Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware

spapakons · Apr 28, 2022

The only way to do that would be to check compatibility before installing each update. Even then we would manually download the updates from Microsoft Update Catalog or UPP and then do some hacking to bypass check before installing. Surely someone would discover a workaround. I like to think positive.

6391mb · Apr 28, 2022

spapakons said:
The only way to do that would be to check compatibility before installing each update. Even then we would manually download the updates from Microsoft Update Catalog or UPP and then do some hacking to bypass check before installing. Surely someone would discover a workaround. I like to think positive.

There will be a workaround published as some folks (fortunately) take tremendous pleasure at pushing back against what they see as 'bullying' tactics by a mega corporation.

spapakons · Apr 29, 2022

Keep up the good work! Nobody is going to tell me my computer is obsolete. As long as it meets my needs is not done yet.

junglee · Jun 2, 2022

junglee said:
Only the esoteric Microsoft experts may be understanding the nomenclature used by Microsoft for identifying their feature and quality updates but it is Greek and Latin to me. Today I got a small cumulative quality Update for Windows 11, version 22H2 Insider Preview (10.0.22581.100) (KB5013283) from them for those in Insider Beta channel, that installed smoothly. It has installed a few features that were supposed to be included in the earlier feature update but were missing. Everyone on the Beta/Dev channel must have got this quality update for their non compliant Desktops/Laptops.

About a week back I got the Windows 11 feature update Windows 11 Insider Preview 22621.1 (ni_release) on the insider Beta Strem in my non-compliant ASUS Lap[op. I tried installing it three or four times but every time the installation of the update failed. I gave up further installation and was thinking of reverting to Windows 10 at a suitable time as I did not want to hack the Registry.

In the meantime I noticed that I wasn't able to copy file into my Google Drive and after searching the Net that I may be able to do so by running the update troubleshooter or Cleanmgr or deleting files in SoftwareDistribution Folder or by doing a clean boot. So I performed all these tasks but did not succeed in copying files in Google Drive.

After that I thought of trying to install Windows 11 Insider Preview 22621.1 (ni_release) again before reverting back to Widows 10. On this attempt the installation of the feature update succeeded while I sat with my fingers crossed during the process. And now the files are also getting copied into the Google Drive.

This is for the information of those who may face a similar situation in the future.

shipinomore10 · Jun 2, 2022

I have an older HP AIO 23. Intel Core i3-6100t CPU@3.20Ghz X2 and this meets the minimum requirements. I did a clean install of windows 11 pro and it has been running for months. I am on release 2000.706 I have been getting all of the updates. I don't feel it is slow compared to windows 10.
Shipinomore

jimbo45 · Jun 2, 2022

junglee said:
About a week back I got the Windows 11 feature update Windows 11 Insider Preview 22621.1 (ni_release) on the insider Beta Strem in my non-compliant ASUS Lap[op. I tried installing it three or four times but every time the installation of the update failed. I gave up further installation and was thinking of reverting to Windows 10 at a suitable time as I did not want to hack the Registry.

In the meantime I noticed that I wasn't able to copy file into my Google Drive and after searching the Net that I may be able to do so by running the update troubleshooter or Cleanmgr or deleting files in SoftwareDistribution Folder or by doing a clean boot. So I performed all these tasks but did not succeed in copying files in Google Drive.

After that I thought of trying to install Windows 11 Insider Preview 22621.1 (ni_release) again before reverting back to Widows 10. On this attempt the installation of the feature update succeeded while I sat with my fingers crossed during the process. And now the files are also getting copied into the Google Drive.

This is for the information of those who may face a similar situation in the future.

One of the simplest ways and I've posted in this Forum is to create a W11 Virtual machine, image it and restore to a physical Windows machine. You will need the physical machine to have EFI boot though even if currently you might be able to get away with not using / having a TPM or using sec boot. In the VM you can get the W11 installed by using a Virtual disk with EFI, use sec boot, enable an "Emulated TPM device" and choose a "Virtual" CPU that will pass the windows11 eligibility test.

Once W11 is installed it will no longer check "Hardware eligibility". !!

I'm not sure though you can get over the EFI requirement at boot although you might be able to create your own bootloader like TIANOCORE - but now you are getting into really skilled mode which is probably well beyond the scope of what the OP is trying to do.

For Tianocore boot / bios :

What is TianoCore?

www.tianocore.org

Cheers
jimbo

shipinomore10 · Jun 2, 2022

Jimbo in the beginning I use to use the tool to check compatibility. It would meet all requirements except for the CPU.
this was because it was not in their list of acceptable processors. It worked and so I left it alone.
shipinomore

spapakons · Jun 2, 2022

It is not necessary to mess with virtual machines just to bypass compatibility. You either create a hybrid Windows 10/11 installation USB Flash drive or hack Registry by using the original Windows 11 ISO. The hybrid USB is created once and can be used to install Windows 11 on any computer. To install in Legacy BIOS mode (MBR) make sure you create it to boot into BIOS, rather than UEFI mode. For more details read previous posts in this thread or other similar.

junglee · Jun 3, 2022

jimbo45 said:
One of the simplest ways and I've posted in this Forum is to create a W11 Virtual machine, image it and restore to a physical Windows machine. You will need the physical machine to have EFI boot though even if currently you might be able to get away with not using / having a TPM or using sec boot. In the VM you can get the W11 installed by using a Virtual disk with EFI, use sec boot, enable an "Emulated TPM device" and choose a "Virtual" CPU that will pass the windows11 eligibility test.

Once W11 is installed it will no longer check "Hardware eligibility". !!

I'm not sure though you can get over the EFI requirement at boot although you might be able to create your own bootloader like TIANOCORE - but now you are getting into really skilled mode which is probably well beyond the scope of what the OP is trying to do.

For Tianocore boot / bios :

What is TianoCore?

www.tianocore.org

Cheers
jimbo

At https://geekflare.com/install-windows-11-on-unsupported-pcs/ there are three simple ways to install Windows 11 on non-compliant PCs. For the PCs that have just missed being included in the list of compliant PCs the first method is the easiest and best.

spapakons · Jun 3, 2022

The easiest method is to create a Windows 10 USB Flash drive installer and then replace the file sources\install.wim with the respective file from Windows 11 ISO. The same works if you have sources\install.esd instead. The resulting USB Flash drive is a hybrid Windows 10/11 USB that uses the Windows 10 Setup to install Windows 11 and if course there is no compatibility check. If you create it to boot in UEFI mode you can install Windows 11 on any recent computer without TPM 2.0 or supported CPU. If you create it to boot in Legacy BIOS (CSM) mode, then it can install Windows 11 on any computer with a 64-bit CPU capable of running Windows 8 and 10 64-bit.

Nobody · Jun 3, 2022

Using Rufus is still the easiest way of all. :)

Create bootable Windows 11 ISO without TPM, Secure Boot and RAM requirements.

ICIT2LOL · Jun 3, 2022

Well I think it is really quite good of Microsoft to allow 11 to be run on unsupported hardware and is such an easy way of seeing whether or not you like it so all credit to them.

junglee · Jun 4, 2022

spapakons said:
The easiest method is to create a Windows 10 USB Flash drive installer and then replace the file isources\nstall.wim with the respective file from Windows 11 ISO. The same works if you have sources\install.esd instead. The resulting USB Flash drive is a hybrid Windows 10/11 USB that uses the Windows 10 Setup to install Windows 11 and if course there is no compatibility check. If you create it to boot in UEFI mode you can install Windows 11 on any recent computer without TPM 2.0 or supported CPU. If you create it to boot in Legacy BIOS (CSM) mode, then it can install Windows 11 on any computer with a 64-bit CPU capable of running Windows 8 and 10 64-bit.

Please confirm that what you have written means that the file sources\install.wim in the Windows 10 USB Flash drive installer should be replaced by sources\install.esd and that will result in creating the hybrid Windows 10/11 USB?

spapakons · Jun 4, 2022

I have replaced install.wim with install.wim or install.esd with install.esd I am not sure if replacing install.wim with install.esd or vice versa works. Try it. You can convert esd to wim if needed.

junglee · Jun 4, 2022

spapakons said:
I have replaced install.wim with install.wim or install.esd with install.esd I am not sure if replacing install.wim with install.esd or vice versa works. Try it. You can convert esd to wim if needed.

Are you meaning that both these files are in the Windows 10 ISO that you had created and have replaced both these files with the files of same name from the Windows 11 ISO, otherwise replacing install.wim by install.wim makes no sense. Please explain clearly exactly what you have done to convert Windows 10 ISO to hybrid.

spapakons · Jun 4, 2022

Install.wim contains all the necessary files to install Windows. Install.esd is the same data at another format. One of the two is present in the sources folder. In the hybrid USB you replace Windows 10's install.wim with Windows 11's install.wim in order to install Windows 11 instead. The same if you have install.esd instead of install.wim

junglee · Jun 4, 2022

spapakons said:
Install.wim contains all the necessary files to install Windows. Install.esd is the same data at another format. One of the two is present in the sources folder. In the hybrid USB you replace Windows 10's install.wim with Windows 11's install.wim in order to install Windows 11 instead. The same if you have install.esd instead of install.wim

Understood. Thank you.