Microsoft said these 400 readers couldn't upgrade to Windows 11. They did it anyway

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Hundreds of readers person completed upgrades utilizing ZDNET's help.
• In general, they study the upgrade is easy, with fewer issues.
• For those who had problems, determination were typically elemental fixes.

Microsoft's warnings astir the extremity of enactment for Windows 10 are becoming much strident arsenic the October deadline approaches. For anyone who owns a PC that's much than 5 years old, those messages travel with a prohibition that seems ironclad: "Sorry," the Windows installer shrugs. "You request to bargain a caller PC due to the fact that you can't upgrade this aged 1 to Windows 11."

I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that's the gist of the message. And you cognize what? It's simply not true. I person astir 400 firsthand reports from readers this twelvemonth unsocial that beryllium it. Those readers followed the instructions successful my article, "How to upgrade an 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 escaped options," and the overwhelming bulk were capable to implicit the upgrade without issues.

All of the respondents chose 1 of 2 options to upgrade:

• Option 1 is for PCs that were primitively designed for Windows 10 but whose CPUs are excessively aged to marque the compatibility cut. This method involves making a azygous registry edit and past moving the Windows 11 Setup program.
• Option 2 is for older PCs and for those that neglect the compatibility cheque for different reasons, specified arsenic not having Secure Boot enabled oregon lacking a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). This method uses the third-party Rufus inferior to make customized installation media.

At the extremity of that post, I encouraged readers to stock their acquisition via email. Here's what they had to say.

The upgrade is easy

They would similar you to cognize that the upgrade is easy, adjacent for those without a method background. The tiny fig who ran into issues were capable to resoluteness them reasonably quickly. Most of all, they're grateful to person saved hundreds oregon thousands of dollars that Microsoft insisted they should walk to regenerate perfectly functional hardware.

Some of the reports I received were brief; others were filled with adjuvant details astir hardware, drivers, and insignificant glitches. Here's a sampling of what those folks had to say:

• "THANK YOU for the concise, easy-to-follow steps. Like, I mean, OMG conscionable perfect."
• "Thanks for your instructions. They made the occupation easy. I americium not a machine adept oregon adjacent overmuch of a hobbyist, but I did bask upgrading this aged PC."
• "Your instructions were good written and casual to follow. Everything went 'as creaseless arsenic cream.' The download of Win11 Pro took astir 45 minutes to complete. There were nary issues astatine immoderate time. ... I americium rather blessed that I did not person to recycle oregon destruct my laptop."
• "The steps provided present worked flawlessly! I americium precise blessed I came crossed this nonfiction and person managed to salvage my 6 oregon 7 twelvemonth aged laptop (from 2018 oregon 2019) for astatine slightest a fewer much years."
• "Thank you truthful overmuch for your article! It has virtually saved my household hundreds if not thousands of dollars by not having to wantonness our older (but perfectly functional) laptops!"
• "People springiness maine their aged laptops. I refurbish them and past springiness them distant again, truthful with Windows 10 nearing its end, I've been updating rather a fewer to Windows 11 utilizing your regedit technique."

Most issues tin beryllium resolved quickly

A tiny percent of readers wrote successful asking for assistance, and immoderate had questions. In each but a fistful of cases, we were capable to resoluteness immoderate issues quickly, with thing much than basal troubleshooting.

The astir communal problem, by far, was besides the easiest 1 to troubleshoot. At slightest a twelve readers reported that they were incapable to implicit the upgrade utilizing the registry edit that bypasses the CPU compatibility check. The origin was an mistake they had made erstwhile creating the required registry edit -- a typo successful the value, choosing the incorrect worth type, oregon creating the required worth successful the incorrect subkey. As soon arsenic they corrected the typo oregon moved the cardinal to the close location, the upgrade proceeded normally.

Also: This escaped instrumentality installs Windows 11 connected unsupported PCs - without immoderate bloatware

A fewer readers reported that the upgrade ended prematurely with an unhelpful mistake connection that reported the installation had failed. In astir of these cases, the cure progressive downloading a caller transcript of the Windows 11 ISO, restarting the PC, and trying again.

A fewer readers saw a connection that said, "Your PC isn't supported yet." That indicated a "safeguard hold" imposed by Microsoft due to the fact that of a occupation with an app oregon instrumentality operator that was known to origin issues with the upgrade. Sometimes those issues are documented connected the Windows Release Health dashboard; different times, tracking down the contented progressive a trial-and-error approach, unplugging outer devices, and uninstalling apps.

Yes, you'll inactive get updates.

One question that came up repeatedly arsenic portion of those reports was immoderate saltation of "Will I inactive get updates?"

The abbreviated reply is yes, PCs upgraded utilizing these techniques volition inactive person information updates. Given that Microsoft encouraged galore of its endeavor customers to marque these upgrades, it's improbable that the institution would hazard abruptly shutting disconnected the update spigot.

Also: Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You person 5 options

So far, I've received aggregate reports from upgraders who confirmed that information updates were arriving arsenic expected each month. It's possible, particularly with older devices, that aboriginal diagnostic updates mightiness neglect to instal automatically. In those cases, an in-place upgrade utilizing the aforesaid techniques described present with the latest installation media should get the occupation done.

For a much elaborate treatment of this topic, see "Is Microsoft truly going to chopped disconnected information updates for your 'unsupported' Windows 11 PC?"

Why is Microsoft doing this?

The different question that came up repeatedly successful these reports is an overwhelming consciousness of confusion, mixed with a small spot of anger, implicit Microsoft's determination to enforce these compatibility checks.

"The full concern is simply a farce," said 1 scholar whose pricey Dell laptop had a CPU that missed the cutoff day by conscionable a fewer months.

Microsoft has ne'er done a satisfactory occupation of explaining the reasons down these compatibility requirements. Over the past 4 years the institution has cited information and reliability arsenic the main reasons, utilizing ambiguous connection similar this, which appeared successful an official blog station published soon aft Windows 11 was announced:

We request a minimum strategy request that enables america to accommodate bundle and hardware to support gait with people's expectations, needs and harness the existent worth and powerfulness of the PC to present the champion experiences, present and successful the future. ... Windows 11 raises the barroom for information by requiring hardware that tin alteration protections similar Windows Hello, Device Encryption, virtualization-based information (VBS), hypervisor-protected codification integrity (HVCI) and Secure Boot. The operation of these features has been shown to reduce malware by 60% on tested devices. To conscionable the principle, each Windows 11 supported CPUs person an embedded TPM, enactment unafraid boot, and enactment VBS and specific VBS capabilities.

While those vague statements are true, a much apt mentation for the strict CPU requirements is that each of the CPUs connected the older database were affected by the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities that were discovered successful 2018. Those flaws affected each CPU past disposable successful the PC market, and the hole required patching microcode successful a mode that typically had a large interaction connected performance. One starring information enactment said the lone surefire mode to debar these superior information flaws was to regenerate the affected hardware.

Microsoft has ne'er officially acknowledged the transportation betwixt that lawsuit and its CPU compatibility list, but the timing seems excessively adjacent to beryllium a coincidence. But we'll astir apt ne'er know.

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