Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware


Oh yes, I had SMB1 (is it?) file sharing enabled on W10 and that didn't carry over. Wondered why my USB drive in the router didn't work properly. Had to re-enable and let it grab the appropriate files.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a clean install of Windows 11 has the SMB 1.0 client enabled by default. It also had the auto-removal enabled, so if you don't use SMB1 it will disappear. I turned off the auto-removal (I need SMB1 to connect to a network drive shared by my router).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Sorry, that doesn't work. I have just tested that on my Toshiba L750 that got Win10 in the free upgrade back in 2015. (My System One on Ten Forums) Mounting the 22000.51 ISO and running Setup for an in-place upgrade says that this PC cannot run Windows 11.

Copying the install media from a 21H1 ISO with the install.wim from Win11 to an external HDD and running Setup from that says it can install Windows 11, keeping files and installed apps. I'm letting the in-place upgrade run to completion, currently at 16% complete.
So be it. All I have to do is clone my Windows 10 v21H1 USB Flash drive with all the drivers and other tools to another USB Flash drive and then replace Windows 10's install.esd with Windows 11's install.wim in sources folder to install Windows 11 to whatever computer I like without any compatibility checks. Bingo!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Don't confuse the requirements of the installer's system checks with those of the installed OS. The installer insists on secure boot, which is on UEFI systems only, so with UEFI you would naturally be installing with GPT. But the OS itself seems to be quite happy to run under Legacy BIOS with MBR partitions.

It's finding a way to install on non-compliant systems that's the problem, not actually running W11 once its installed.
I’m installing this hybrid on an hp laptop that has secure boot but no tpm at all. Tried everything to get 11 installed and it refused, so hope this works. If not, macrium to the rescue—-again!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    windows 10 & 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    iBuyPower (special build)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7X
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x370 Pro
    Memory
    64Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon RX 480 8Gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung UHD 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung 1 TB SSD each; 1 Samsung PCIe M.2 at 2 TB
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    IBuyPower
    CPU
    AMD 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    Asus x570 ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero WI-FI 6E ARGB
    Memory
    32 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    3D PREMIUM surround sound onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32 inch UHD curved monitor
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 pro 2 tb gen 4 NVMe ssd
    PSU
    850 watt consair RM850X
    Case
    Lian Li LANCOOL ONE tempered glass RGB gaming case
    Cooling
    DEEPCOOL GAMERSTORM RGB 240 mm CASTLE 240EX liquid cooler
    Mouse
    Ares m.2 gaming optical mouse
    Keyboard
    Ares m.2 gaming keyboard
    Internet Speed
    450
    Browser
    Firefox / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows defender
    Other Info
    With all this gaming rig I am not a gamer!
I replaced the appraiserres.dll file in the W11 sources folder with one from a W10 iso.
I have no TPM on my machine. Installed without a hitch after that.
this is by far the simplest way to upgrade to Windows 11. I would like to think that Microsoft will get rid of the barriers for those wishing to upgrade as there will always be workarounds
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
The old installer bait and switch: gotta love it. Stick Win11 install.wim into the win10 installation environment. And it works. I'm amazed. Thanks for sharing, everybody.
--Ed--
That's what allowed me to install Windows 11 on Dell XPS 8700 that has no TPM. Other than a few Windows 11 bugs, runs the same as Windows 10.
 

My Computer

Regarding the workaround of copying the Windows 11 install.wim file into the Windows 10 sources folder... I have also thought of another workaround, but didn't have the time to test it yet. I have read that Windows 11 won't check compatibility if you upgrade from Windows 10. So you either install Windows 10 first and then upgrade to 11, or boot with WinPE (such as Strelec or Windows 10 PESE) and run Windows 11 setup from the sources folder. This should bypass any checks and then you select advanced mode and choose to do a clean install on your target disk rather than an upgrade. I will confirm it as soon as I test it. If anyone else has already done it, post here.
Didn’t work for me
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    windows 10 & 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    iBuyPower (special build)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7X
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x370 Pro
    Memory
    64Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon RX 480 8Gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung UHD 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung 1 TB SSD each; 1 Samsung PCIe M.2 at 2 TB
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    IBuyPower
    CPU
    AMD 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    Asus x570 ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero WI-FI 6E ARGB
    Memory
    32 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    3D PREMIUM surround sound onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32 inch UHD curved monitor
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 pro 2 tb gen 4 NVMe ssd
    PSU
    850 watt consair RM850X
    Case
    Lian Li LANCOOL ONE tempered glass RGB gaming case
    Cooling
    DEEPCOOL GAMERSTORM RGB 240 mm CASTLE 240EX liquid cooler
    Mouse
    Ares m.2 gaming optical mouse
    Keyboard
    Ares m.2 gaming keyboard
    Internet Speed
    450
    Browser
    Firefox / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows defender
    Other Info
    With all this gaming rig I am not a gamer!
Just downloading the UUP.. then converting it to WIM...
1625188846808.png

I downloading it to an usb drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    EndeavourOS, Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom PC
    CPU
    Core i5 8400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B360M-HD3
    Memory
    8gb DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    some generic 1080p 75hz monitor * 2
    Screen Resolution
    1080p * 2
    Hard Drives
    GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 256GB (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD)
    Internet Speed
    200MBit/s
    Antivirus
    WD
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a clean install of Windows 11 has the SMB 1.0 client enabled by default. It also had the auto-removal enabled, so if you don't use SMB1 it will disappear. I turned off the auto-removal (I need SMB1 to connect to a network drive shared by my router).
installed Win 11 using the install.wim in place of install.esd. Install went ok but afterward many things didn't function well, there was no Windows security app. When I went to app listing and refreshed it, nothing happened and app listing froze up. So, I'm back on Windows 10 courtesy of Macrium Reflect!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    windows 10 & 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    iBuyPower (special build)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7X
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x370 Pro
    Memory
    64Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon RX 480 8Gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung UHD 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung 1 TB SSD each; 1 Samsung PCIe M.2 at 2 TB
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    IBuyPower
    CPU
    AMD 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    Asus x570 ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero WI-FI 6E ARGB
    Memory
    32 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    3D PREMIUM surround sound onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32 inch UHD curved monitor
    Screen Resolution
    UHD
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 pro 2 tb gen 4 NVMe ssd
    PSU
    850 watt consair RM850X
    Case
    Lian Li LANCOOL ONE tempered glass RGB gaming case
    Cooling
    DEEPCOOL GAMERSTORM RGB 240 mm CASTLE 240EX liquid cooler
    Mouse
    Ares m.2 gaming optical mouse
    Keyboard
    Ares m.2 gaming keyboard
    Internet Speed
    450
    Browser
    Firefox / Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows defender
    Other Info
    With all this gaming rig I am not a gamer!
I scheduled that I will update my PC with an Windows 10 11 with an modified ISO. I tested it first if it boots in an VM and it does.. now removing other OSes, not including my Windows 10 install and W10PE in my Ventoy multiboot USB, and adding the ISO on.

Well, to save space, I converted it into ESD, not ESDed ISO.
Now, I MacGyvered my Windows 10 ISO by extracting the files, adding the Windows 11 install.esd that UUPdump created, and used IMGBurn, tweaking some settings to make it bootable, creating the ISO, and walla. I have now an W11 ISO that I can use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    EndeavourOS, Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom PC
    CPU
    Core i5 8400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B360M-HD3
    Memory
    8gb DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    some generic 1080p 75hz monitor * 2
    Screen Resolution
    1080p * 2
    Hard Drives
    GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 256GB (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD)
    Internet Speed
    200MBit/s
    Antivirus
    WD
this is by far the simplest way to upgrade to Windows 11. I would like to think that Microsoft will get rid of the barriers for those wishing to upgrade as there will always be workarounds
CornishRattler said:
I replaced the appraiserres.dll file in the W11 sources folder with one from a W10 iso.
I have no TPM on my machine. Installed without a hitch after that.




i stand corrected it does work but not in all cases with the following failure
ScreenHunter 216.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Regarding of how to replace the Windows 10's install.esd (or install.wim) file with Windows 11's install.wim, mount the Windows 11 ISO (right-click, Open with -> Windows Explorer) and then browse to the sources folder. Click on install.wim to select it, right-click Copy and then paste is on your desktop. You can now unmount (eject) the Windows 11 ISO. Open your Windows 10 USB Flash drive (has to be same language and version, for example EN-US 64-bit). Browse to sources folder and find install.esd or install.wim file. Select it and delete it. Then copy the Windows 11 install.wim file from your desktop and paste it into the sources folder. Now try to boot from your USB Flash drive in Legacy (BIOS) mode. Windows Setup should start as when installing Windows 10, but install Windows 11 instead. It is that simple. I wish I had time to try it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
It is that simple. I wish I had time to try it.
I've tried it, both for a clean install and an in-place upgrade. It works fine. Only complication is if the install.wim is larger than the Fat32 4GB limit, but there are known ways round that, such as splitting up the install.wim.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
I've tried it, both for a clean install and an in-place upgrade. It works fine. Only complication is if the install.wim is larger than the Fat32 4GB limit, but there are known ways round that, such as splitting up the install.wim.

I'm on luck. I don't now use Rufus to flash ISO in my drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    EndeavourOS, Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom PC
    CPU
    Core i5 8400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B360M-HD3
    Memory
    8gb DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    some generic 1080p 75hz monitor * 2
    Screen Resolution
    1080p * 2
    Hard Drives
    GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 256GB (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD)
    Internet Speed
    200MBit/s
    Antivirus
    WD
I've tried it, both for a clean install and an in-place upgrade. It works fine. Only complication is if the install.wim is larger than the Fat32 4GB limit, but there are known ways round that, such as splitting up the install.wim.
Since I plan to install in Legacy (BIOS) Mode, the USB Flash drive will be formatted to NTFS without the 4GB limit.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Having satisfied myself that a clean install with hybrid W10+W11 install.wim media is successful on my lowest spec machine, the next obvious test is the in-place upgrade.

Working my way up the specs I have now tested upgrading three machines from W10 21H1 to Win11 22000.51 All machines were Legacy MBR, two with no TPM and one with TPM 1.2.

The good news is that they all upgraded to Win11, with all installed software (some of it very old) happy to run in W11.

The less good news is that the Windows Security app is broken, the only options being Home (which is completely empty) and Settings.

1625413078393.png

This would appear to be a bug in migrating the settings over from Win10 as Windows Security is fully functional in a clean install of 22000.51 using the same install media.

This has sometimes been reported in Win10 and the recommended cure is an in-place repair upgrade. Unfortunately that hits another problem, the same hybrid media that successfully upgraded to Win11, keeping all files and apps, now reports that all it can keep is 'Nothing'.

1625413742001.png

Hopefully these are early bugs that may be fixed in newer builds. If not, it limits using Win11 on incompatible hardware.

(no PCs were harmed in this experiment and all have been restored to their W10 Macrium images)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Having satisfied myself that a clean install with hybrid W10+W11 install.wim media is possible on my lowest spec machine, the next obvious test is the in-place upgrade.
Working my way up the specs I have now tested upgrading three machines from W10 21H1 to Win11 22000.51 All machines were Legacy MBR, two with no TPM and one with TPM 1.2.
I've now completed the test on all my machines. The last two had UEFI/secure boot, a GPT install and TPM. Only one had TPM 2.0, the other was TPM 1.2. Neither of them had a supported processor, being Intel i7 6th gen and 4th gen respectively. Running an in-place upgrade from the unmodified 22000.51 ISO said it could install Windows 11, keeping files and apps for both machines. I upgraded the 6th gen machine and everything was working perfectly, including the Windows Security app.

Seems the minimum requirements are not being enforced by the install media as tightly as MS have led us to believe, lets hope it stays that way for the release version.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Since Windows 11 Setup bypasses compatibility check when upgrading, we can run Setup from Windows 10 or WinPE (such as Strelec or Windows 10 PESE) but instead of upgrading do a clean installation. This should work, I will test it when I find some time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
I made my first attempt to install Windows 11 at an old Core 2 Duo laptop. I booted from Strelec WinPE and then tried to run Windows 11 Setup from the sources folder. I don't believe it failed to load because it couldn't find which language to use! Apparently Strelec is Russian changed to English and that caused confusion. Probably booting from Windows 10 PESE would work. My next attempt will be to boot from a Windows 10 USB Flash drive with the install.esd replaced with that of Windows 11. I hope my next post will describe my success step by step.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(226313296.32)23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SFG14-72
    CPU
    i7-155h
    Motherboard
    Coral_MTH
    Memory
    LPDDR5X 32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arc Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SamsungATNA40YK 11-0
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800
    Hard Drives
    1TB NVMe Gen 4 M.2 SSD
    Keyboard
    Generic
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11Home(26058.1400)24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Predator Triton PT516-51S
    CPU
    i7-11800H
    Motherboard
    Countryman_TLS
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NE160QDM-NY1
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Hard Drives
    WD PC SN810 512GB
    Browser
    Edge, Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Well, here is my own success story:

I used latest Windows 10 v21H1 EN-US 64-bit ISO and Windows 11 Insider's Preview EN-US 64-bit ISO. I created a bootable USB Flash drive with Rufus (MBR mode, NTFS) using the Windows 10 ISO. When done, I browsed to the sources folder and deleted Windows 10's install.esd file. I replaced it with Windows 11's install.esd file. I then booted in Legacy (BIOS) mode in my old Acer Extensa 5630EZ laptop on a spare SSD using this USB Flash drive. After all, there is no UEFI support, not TMP nothing that modern, so it is the perfect upsupported test platform to install Windows 11 to. Windows Setup started as it would for Windows 10, but it installed Windows 11 instead. I then installed the same drivers I would in Windows 10 64-bit. That's it! I'll post all the specs and screenshots from Windows 11 when installation is complete. To force creating a local account, I didn't connect to my WiFi and replied I do not have an internet connection and continue with limited settings.

Here I post some screenshots of my Windows Vista era test laptop. For more details see my specs.

Extensa System Properties Windows 11.PNG
Extensa Aida64 Computer Summary Windows 11.PNG
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4

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