Why can’t my computer run Windows 11?
I’m confused! I have an HP Q Spectre 360 convertible laptop with an Intel Core i7-8550u processor, running at 1.8GHZ. I also have an HP Envy all-in-one desktop PC. This has a 2.8GHZ Intel Core i77700t processor. Both are around four years old. The laptop has happily updated to Windows 11. However, Microsoft’s PC Health Check app tells me the desktop’s processor isn’t currently supported. Could you explain why this is, as both have a Core i7 processor – and the processor in the desktop is faster than the laptop! Frank Hays
A The reasons why Windows 11 refuses to install in any given PC tend to revolve around a handful of similar themes, but that doesn’t make them any less confusing.
Intuitively, it seems obvious that the faster of two Core i7 processors shouldn’t be a stumbling block when Windows 11 has happily installed on a PC that has a slower version of the same chip. But, really, they’re not the same. The numbers that follow the Core i7 part of the model name contain a multitude of information about the processor, which Intel explains at www. snipca.com/41534. Here, the problem is that your desktop’s processor is an older 7thgeneration chip, while the laptop has an 8th-generation processor. Running Windows 11 on a PC with Intel processors older than the 8th generation is not supported. Microsoft has attempted to explain why, at www. snipca.com/41535.
Microsoft won’t stop you from manually installing Windows 11 on your 7th-generation machine, and you can do that by downloading the ISO file from www.snipca.com/41536. Chances are that it’ll work just fine.
However, Microsoft might one day update Windows 11 in a way that makes it incompatible with unsupported processors – so proceed at your own risk.
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