Things to do after installing Windows 11.

 

Minimum requirements and tools to check if the Let's find out together the minimum requirements and limitations of the new version of Windows.

Windows 11 was officially released on October 5, 2021 and, among the numerous new features introduced, some enhancements for system security also stand out, which should make the new Windows more resistant to cyber-attacks and the assault of new generation viruses. However, all of this security could prevent many older PCs and notebooks from running Windows 10, which are currently fully compatible with Windows 10, but have "deficiencies" that could cause an error window to appear during the installation of Windows 11.

In the following guide we will therefore show you how to check if our PC is already ready for Windows 11 , also analyzing the possible solutions to this problem, which notebooks we can buy now to definitely be ready for Windows 11 and what to do with older computers that show a compatibility problem (waiting for Microsoft itself to remedy the problem by optimizing the minimum requirements).

READ ALSO -> Download and install Windows 11 by updating Windows 10, today and for free

PC requirements for Windows 11

To install Windows 11 , a PC must meet certain minimum hardware requirements. Some of them are the same requirements as Windows 10 , while others are rather particular, so much so that they require further investigation. The following are the minimum requirements for Windows 11:

• Processor: 1 GHz or quicker with at least 2 centers on a 64-cycle processor. System firmware: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2
• Framework firmware: Version 2.0 of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
  • Graphics Card: Compatible with the WDDM 2.0 driver with DirectX 12 or later
• RAM: 4GB
• Disk: 64GB
• System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot compatible
• Partition style: GPT

You can also read the requirements on the official website , where you can download an automatic tool, PC Health Check , to check whether our desktop or notebook PC meets the minimum requirements required for Windows 11. The Microsoft verification tool can tell us whether the PC can it work with Windows 11 and what will need to be changed if there are problems.

There is also another program to check if your PC is ready for Windows 11, unofficial, but reliable and it is called WhyNot11 , open source and without any deception. This tool compares the minimum requirements required by Windows 11 with the hardware characteristics and configuration of the PC in use, detecting any incompatibilities:

• Startup type
• CPU architecture
• CPU generation
• CPU cores
• CPU frequency
• DirectX support
• Disk partitioning
• RAM
• SecureBoot active
• Storage
• TPM

As for the CPU, on the Microsoft website there is a list of processors supported by Windows 11 (scroll down the list to find Windows 11), with all Intel, AMD and Qualcom processor models supported.

Bear in mind that the indications of these hardware requirements for Windows 11 are not yet definitive, especially regarding the presence of SeureBoot and above all of the TPM version 2.0 , something that most people do not know and which we are going to delve into further.

NOTE: It is possible to install Windows 11 on a PC even if it does not support TPM 2.0 , albeit not with an update, but with a clean install. We have seen how to install Windows 11 on a non-compatible PC in another article.

What is TPM and why is it important on Windows 11

As an additional security system, Windows 11 requires, in its minimum requirements, the presence of the TPM chip (or Trusted Platform Module ) updated to version 2.0 . This chip is soldered directly onto the motherboard and is responsible for encrypting and storing computer access passwords, biometric data (fingerprint or face with Windows Hello) or other sensitive data, so as to protect them from any hacker or malware attacks.

This chip is soldered onto the motherboard and cannot be removed, changed or added later : our computer must therefore be immediately compatible with TPM 2.0, otherwise Windows 11 will not start during installation or updating , forcing us to remain on Windows 10 (barring last minute decisions by Microsoft).

TPM is an integral part of the system that allows Windows to be started in Secure Boot mode, the special protected environment that prevents the system from starting versions of drivers and components not certified by Microsoft: in fact it works in harmony with TPM to guarantee maximum security when Windows starts and when new programs start.

How to check for the presence of the TPM 2.0 chip

If we have a laptop or a desktop PC with Windows 10 we can immediately check the presence of the TPM chip and its version by pressing the WIN+R keys on the keyboard and typing, in the Run window that appears, the command tpm.msc , followed by pressing the Enter or Return key on the keyboard.

In the new window we carefully check the TPM Manufacturer Information section, making sure that the Specification version: 2.0 entry is present. If we find the 1.0 specifications on our PC or we do not find any TPM chip, we will not be able to install Windows 11.

How to enable TPM and Secure Boot for Windows 11

On PCs with TPM 2.0, you can only run Windows 11 if Secure Boot and TPM are enabled at the UEFI (once known as BIOS) level. Before proceeding with the transition to Windows 11, let's go to the UEFI of our computer, open the Security screen or similar names and carefully check whether the Secure Boot , Intel Platform Trust Technology or AMD CPU TPM entries are indicated as Enabled.

If the voices are active we can exit without doing anything else; if the items are deactivated ( Disabled ), select them and use the directional keys to enable them, then go to the UEFI Exit screen and make sure to save the changes, using the Save your settings and Exit item . Presently our PC is prepared to get Windows 11.

If SecureBoot activation is prevented by an error with the keys ( Platform Keys PK ), you need to set the Secureboot mode to Standard instead of Custom.

If TPM 2.0 is not actually present or appears to be present, try searching the internet for the specifications of your PC's motherboard to confirm that it does not support TPM 2.0.

For further instructions, there is a specific article on how to verify and activate SecureBoot and TPM .

Notebook with integrated TPM 2.0

If we intend to buy a new laptop, it is best to immediately look only for models that have the TPM 2.0 chip, so as not to have problems with future Windows 11 updates and receive the maximum security provided by Microsoft. Below we have collected some very beautiful and ready-made models for Windows 11 (even if all those from the last 4 years are already ready), without the need to launch the checks as seen in the previous chapter.

HUAWEI MateBook 14

This Huawei Matebook notebook comes with an excellent quality/price ratio and has a 14-inch 2K FullView display, Intel i5-10210U processor, 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, fingerprint reader, Huawei Share technology and Windows 10 Home operating system .

Lenovo IdeaPad 3

The Lenovo notebook, which has a 15.6-inch Full HD display with TN technology, an Intel Core i7 processor, 512GB of internal SSD memory, 16 GB of RAM, a fingerprint reader, and the Windows 11 operating system, is a good compromise between quality and performance.

ASUS TUF Gaming F17

For those looking for a laptop that is comfortable for gaming and ready for Windows 11, they should absolutely focus on the ASUS TUF model , which boasts a 17.3-inch FHD Anti-Glare screen, 144Hz screen refresh rate, Intel Core i7-10870H processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB of SSD internal memory, dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti 4GB video card and Windows 10 Home operating system.

Install Windows 11 even without TPM 2.0

If we have an old laptop that is still fast and functional with Windows 10, it is a real shame to have to throw it away or change it because of Windows 11 and the TPM 2.0 requirement. Luckily on the web they have found a little trick to bypass the TPM control and thus make it possible to install Windows 11 even on old computers that already run Windows 10 . To make this operation possible we carefully follow the following steps:

• Let's create a stick with the Windows 11 ISO ready for use, as also seen in our dedicated guide .
• We connect the USB stick to the old PC and change the boot order to start the system on it.
• We wait for the system installation screen to start and, as soon as it appears, press the SHIFT+F10 keys on the keyboard.
• From the order brief that opens, type regedit and press Enter on the console to open the vault manager for Windows 11.
• In the registry window, go to the following path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup , navigating between the entries and the root tree.
• In the right part of the window we right-click, click on New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value and create two new entries: BypassTPMCheck and BypassSecureBootCheck (create them one at a time).
• After creating these two registry entries, open them both and, in the Value Data field , make sure to change the state from 0 to 1 .

After making these changes we close the registry editor window and continue with the installation of Windows 11, without fearing the absence or obsolescence of the TPM 2.0 chip. The framework will be introduced and it will be feasible to run it with practically no obstructing , albeit clearly the degree of safety offered will be fundamentally lower (particularly for putting away passwords, any biometric information or individual information)

Conclusions

For these requirements, Windows 11 has already made many users turn up their noses: Microsoft seems to want to impose brand new computers or those purchased in the last 4 years maximum , leaving all the excellent PCs and notebooks sold over the years and still perfectly compatible with Windows 11. Certainly on desktop PCs it should be possible to add the TPM chip which should be supported, but for laptops the issue becomes significantly more complicated.

Luckily, while waiting for Microsoft to remove this requirement, there is a trick to bypass this limit, but we hope that, before the official launch of the system, Microsoft will reconsider and make the presence of the TPM 2.0 chip optional for the installation of its new system operating.