I'm not ready to say goodbye...

...or, Please help me squeeze a bit more life from this old beast!

Hello everyone!

Well, it seems like yesterday when I was asking for help with installing Windows 10 on this old laptop - and you folks did such a great job guiding me through that, I now find myself here at the Eleven Forums asking for help yet again. I know I have come to the right place, and I just want to say thank you in advance.

So, as you know, Windows 10 will be reaching EOL in October. This old laptop of mine fails spectacularly at many of the Windows 11 requirements (the old gal dates back to 2011-12, so she's an old-timer like me!) but she still runs well and I am not ready to retire her. And, truth be told, I just don't have the finances to buy a new computer. I know I could, theoretically, install Linux Mint - and while that might end up being the only option, I would prefer to continue on with Windows if at all possible.

Having read many of the threads in this topic, as well as in the tutorial section, I've learned that many of you folks have had success in installing and running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. I would like to try doing this as well, and so, I'm asking for your help.

Currently, my laptop dual boots Windows 7 and Windows 10. Both OS are on one SSD, both OS are legitimate/legally purchased and both are activated, with local accounts (no Microsoft pairings here!) My partition style is MBR - which appears to be inappropriate for Windows 11, but I am unsure whether my bios is UEFI capable, and I do not know where I would find that information. Having checked the Dell Canada website, I noticed that there was a BIOS update in 2020. Apparently, the last update I had was back in 2012....but I read somewhere that if everything was working correctly, then I should not worry about it...so I didn't.

I guess my first question would be - where do I begin this process?

Off the top of my head, I would think my very first step would be to do a Macrium backup/system image so that I'm covered if things go sideways.

From there, though, I am a bit confused:
- should I update my BIOS or not?
- I have a brand new, 240 Gb sata SSD that I would like to use for a clean install of Windows 11. I plan to remove the SSD that currently has Windows 7 and Windows 10 on it, and replace it with the new SSD. Do I need to install and activate Windows 10 on the new SSD first in order for Windows 11 to be legitimate? Right now, Windows 10 is activated with a digital license (no Microsoft account linked to it)...will this digital license carry over to Windows 11? Would it be best to do an upgrade first and make sure it's activated and then do a clean install? I believe this is what I did on my father's computer when I moved him over to Windows 10.

That's all I can think of right now - I'm sure I'll think of something in the middle of the night, but I'll come back in the morning with more questions, I'm sure.

Thanks again for helping me through this!

You need to set BIOS to UEFI mode and delete all partitions to install Windows 11 this will be clean install process you can use Rufus utility to create yourself bootable Windows 11 USB for unsupported hardware.

This video provides a comprehensive tutorial on how to install Windows 11 24H2 on hardware that does not meet the official system requirements.

Since the old laptop most probably does not support Windows 11 you won't be allowed to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. That is because the upgrade will fail because your computer hardware is not supported by the Windows 11 setup program.

To work around this people usually download and install Rufus

Rufus

Before you start you need to download the Windows 11 ISO: Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso (5.41 GB)

Download Windows 11

Download Windows 11

Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices
Select "Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices"
Select Language
English (United Stated) (or other)
Select Confirm
Select "Download Now"
Select 64-bit Downlod
Note download might take 1 hour or more

Click to expand...

Then you need an unused 8GB or larger flash drive. Insert it in your computer.

Run Rufus
Select the flash drive device
Select the Windows 11 ISO file
Select Start



The 1st option should be enough to install Windows 11 on an old computer.
The 2nd option will allow you to set up with a local account.
The 3rd options can be used to automatically create a local account with user name you select
Click OK
Wait for the Windows setup flash drive to be created



After you install Windows 11 with this flash drive Windows 11 should automatically activate with the existing Windows 10 digital license. If not then you might have to first activate it with a generic Windows 10 Key. Then it should activate with a digital license.

Note which generic key you need depends upon whether you have Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.

EDIT: I originally had a paragraph below stating that this processor may not support a set of instructions needed by Win 11 24H2+ without a BIOS update. That was an error. I have removed that paragraph. I was mixing up 2 instruction sets. This CPU DOES support the necessary instructions so at least as far as the CPU is concerned, it WILL support Windows 11.

A few words of advice:

Backup your drivers to make installation on Win 11 easy! Here is how...

Next, since this is an older system it's possible that getting all the drivers may be a bit of a pain. But, since you have Win 10 running on it, we should be able to export all the drivers and easily restore them back into Windows 11. To do this, follow these steps:

1) Make sure you are booted into Windows 10, not 7.

2) Open a command prompt and run these commands:

MD C:\Drivers_Backup
pnputil /export-driver * C:\Drivers_Backup

3) Once all the drivers have been exported, copy that C:\Drivers_Backup to a safe location - external HDD or SSD, thumb drive, whatever works for you so long as you keep it in a safe place where you can readily get to it.

That is all!

If you now get Win 11 running on the system, simply open Device Manager and at the top of the device tree right-click your computer name and choose the option to add drivers. Point to the exported drivers you saved and tell it to include subfolders. This should install ALL the system drivers in one shot for you.

Make a Backup!

Before undertaking such a task, it's always a good idea to make a fresh system image backup just in case things don't work out and you need to go back to your Win 7 / Win 10 setup.


Hope that this helps!

just an add on to all the good advice above.
please make a note of your current Windows 10 product key.

this way you can activate Windows 11 manually, if it is required.
best of luck, Steve ..

CheapOldBat said:

...or, Please help me squeeze a bit more life from this old beast!

Hello everyone!

Well, it seems like yesterday when I was asking for help with installing Windows 10 on this old laptop - and you folks did such a great job guiding me through that, I now find myself here at the Eleven Forums asking for help yet again. I know I have come to the right place, and I just want to say thank you in advance.

So, as you know, Windows 10 will be reaching EOL in October. This old laptop of mine fails spectacularly at many of the Windows 11 requirements (the old gal dates back to 2011-12, so she's an old-timer like me!) but she still runs well and I am not ready to retire her. And, truth be told, I just don't have the finances to buy a new computer. I know I could, theoretically, install Linux Mint - and while that might end up being the only option,

Click to expand...

Or Debian.

CheapOldBat said:

I would prefer to continue on with Windows if at all possible.

Having read many of the threads in this topic, as well as in the tutorial section, I've learned that many of you folks have had success in installing and running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. I would like to try doing this as well, and so, I'm asking for your help.

Currently, my laptop dual boots Windows 7 and Windows 10. Both OS are on one SSD, both OS are legitimate/legally purchased and both are activated, with local accounts (no Microsoft pairings here!) My partition style is MBR - which appears to be inappropriate for Windows 11, but I am unsure whether my bios is UEFI capable, and I do not know where I would find that information. Having checked the Dell Canada website, I noticed that there was a BIOS update in 2020. Apparently, the last update I had was back in 2012....but I read somewhere that if everything was working correctly, then I should not worry about it...so I didn't.

I guess my first question would be - where do I begin this process?

Off the top of my head, I would think my very first step would be to do a Macrium backup/system image so that I'm covered if things go sideways.

From there, though, I am a bit confused:
- should I update my BIOS or not?
- I have a brand new, 240 Gb sata SSD that I would like to use for a clean install of Windows 11. I plan to remove the SSD that currently has Windows 7 and Windows 10 on it, and replace it with the new SSD. Do I need to install and activate Windows 10 on the new SSD first in order for Windows 11 to be legitimate? Right now, Windows 10 is activated with a digital license (no Microsoft account linked to it)...will this digital license carry over to Windows 11? Would it be best to do an upgrade first and make sure it's activated and then do a clean install? I believe this is what I did on my father's computer when I moved him over to Windows 10.

That's all I can think of right now - I'm sure I'll think of something in the middle of the night, but I'll come back in the morning with more questions, I'm sure.

Thanks again for helping me through this!

Click to expand...

Yes, first update the BIOS.

Then you can use Ventoy to clean install Windows 11.

You just format a USB stick with Ventoy, and copy the .ISO files of all the Operating Systems you are interested in installing (like Windows 11, Debian, Linux Mint, Windows 10, etc.).

You just copy all the ISOs to Ventoy USB stick, and it will ask you which .ISO file you want to boot.

I think it's best to continue using Windows 10 on this device.
IMO

You can install 16GB RAM probably.

You can use 0patch for next 5 years and you will receive updates in client memory. It works like a charm. We use 0patch for our legacy servers and clients, no problems at all. Don't throw away still working computer because Micro$oft wants you to do that. This is waste of money, energy and not eco friendly.

0patch:


Kind regards.

The OP does not want to throw away the computer, he want's to install Windows 11. And for this process I also recommend using the Rufus.

If the OP is still using 7, why bother switch to 11? Just keep the 10 until he can get a new laptop with 11. He will have to let 7 go if he wants to upgrade to 11.

My 2 cents. Entirely too much info has been thrown at you about different methods. I suggest you stick with the method the majority of users installing on old hardware use...the Rufus method as described by @MisterEd in post 3. You do not need Ventoy or OPatch

First let's address licensing. You stated "Both OS are on one SSD, both OS are legitimate/legally purchased". Does that mean that you PURCHASED a retail license of Windows 10? If so , that is the key you would use when installing 11 and it will activate without issue.. OR does it mean that you activated Windows 10 based on the old Windows 7 license that came from the OEM? That be the case, since you use a local account ,this digital license is not stored in a MS account on the MS servers. Although a digital license is supposed to be tied to the hardware, there is a possibility a clean install will not activate since the license key is not associated with a Microsoft account. MS no longer accepts a Windows 7 license key when clean installing 11. I'm not saying 11 won't activate, just that MS is really tightening up on licensing requirements and it may not. We had a case just yesterday that is basically the same as yours.

To find out if your system supports UEFI, if you have a "secure boot" option in bios, it does support UEFI. .Secure boot does not have to be turned on. It just has to be present. Your CPU does support sse4.2 which is the only 'set in stone' requirement for 11. If your system supports UEFI continue on to following steps. If it DOES NOT support UEFI the method will be different.

Also while in bios, check if Intel Rapid Storage (IRST) is enabled. Look under system configuration (or similar) to find this. If disk mode is set to RAID, then it is. If your disk mode is AHCI, you do not use IRST. Bios are different so you may need to poke around until you find it. You will use these settings when you get to the second step 2 below

Preparation:

First update your bios.
1. Backup drivers as @hsehestedt suggested

2. Make a full system image. If whatever imaging app you use does not allow for mounting an image to retrieve your files, I suggest you manually copy and paste any important files you may have to a external drive.
EDIT: I see where you also have a storage drive installed. That's good so you won't need to backup your data. However, I strongly suggest you disconnect this drive during the install process.

3. Download official windows 11 from MS. Scroll down to "Download Windows 11 Disk Image" on this page Download Windows 11

4. Download Rufus. It is a standalone portable app. Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

5. Using Rufus Create install media as @MisterEd gave you in step #3. I suggest you also check that box for "Disable Bitlocker automatic device encryption". I also suggest you check the box to assign a user name for your local account so that you do not have to do so during install..

To Install 11:

1. Remove your dual boot drive and install new SSD. Also remove storage drive temporarily. (If the new drive is a name brand SSD It should come from the factory ready to install windows.)

2. Open bios. Change Boot options from LEGACY(MBR) to UEFI.
If boot mode is set to RAID or IRST change it to AHCI. (doing this prevents the need for having to install storage controller drivers during the install)
Be sure and save new bios settings.

3. Insert the Rufus created usb drive. To get into Dell boot menu hit F12 during the boot process when you see the splash screen. Select the usb drive. Use this tutorial to clean install 11 on unallocated space. The user account options will be set for you. If your drive is not recognized your bios disk mode setting is wrong.
Clean Install Windows 11

If anyone sees something I missed please advise me and I will correct this post.

.

Start at 1:15...

IMPORTANT: I see where you also have a storage drive installed. That's good so you won't need to backup your data. However, I strongly suggest you disconnect this drive during the install process. I added it to the above instructions.

Just me... but I'd start with a clone of the existing drive to a new SSD.

But I wear a belt and suspenders.

Corrected Step 2. I used wrong acronym for disk mode AHCI.
Sorry about the corrections but I wrote my above post very quickly.

It’s still a pretty good post.