 1 and press OK (see screenshot left). Restart your PC and you’re all set for the upgrade.
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