Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware

spapakons · Mar 27, 2022

You only need to delete the file when upgrading an unsupported computer from one build to the next. No other update checks compatibility, so no hack necessary for regular updates.

junglee · Mar 27, 2022

junglee said:
I am on the Windows Insider Beta Stream. On my non-compliant Windows 11 ASUS Laptop, Microsoft today sent me the Windows 11 feature update version 22H2 (OS Build 22581.1) which was automatically downloaded. After the download I pressed the Install link and it got smoothly installed and is now working for a few hours without any trouble.

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.

JamieTech · Mar 27, 2022

spapakons said:
As I have said in an older post, upgrade through Windows Update is not allowed for unsupported machines. You have to download the Windows 11 ISO and run setup. At first screen, before doing anything else, delete the hidden file C:\$Windows\sources\appreserres.dll to bypass compatibility check. Then proceed as normal.

I used the Install Assistant and it got stuck at 97 so i turned off my PC for the night and them when i woke up, it was installing windows 11. I am now Downloading the Insider Beta thing

junglee · Mar 27, 2022

spapakons said:
As I have said in an older post, upgrade through Windows Update is not allowed for unsupported machines. You have to download the Windows 11 ISO and run setup. At first screen, before doing anything else, delete the hidden file C:\$Windows\sources\appreserres.dll to bypass compatibility check. Then proceed as normal.

I have Windows 11 installed on my unsupported and non compliant ASUS Laptop. To date neither have I tinkered with the Registry or deleted/modified any files nor have I used Windows 11 ISO for installing feature updates. All updates including two feature updates of Windows 11 have been sent by Microsoft like it sends for supported and compliant devices.

I have been watching this thread and reading the messages about Windows 11 ISO etc. and wondering why I have been saved the hassle and for how long.

mackie · Mar 27, 2022

junglee said:
I have Windows 11 installed on my unsupported and non compliant ASUS Laptop. To date neither have I tinkered with the Registry or deleted/modified any files nor have I used Windows 11 ISO for installing feature updates. All updates including two feature updates of Windows 11 have been sent by Microsoft like it sends for supported and compliant devices.

I have been watching this thread and reading the messages about Windows 11 ISO etc. and wondering why I have been saved the hassle and for how long.

I think this is getting to be a semantics thing between what's an ugrade and what's an update. I think that what spapakons was indicating is that on an unsupported/non-compliant device you cannot upgrade between versions, like going from Win 10 to Win 11, without the hacks mentioned. How did you go from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on your unsupported pc?

Once you are operating successfully, after upgrading from Win 10 to11, then the updates ( cumulative, security, feature, etc.) that follow for that version, Win 11, are handled normally through the Windows update service. That's how mine (also unsupported) has worked.

I had to use the hack to get from 10 to 11. Now that I'm in 11, the update service handles the updates.

Brian60077 · Mar 27, 2022

Just installed Windows 11 on my unsupported Lenovo T440s notebook, had to use the rufus tool to upgrade from windows 10 pro to Windows 11 pro, and when it was finished installing and operational, looked at windows update and there were 3 updates waiting which installed the same way Windows 10 always did. Windows 11 pro seems to work better and slightly faster it seems too. overall the install went very smoothly using the rufus tool.

Try3 · Mar 27, 2022

JamieTech said:
I tried that but it says "Your PC is not supported"

Jamie,

I could not find the post that you might have been responding to.

I upgraded a severely-below-spec computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11 using
Upgrading with the Windows 11 RTM ISO on a well-below spec computer [my post #266] - ElevenForum

Best of luck,
Denis

wombat_87au · Mar 27, 2022

The only thing Preventing My Computer from Running Windows 11 is the Wrong CPU

junglee · Mar 27, 2022

mackie said:
I think this is getting to be a semantics thing between what's an ugrade and what's an update. I think that what spapakons was indicating is that on an unsupported/non-compliant device you cannot upgrade between versions, like going from Win 10 to Win 11, without the hacks mentioned. How did you go from Windows 10 to Windows 11 on your unsupported pc?

Once you are operating successfully, after upgrading from Win 10 to11, then the updates ( cumulative, security, feature, etc.) that follow for that version, Win 11, are handled normally through the Windows update service. That's how mine (also unsupported) has worked.

I had to use the hack to get from 10 to 11. Now that I'm in 11, the update service handles the updates.

In Post #560 I have mentioned that Windows 11 was installed for the first time on my PC without Windows 11 ISO and without any hack. There is no semantics at all as I like most of us, know the difference between an update and an upgrade.

Nobody · Mar 28, 2022

wombat_87au said:
The only thing Preventing My Computer from Running Windows 11 is the Wrong CPU

If a clean installation is ok. You can do the installation with rufus. :)
Create bootable Windows 11 ISO without TPM, Secure Boot and RAM requirements.

After that, there is no need to do anything. All updates through windows update will come as normal. Unless Microsoft decides otherwise in the future.

Brian60077 · Mar 28, 2022

Nobody said:
If a clean installation is ok. You can do the installation with rufus. :)
Create bootable Windows 11 ISO without TPM, Secure Boot and RAM requirements.

After that, there is no need to do anything. All updates through windows update will come as normal. Unless Microsoft decides otherwise in the future.

I expected to have to do a clean install with rufus, but it didn't seem to start up properly, but it did allow me to do the in place upgrade on my Lenovo T440s and works as good as or possibly better than Windows 10 did.

spapakons · Mar 28, 2022

The Insider's Preview versions before the final release did not always check compatibility. I installed it on a Virtual machine without any hacking. But the official Release v21H2 does check compatibility, so it would not let me upgrade from Windows 10 or from Preview version. As for the optional v22H2 upgrade, this is not official yet, so it is considered a typical update and doesn't check compatibility. Make no mistake, the official v22H2 release in October 2022 most probably will check compatibility and need hacking to install on an unsupported computer. Even if you try to cheat by installing the optional upgrade, eventually you will be required to install the official release on top of that.

jbcarreon123 · Apr 12, 2022

spapakons said:
before the final release did not always check compatibility

Except for the Insider ISO clean install.

spapakons · Apr 13, 2022

I was referring to the last Insider's Preview version of September 2021, just before the v21H2 release of October. I clean installed it on a Virtual machine (legacy MBR installation) without any hacking. I tried to upgrade to the v21H2 release later, but it would not proceed unless I bypass compatibility check. Clean install of v21H2 also check compatibility. The only explanation is that the Insider's Preview ISO I downloaded was already hacked to bypass compatibility check, while the official v22H2 ISO from Microsoft Windows 11 download site does check compatibility.

erpster4 · Apr 25, 2022

saw this story on Softpedia news

Windows 11 Running on Late 2006 iMac Reignites System Requirements Controversy

spapakons · Apr 28, 2022

An iMac from 2006 has newer hardware than an Intel Pentium 4 6xx socket 775, 2GB RAM system I have installed Windows 11 on. No surprise there.

Microsoft claims old machines get more BSOD. Nope. Never saw a BSOD on any machine running Windows 11, unless you try to run a hard disk with Windows 11 from one computer to a totally different computer. Even then, 99% of the times Windows 11 will just update all drivers to adapt to the new hardware, you hardly see a BSOD. Don't believe any rumor you may read. Needless to remind you that in Windows 11 you have exactly the same level of security with Windows 10 64-bit with the same settings on the same hardware. Everything else is deliberately misleading, so never worry about security issues on 11 more that you would worry on 10.

Bree · Apr 28, 2022

spapakons said:
Microsoft claims old machines get more BSOD. Nope. Never saw a BSOD on any machine running Windows 11

Microsoft's precise claim is that unsupported devices have 52% more crashes. While that may be true, Microsoft have been a bit disingenuous in their use of statistics. First, lets look at the full statement from Microsoft:

Reliability: Devices that do not meet the minimum system requirements had 52% more kernel mode crashes.
Devices that do meet the minimum system requirements had a 99.8% crash free experience.

Let's analyse that a bit more. 0.2% of supported systems crashed. Unsupported systems had 52% more crashes, therefore 0.304% crashed. So to re-write the MS statement in terms that no longer compares apples with oranges it now reads as:

Reliability: Devices that do not meet the minimum system requirements had a 99.696% crash free experience.
Devices that do meet the minimum system requirements had a 99.8% crash free experience.

spapakons · Apr 28, 2022

"It is not John, it is Johnny", as we say in Greek for comparisons with negligible difference

Bree · Apr 28, 2022

spapakons said:
"It is not John, it is Johnny", as we say in Greek for comparisons with negligible difference

My experience is that supported devices have 100% more BSoD than unsupported devices. I base that on my four machines that have been running Win11 since the launch six months ago, two supported, two unsupported. In that time I have seen one BSoD, and that was on a supported device.

See, anyone can twist statistics.

We say "there are lies, dammed lies, and statistics".

Lies, damned lies, and statistics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

6391mb · Apr 28, 2022

Bree said:
My experience is that supported devices have 100% more BSoD than unsupported devices. I base that on my four machines that have been running Win11 since the launch six months ago, two supported, two unsupported. In that time I have seen one BSoD, and that was on a supported device.

See, anyone can twist statistics. We say "there are lies, dammed lies, and statistics".

Lies, damned lies, and statistics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My experience although I haven't used it a great deal of late, is my unsupported i7 is running fine - updating as it should.

Waiting for those 'threats' that at some stage in the future MS may find a way of stopping updates on unsupported rigs and/or kill them stone dead. But as time goes on I really cannot see MS being that interested. They did the bow to the hardware vendors and that's it.