Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware

spapakons · Nov 2, 2023

I confirm that updating 22H2 to the latest build 22621.2506 and then installing the 23H2 enablement package doesn't check compatibility so it can be done in any unsupported computer. Since no check is involved you don't have to disconnect from the internet, meaning you can upgrade any unsupported computer remotely without having to meet your far leaving relatives or friends in person.

Compatibility report: I downloaded the official Windows 11 23H2 ISO from Microsoft's site, disconnected from the internet and mounted it. It was virtual optical drive E: so I loaded Command Prompt (aka cmd) as Administrator (just in case) and then typed the following code:

Code:

E:
setup /product server

Sure enough I was offered to keep my data and applications and proceed with the upgrade without any compatibility check on my unsupported hybrid tablet/laptop Fujitsu Stylistic Q702 (Intel Core-i5 3437, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, Intel HD 4000 graphics). Of course I didn't proceed because it would be very time consuming and I didn't have enough free space for a "traditional" upgrade. So I installed the 32H2 enablement package instead. However my goal was to test if the single command method works and it does.

spapakons · Nov 2, 2023

I am currently upgrading my test laptop (see my first system specs) from 22H2 to 23H2. Since many updates were missing, I didn't want to waste time installing everything up to build 22621.2506, so I mounted the official Windows 11 23H2 ISO, disconnected from the internet and replaced the appraiserres.dll file to do a "traditional" upgrade and also confirm that this still works. Good news, it does still work and I am now leaving it through the night to complete. I will post again once finished.

spapakons · Nov 2, 2023

Success! My test laptop is successfully upgraded to Windows 11 23H2. Since some updates were missing it is currently in build 22631.2428 with a few glitches, but I will install all updates by including latest Explorer Patcher and Open Shell version and hopefully it will be OK.

Berton · Nov 2, 2023

I was given an HP Laptop 15-dy1071wm [from 2019] earlier this year for parts, came with Win10 Home and upgraded to Win11. It did have an issue that even a clean install of Win11 doesn't fix, get a red line across the top and the screen and flashing screens in Windows but not booted to a Linux LiveUSB drive. Strange part is if I hold down the On|Off button for 8 seconds then start again it will work all day without the issue. Runs Win11 just fine.

spapakons · Nov 2, 2023

Could the graphic glitch be due to overheating? Try blowing dust and replacing the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink. Linux is not affected because most likely it uses only standard VESA graphics modes while Windows switch to the native display resolution using proper graphics drivers. Native resolution is more resource demanding than standard VESA modes overheating the chip.

Berton · Nov 2, 2023

spapakons said:
Could the graphic glitch be due to overheating? Try blowing dust and replacing the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink

Had it apart, snugged up some screws, cleaned it, changed the power unit.

spapakons · Nov 2, 2023

I the native resolution (such as 1366x768) doesn't work properly, as a last resort I would try another resolution such as 1280x720. Of course I would first try a couple of drivers and some graphics settings.

starchase · Nov 2, 2023

Ghot said:
Philosophical question: Is there any truly "Incompatible hardware", with regards to Windows 11?

Meaning, hardware less than 15 years old.

Only, as you know but guests may not, 32-bit processors will not work, as I found out when I tried to install it on my Asus 1024c Eeepc Flare Series netbook. I think it was you that had success on another netbook, but my 32-bit Atom processor refused any suggestions I threw at it! :hot:

Berton · Nov 2, 2023

starchase said:
Only, as you know but guests may not, 32-bit processors will not work, as I found out when I tried to install it on my Asus 1024c Eeepc Flare Series netbook. I think it was you that had success on another netbook, but my 32-bit Atom processor refused any suggestions I threw at it!

Agreed, no 32-bit/x86 version of Win11. But Win11 x64/64-bit can run 32-bit/x86 programs that Win10 can run, hence the C:\Program Files (x86) folder on the drive. The MCT/Media Creation Tool for Win11 doesn't list x86.

Ghot · Nov 2, 2023

starchase said:
Only, as you know but guests may not, 32-bit processors will not work, as I found out when I tried to install it on my Asus 1024c Eeepc Flare Series netbook. I think it was you that had success on another netbook, but my 32-bit Atom processor refused any suggestions I threw at it!

The last 32 bit OS I ran was Windows XP. I know Win 11 is 64 bit only.

On a side note: I wouldn't touch a netbook with a ten foot pole.
Desktops... only.

Bree · Nov 2, 2023

Ghot said:
The last 32 bit OS I ran was Windows XP. I know Win 11 is 64 bit only.

On a side note: I wouldn't touch a netbook with a ten foot pole.
Desktops... only.

Oh I have a couple of 32-bit Windows 10 machines - and one of them is a netbook too!

Starcase's problem was not the cpu, that Atom is 64 bit. No, it was the bios that is 32-bit only. My netbook has an Atom and a 64-bit bios. When it's not running its 32-bit Windows 10 I take great pleasure in torturing it with Windows 11

Bree said:
I use this little old netbook as my 'miner's canary', if Windows 11 can install and run on this then it should work on anything.

antspants · Nov 2, 2023

Bree said:
When it's not running its 32-bit Windows 10 I take great pleasure in torturing it with Windows 11

lol

WAI · Nov 2, 2023

Could you imagine someone transform 11 to 32 BiT

spapakons · Nov 3, 2023

Bree said:
Oh I have a couple of 32-bit Windows 10 machines - and one of them is a netbook too!

Starcase's problem was not the cpu, that Atom is 64 bit. No, it was the bios that is 32-bit only. My netbook has an Atom and a 64-bit bios. When it's not running its 32-bit Windows 10 I take great pleasure in torturing it with Windows 11

I can relate. I have an HP Stream 7 tablet which has a 64-bit Intel Atom Z series CPU but the UEFI firmware (aka BIOS) is locked to UEFI 32-bit boot mode only. So I have successfully installed Windows 10 22H2 32-bit, but couldn't install Windows 11. It would be rather slow with only 1GB RAM, but I wanted to see if that is possible. I even cheated and created a Windows 10 32-bit USB flash drive and then replaced the file install.esd with the respective file from Windows 11 ISO. I did tricked it into installing Windows 11 using the 32-bit installer, but my joy was short-lived as it couldn't boot into Windows 11! Damn!

spapakons · Nov 3, 2023

Just to remind everyone, all methods work to install or upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 on unsupported computers.

The "traditional" method of replacing the appraiserres.dll file with a dummy works, confirmed on my test laptop (see 1st system specs). If you have created the USB with Rufus the replacement is not necessary as that file is already replaced with an empty dummy. Just stay disconnected from the internet to avoid any hidden compatibility check that would make the upgrade fail.

The new single command method that you execute setup.exe /product server also works. I confirmed it on my hybrid tablet/laptop Fujitsu Stylistic Q702, see my earlier post. Also make sure you are disconnected from the internet during the installation, just in case.

Finally installing all available updates in 22H2 up to build 22621.2506 and then install the 23H2 enablement package also works, I confirmed it on my main PC (2nd system specs) and my father's PC (Intel Pentium G based).

So I have you covered. Whatever method you want to go they all work. Of course the fastest is the last, using the 23H2 enablement package, provided you are not missing too many updates or it would take too much time to install them all before reaching build 22621.2506 If you miss too many updates or if you still have 21H2 your best bet is either the first method or the second.

Stigg · Nov 3, 2023

spapakons said:
Just to remind everyone, all methods work to install or upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 on unsupported computers.

The "traditional" method of replacing the appraiserres.dll file with a dummy works, confirmed on my test laptop (see 1st system specs). If you have created the USB with Rufus the replacement is not necessary as that file is already replaced with an empty dummy. Just stay disconnected from the internet to avoid any hidden compatibility check that would make the upgrade fail.

The new single command method that you execute setup.exe /product server also works. I confirmed it on my hybrid tablet/laptop Fujitsu Stylistic Q702, see my earlier post. Also make sure you are disconnected from the internet during the installation, just in case.

Finally installing all available updates in 22H2 up to build 22621.2506 and then install the 23H2 enablement package also works, I confirmed it on my main PC (2nd system specs) and my father's PC (Intel Pentium G based).

So I have you covered. Whatever method you want to go they all work. Of course the fastest is the last, using the 23H2 enablement package, provided you are not missing too many updates or it would take too much time to install them all before reaching build 22621.2506 If you miss too many updates or if you still have 21H2 your best bet is either the first method or the second.

Thanks for the confirmation.
I could be wrong, but I'm sure I saw someone mention that the setup.exe /product server method wasn't working anymore.
I'm struggling to keep up.

spapakons · Nov 3, 2023

That's why I tested all the methods, I wanted to confirm first hand that they do work. I will also test the respective methods for a clean installation, such as manually modifying the Registry, using a script to do it or using a USB flash drive created with Rufus. Also I will upgrade my hybrid Windows 10/11 USB flash drive by replacing the install.wim file with the respective file from the 23H2 ISO. Booting with this I use the Windows 10 Setup to install Windows 11 without any compatibility check. The USB flash drive also contains some drivers and utilities such as Adobe Reader, VLC, Google Chrome to save me the trouble downloading everything again.

Stigg · Nov 3, 2023

spapakons said:
That's why I tested all the methods, I wanted to confirm first hand that they do work. I will also test the respective methods for a clean installation, such as manually modifying the Registry, using a script to do it or using a USB flash drive created with Rufus. Also I will upgrade my hybrid Windows 10/11 USB flash drive by replacing the install.wim file with the respective file from the 23H2 ISO. Booting with this I use the Windows 10 Setup to install Windows 11 without any compatibility check. The USB flash drive also contains some drivers and utilities such as Adobe Reader, VLC, Google Chrome to save me the trouble downloading everything again.

Thanks for sharing that information, spapakons.
I don't think I'm the only one getting confused by the latest updates.
Compatible or incompatible hardware, the latest updates have been confusing.

spapakons · Nov 3, 2023

All normal updates are installed on both compliant and unsupported computers since there is no compatibility check. Only upgrades to a newer version, such as the 23H2 enablement package, are not listed on the updates in unsupported computers. However we can still download the ISO and bypass compatibility check to upgrade to the new version. In 23H2 case we can download the enablement package, install it and that's it. It doesn't check compatibility so there is no need for any hacks plus it can also be applied to a remote computer since there is no need to disconnect from the internet. The latter is a bonus for us with far leaving relatives and friends. We don't need to visit them and waste a day from our valuable weekend. We just do the upgrade to 23H2 via AnyDesk or TeamViewer from the comfort of our sweet home.

mccnavy · Nov 3, 2023

Created a new 23H2 install USB with Rufus and had the disable RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM checked.. Does this apply to CPU check as well? This machine meets those requirements...the only hardware requirement it didn't meet was CPU. If not, what is the best program to use to create a bootable install USB that doesn't check for anything?