Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware

Hazel123 · Jul 17, 2022

cereberus said:
It is impossible to install 64bit on this device as it used a special 32bit UEFI installation.

These devices used W8+Bing 32bit OS which was a precursor to the ability of W10 to be installed as a compressed OS.

The firmware is locked down to 32 bit UEFI which is unusual.

In simple terms W11 is impossible.

So any 32 bit only computer is impossible rather than inadequate.

Bree · Jul 17, 2022

Hazel123 said:
So any 32 bit only computer is impossible rather than inadequate.

There are a few small netbooks that, while they had a 64 bit processor, only had a 32 bit bios. It is not possible to install any 64 bit OS on such machines - and Windows 11 is 64 bit only.

The Lenovo 100s is another example of such a machine:

The 100S has an Intel Atom Z3735F processor - whilst this is actually a 64-bit processor it's not possible to install 64-bit Windows on this machine due to the firmware being restricted to 32-bit UEFI.

Lenovo 100s

spapakons · Jul 18, 2022

cereberus said:
It is impossible to install 64bit on this device as it used a special 32bit UEFI installation.

These devices used W8+Bing 32bit OS which was a precursor to the ability of W10 to be installed as a compressed OS.

The firmware is locked down to 32 bit UEFI which is unusual.

In simple terms W11 is impossible.

I will try to boot my UEFI Windows 11 USB directly. If it cannot, I am thinking to create a Windows 10 32-bit UEFI USB, so it can boot, but replace install.esd with install.wim from Windows 11 ISO to install Windows 11 64-bit instead. In theory this could work to install Windows 11, but I will have to find a way to fix the bootloader to boot into the system after the installation. I will let you know.

sgtaylor5 · Jul 19, 2022

I just got gifted an HP Pavilion 570-p017c (i5-7400) that had bad USB 3 ports. Saw that the processor socket is LGA1151, so I thought (like a dummy) that an 8th gen processor would work. Bought a cheap used motherboard without thinking while I was at the client's house. But the H270 chipset is 6th and 7th gen only. Still learning about the newer equipment. sigh. EDIT: and the motherboard is a custom size. The 8th gen and later HP systems have ports on the back and front of the motherboard, obviating the need for an extra front panel board. Can't be used in the gifted system.

Don't really want to spend the money on an 8th gen system, even used. What I have been gifted is faster than my existing Dell Optiplex 7010 (i3 3rd gen). All I'm using it for is a test system for work (I work for myself) that runs Windows natively, so I can recover disks and work with them safely. Am going to consolidate two SSD's down to one 1 TB NVMe Samsung drive and run docks externally.

I also need to learn Windows 11. The more I read about how historically Microsoft is tightening down the requirements, makes me wary of setting this up with Windows 11. It has TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and UEFI already.

Wynona · Jul 19, 2022

sgtaylor5 said:
I just got gifted an HP Pavilion 570-p017c (i5-7400) that had bad USB 3 ports. Saw that the processor socket is LGA1151, so I thought (like a dummy) that an 8th gen processor would work. Bought a cheap used motherboard without thinking while I was at the client's house. But the H270 chipset is 6th and 7th gen only. Still learning about the newer equipment. sigh. EDIT: and the motherboard is a custom size. The 8th gen and later HP systems have ports on the back and front of the motherboard, obviating the need for an extra front panel board. Can't be used in the gifted system.

Don't really want to spend the money on an 8th gen system, even used. What I have been gifted is faster than my existing Dell Optiplex 7010 (i3 3rd gen). All I'm using it for is a test system for work (I work for myself) that runs Windows natively, so I can recover disks and work with them safely. Am going to consolidate two SSD's down to one 1 TB NVMe Samsung drive and run docks externally.

I also need to learn Windows 11. The more I read about how historically Microsoft is tightening down the requirements, makes me wary of setting this up with Windows 11. It has TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and UEFI already.

You can always go back to Windows 10 if you don't like Windows 11.

sgtaylor5 · Jul 19, 2022

Wynona said:
You can always go back to Windows 10 if you don't like Windows 11.

It's not a matter of liking or not liking - it's a matter of "will Microsoft not permit me to do things like activate it or stop security updates / feature updates from being offered".

spapakons · Jul 20, 2022

For the time being you can install Windows 11 on any 64-bit system that is Windows 8/10 64-bit compatible if you bypass compatibility check. Using the official release all updates install without any issue.

Bree · Jul 20, 2022

sgtaylor5 said:
The more I read about how historically Microsoft is tightening down the requirements, makes me wary of setting this up with Windows 11.

spapakons said:
For the time being you can install Windows 11 on any 64-bit system that is Windows 8/10 64-bit compatible if you bypass compatibility check. Using the official release all updates install without any issue.

Looks like 'the time being' could be quite a long time. Microsoft now release new feature updates just once a year. The next feature update 22H2 is currently in the Insider Preview channel. I have installed and am using it on a couple of unsupported devices, no issues there either.

spapakons · Jul 20, 2022

I don't think Microsoft want's to reduce the number of devices running Windows 11. So they will probably let the workarounds as they are. Stopping unsupported computers from running Windows 11 would make some customers ditch Windows and install Linux or whatever. It would be losing many customers. If one is not running Windows he will not run Office and any other Microsoft product either. Very stupid move, if they do that.

sgtaylor5 · Jul 20, 2022

spapakons said:
I don't think Microsoft want's to reduce the number of devices running Windows 11. So they will probably let the workarounds as they are. Stopping unsupported computers from running Windows 11 would make some customers ditch Windows and install Linux or whatever. It would be losing many customers. If one is not running Windows he will not run Office and any other Microsoft product either. Very stupid move, if they do that.

I'm going to try upgrading when I get my replacement board. Old system is backup and I have a system backup

spapakons · Jul 20, 2022

Nothing bad will happen. Think it like upgrading from Windows 95 to 98. Different icons, same drivers, same applications, new features. So Windows 11 is practically Windows 10 with a new skin and new features. (Google for Windows 10X to see what I mean).

sgtaylor5 · Jul 20, 2022

spapakons said:
Nothing bad will happen. Think it like upgrading from Windows 95 to 98. Different icons, same drivers, same applications, new features. So Windows 11 is practically Windows 10 with a new skin and new features. (Google for Windows 10X to see what I mean).

I'm not at all worried about how it looks; Windows 11 is just 10 in different places. I just need to know where everything's moved to so I don't look like I don't know what I'm doing when I'm at a client's house.

spapakons · Jul 21, 2022

If you have seen Windows 11 before, nothing changed. The settings are the same as in first official release. The default is the light theme with the taskbar at the center. To have color on the taskbar change the light to custom and make Windows dark. Then choose the desired color and toggle the taskbar color on. To make the taskbar at the left go to Personalization, Taskbar settings, behaviour and change it from center to left. Right-click on the taskbar shows only Taskbar settings. To restore the full taskbar list with Task Manager etc install Explorer Patcher.

Wynona · Jul 21, 2022

sgtaylor5 said:
It's not a matter of liking or not liking - it's a matter of "will Microsoft not permit me to do things like activate it or stop security updates / feature updates from being offered".

Once Windows 10 or 11 has been installed on a computer, you can always reinstall on that computer.

spapakons · Jul 21, 2022

Sgtaylor5 meant that Microsoft might stop further updates on unsupported computers. I guess they don't even care.

Wynona · Jul 22, 2022

spapakons said:
Sgtaylor5 meant that Microsoft might stop further updates on unsupported computers. I guess they don't even care.

I may not have made it clear, but he can always reinstall Windows 10 on his computer. There are no excessive requirements for Windows 10 to run on any computer.

Again, once Windows 10 or 11 is installed and activated on a computer, Windows 10 can be reinstalled.

spapakons · Jul 22, 2022

IF Microsoft ever decide to block updates on unsupported computers, this means that you can always install Windows 11 v21H2 on these computers using current ISO and do ALL the available updates up to the date Microsoft blocks them. You would not be able to do further updates, but you can install Windows 11 and all previous updates. This would be the same as using Windows 7 or 8.1 or 10 past 2023. As long as your applications work, you shouldn't care. Just use an updated third party Antivirus for protection. I would care only if Windows 10 or 11 21H2 reach the point where nothing works, like Windows XP. This hopefully means we can use non-updated Windows 10 or 11 at least up to 2030. Cheer up!

Ghot · Jul 22, 2022

I tried installing Windows 11 on incompatible hardware... it didn't work.

spapakons · Jul 22, 2022

Ghot said:
I tried installing Windows 11 on incompatible hardware... it didn't work.

View attachment 34740

Which incompatible hardware? If you just boot with Windows 11 USB and attempt to install Windows 11 on an unsupported computer, you get an error that the computer doesn't meet the requirements. You must either boot with Windows 11 USB and change some keys in Registry before proceeding, or boot with a hybrid Windows 10/11 USB that bypass compatibility check. See previous posts in this thread for details. To upgrade from Windows 10 you have to run Windows 11 Setup offline from the ISO, not from Windows Update, and replace a specific file in cache before proceeding. I have seen cases that directly upgrade from Windows 10 wasn't possible due to some incompatibility (for example my 2nd system), but clean installation (format) was possible. Post more information to guide you.