Microsoft releases Windows 11 for free , but …..

[UK Sentinel]

Microsoft announced Windows 11 as a free upgrade to Windows 10 machines, but many users will still be unable to upgrade – despite having modern machines.

The software giant’s new operating system will only support eighth generation and newer Intel Core processors, Apollo Lake, and newer Pentium and Celeron processors.

Windows 10 required only a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM (or 2GB for the 64-bit version), 16GB of storage, and an 800-by-600 resolution display.

Windows 11 requires a 1GHz, 64-bit processor with two or more cores, and has upped the requirements slightly to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, as well as a 720p display, according to its website, but Microsoft also requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. This is a security chip mostly used in professional notebook machines and desktops to store and protect passwords and encryption keys.

Microsoft says that TPM 2.0 is recommended but not necessity for running the operating system. “Devices that do not meet the hard floor cannot be upgraded to Windows 11”, Microsoft wrote, “and devices that meet the soft floor will receive a notification that upgrade is not advised”.

The list of processors is also notably more restricted than users might expect. It only includes Intel’s 8th to 11th generation models, as well as the Xeon Skylake, Cascade Lake, Cooper Lake, and Ice Lake units; AMD’s Ryzen series (from 2000 to 5000), EPYC 2nd and 3rd generation, and the Threadripper range from the 2000 to the Pro 3000; and Quamcomm’s Snapdragon units from the 850 to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/microsoft-releases-windows-11-for-free-but-most-computers-will-not-be-able-to-run-it/ar-AALrzSf?ocid=msedgntp

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[UK Sentinel]

My Dell Laptop which seems like I have had forever, qualifies for the new 11 upgrade from a CPU perspective

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[Grisu]

Tool doesnt run on my PC, but I will never see 11 on it, all of my PCs and laptops are 7th gen or even before.

I built my PC in 2017 with still very good HW (AS H170M Z170 board with i5-7600K and another one with Z170 and i7-7700K much more than I really need) and now I shall replace them at least in 2025?

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[UK Sentinel]

Grisu wrote:

Tool doesnt run on my PC, but I will never see 11 on it, all of my PCs and laptops are 7th gen or even before. I built my PC in 2017 with still very good HW (AS H170M Z170 board with i5-7600K and another one with Z170 and i7-7700K much more than I really need) and now I shall replace them at least in 2025?

When the time comes in 2025, you could always check if you motherboard supports an 8th Gen i5 and then upgrade , at least by then i5 (8th Gen) CPU will be very low cost ;-)

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[Grisu]

H170 and Z170 chipsets dont support 8th Gen CPUs, even 7th-Gen only worked after BIOS-Update before you could use it,.

So I had to buy a very cheap old Celeron only to update Bios for use with 7700K-CPU.

There is a hack to use it anyway, but with high risk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hghT2iOvWTU

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[UK Sentinel]

That is unfortunate, I am sure in 2026 a new PC will be a nice treat for you

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[Chelsea maniac]

My laptop is fine, only 5 months old 9 gen

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[Grisu]

No, no need for it and never touch a running system. Why throw away a perfect running system? Keep environment clean!

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[UK Sentinel]

Grisu wrote:

No, no need for it and never touch a running system. Why throw away a perfect running system? Keep environment clean!

Jobs and nothing lasts forever

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[Grisu]

But such a decision is for no reason than generating a lot of waste.

These processors are much more powerful than most other newer ones which are supported and there is no technical argument why they shoudn’t be used anymore.

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[UK Sentinel]

Grisu wrote:

But such a decision is for no reason than generating a lot of waste. These processors are much more powerful than most other newer ones which are supported and there is no technical argument why they shoudn’t be used anymore.

In 2025, Windows 10 extended support (I believe) will finish, after that no more security updates / driver support etc.

I will ask the question again in 2026 to see if you still have the PC we are talking about

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[Grisu]

You can be sure I will do!

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[Grisu]

Done it:

Even with legacy-BIOS on MBR HDD.
Installed with UEFI and registry-patch (2 lines to deactivate TPM-2.0 and Secure-Boot checks).
Convert HDD from GPT to MBR wit Minitool PartitionWizard, create 100MB System-reserved partition for booting, set drive letter C: and activate partition.
Boot with Win10-stick to repair boot record and enter in command line:
bcdboot D:\Windows /l en-us /s C:
bootsect /nt60 C: /mbr /force
Works perfectly on first attempt.
Now I have Win11 on my old PC beside other OSes on an MBR-HDD or SSD and can boot directly without additional HDD or any changes in BIOS/UEFI.
You can move Win11 partition with minitool to any other disk even logical partitions and include it with easyBCD to your boot selection (faster in legacy Win7 style).

 

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[UK Sentinel]

Congrats, hope this is just for testing purposes, as I do not want a court order from Microsoft asking me to remove this post due to there Service agreement and Licensing agreements etc. being  violated (that I am not aware off) 

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[Grisu]

There is nothing that could make any troubles for you.

All you need to do are 2 registry changes while installation what is allowed to do. And my PC gets automated activation from Microsoft, nothing I am responsible for.

I only used their own tools to do so.

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[Author]

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