Last June, Microsoft announced the next version of Windows, i.e Windows 11. Just after the announcement, Microsoft said that Windows 11 will require TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chips on existing and new devices.
“The Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) is a chip that is either integrated into your PC’s motherboard or added separately into the CPU,” explains David Weston, director of an enterprise and OS security at Microsoft. “Its purpose is to protect encryption keys, user credentials, and other sensitive data behind a hardware barrier so that malware and attackers can’t access or tamper with that data.”
However, Microsoft has slightly updated system requirements for a Windows 11 upgrade. Windows 11 will now officially support Intel Core X-series, Xeon W-series, and the Intel Core 7820HQ.
Users can install Windows 11 manually from an ISO file. This is as long as the system has a 64-bit CPU clocked at 1 GHz and above, with at least 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
“We have concluded that the compatible 64-bit processors selected, 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage, UEFI secure boot, graphics requirements and TPM 2.0 are the right minimum system requirements to deliver on the principles we established to best support you. We did identify a set of PC models that meet the principles while running on Intel 7th gen processors that we did not originally include in our minimum system requirements,” the firm said in a statement.
Microsoft announced its Windows 11 minimum hardware requirements in June, and made it clear that only Intel 8th gen and beyond CPUs were officially supported. However, now the company said this install workaround was designed primarily for businesses to evaluate Windows 11.
In addition, Microsoft is updating the PC Health Check app. The new app will provide more details about what makes a system ineligible for an upgrade, including whether just enabling TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot, would do the trick.
While users cannot resolve an incompatible CPU without buying another processor.
