Download and install windows 11 on unsupported PC: Step-by-step guide

One major downside of windows 11 is that you can’t officially install it on older PCs. However, there are tricks that you can use to install on devices that don’t meet the minimum system requirements. In the following paragraphs, I will download Windows 11 ISO file and use a built-in workaround to install it on an unsupported CPU.

Your device must have at least 4GB RAM, 1 GHz processors, 64-bit CPU, TPM, 64 GB storage, and Secure boot capability To install windows 11.

If you try installing Windows 11 on unsupported PCs, you get the below message, notifying you that the PC does not currently meet Windows 11 system requirements.

Before upgrading to windows 11, download the PC Health Check app on your device and check your device compatibilities with windows 11. If your PC qualifies for windows 11, you can upgrade your windows using one of the three methods I have written about already. Check this article: How to upgrade to windows 11 for free?

 On the other hand, if your computer does not meet the windows 11 requirements, stay with me till the end of this article; I will use the Registry to bypass those requirements and install the new version of the operating system on my unsupported laptop.

Note: If you install windows 11 on unsupported hardware, the risk is on your own; Microsoft does not support and guarantee system stability.

First Step: download Windows 11 ISO file for free

To install Windows 11 on an unsupported device, first, download the Windows 11 ISO file. To download, either follow the below steps or check the How to download Windows 11 ISO file (All editions) article.

1. To download the ISO file of Windows 11, head to the Microsoft Websites
2. Scroll down and find the Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) option.
3. Select Windows 11 (Multi-edition ISO) from the drop-down menu and click on the Download button.

4. Choose the language and click on the Confirm button.

5. Click on the 64-bit Download button. The Windows 11 ISO file is about 5 Gigabytes files.

After the ISO file is downloaded, use the installation media or third-party software such as Rufus to create a bootable USB or DVD.

Second Step: Install Windows 11 on an Unsupported CPU using a bootable media

Now you have a Windows 11 bootable USB ready on your hand, boot your computer and start installing Windows 11 on ineligible hardware. To do that, follow the steps below one by one.

1. If your computer is on, insert the installation disk and restart your computer.
2. Press the F12 key (It works for Dell Company) if your computer is DELL. Each PC has a special boot override menu button. You can find this button when your computer starts or search for the key on your computer’s manufacturer’s website.
3. Select the USB/DVD from the BIOS window.
4. Select your computer’s language from the Windows Setup dialogue and click next.

5.  Now click on the Install button.
6. The system requests the windows product key; If you have the product key, enter it on the text box to activate the Windows. If you do not have the Windows product key, click on I don’t have a product key hyperlink.

7. In this step, press Shift + F10 to open the Command Prompt. On my Laptop (Latitude 5410), the Shift + F10 does not work. Instead, I press Shift + fn + F10 buttons together to open the command prompt.

8. On the command prompt, write Regedit and enter.

9. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\SETUP

Microsoft has written the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup path on their website. Personally, Microsoft's path did not work on my laptop. Check the Microsoft support website

Create a new Registry key to bypass Windows 11 requirements

10. Right-click on the Setup folder, Create a new key and name it LabConfig.

11. Right-click on the newly created Key (LabConfig) and New > DWORD (32-bit value) and name it as BypassTPMCheck.

12. After creating a new DWORD file, double-click to open it and change its value from 0 to 1. Click OK.

Note: You can follow Steps 11 and 12 to bypass the RAM and Secure boot if your device does not meet those requirements. Just replace the TPM word with the related name, such as BypassRAMCheck. Remember to set their value to 1.

13. After you have bypassed the requirements from the Registry, close the Registry windows, exit the Command Prompt and return to the Windows setup window.
14. Select the Windows edition you like. I select Windows 11 Pro edition here. Click next.

15. Accepts the license terms and click next.
16. Ask you to select the type of installation. I go with the Custom option.

17. Select the location and click next.
18. The installation takes some time, and when it is finished, your computer will restart.

19. After the restart, you need to set the basic configuration on your Windows. Select the country and click next.
20. Select the Keyboard layout language and click next.
21. Asks you if you want to add a second Keyboard layout; if you do not want to add a second keyboard layout, click on the Skip button.
22. After the restart, enter a name and password for your device and click next. Keep continuing to do the basic configuration on your computer.

Conclusions

If you want to upgrade to windows 11, but your computer does not qualify, use the Microsoft official workaround we talked about within the above two steps. However, there is also third-party software such as Rufus that lets you bypass windows 11 requirements. I hope you like the article and wish you the best of luck.