How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PCs?

If you have a computer with unsupported hardware, you can upgrade to Windows 11, but not through Windows Update. Instead, you must use a bootable USB flash drive or ISO file to perform a clean install or an in-place upgrade manually. Microsoft has left the vulnerability open but will not mention it anywhere in the documentation, nor will it support it. Here is the error screenshot:-

According to the company, installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware will be an option for businesses. Even anyone can update at their own risk, knowing there are no guarantees of system stability and driver compatibility. In other words, you can continue with the setup manually if you want to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. However, you must confirm that the update will be “unsupported.”

Microsoft defines an “unsupported condition” as a device that does not meet the minimum system requirements and is not eligible to receive updates from Windows Update.

• The processor does not support this version of Windows.
• The PC must support TPM 2.0.
• The PC must support Secure Boot.

So it will decide to try the old method, bypassing TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. And then, Windows 11 setup started without any error. This risewindows post explains quickly avoiding these errors and installing Windows 11 on an unsupported computer, even on an Apple Intel-based machine.

How to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PCs?

Step 1. Firstly, download a Windows 11 ISO file from the Microsoft server (The final version of Windows 11 ISO file size is around 5.2GB).

Step 2. When downloading is complete, extract its contents in a folder using WinRAR or other software. To do that, right-click on the ISO file and select the “Extract to” option.

Step 3. So, when ISO file contents are imported into the folder, open the “Sources” folder and delete the “appraiserres.dll.” This file is 192KB, responsible for checking Windows 11 requirements.

Step 4. Then, double-click the “setup” file from Windows 11 to install it.

Step 5. Next, in the “Windows 11 setup” window, first, uncheck the option, “I want to help make the installation better.” Then click the link, “Change how Setup downloads updates.”

Step 6. After that, select the Not right now option and then click the Next button.

Step 7. Now, when you see the “Applicable notices and license terms” header, click the Accept button at the bottom.

Step 8. Then, in the next window, leave the options “Install Windows 11” and “Keep personal files and apps” checked. Then click the Install button. If you want to clean install, uncheck both options. It will erase the Windows 10 (Usually the “C” drive).

Now, Windows will prepare and update your computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It may take a while, depending on the speed of your PC.

Here, you might also be interested in the Windows11Upgrade freeware tool that bypasses Microsoft’s Windows 11 minimum hardware requirements and allows you to upgrade from Windows 10 to 11.

That’s it for the article.

I hope it will guide you well.

Good luck & stay healthy, guys.

Also read: Quickly Install Windows 11 on Unsupported PCs without TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot.