The minimum hardware requirements to install Windows 11 have been a controversial issue since the launch of the system. If the increase in RAM memory or storage space made perfect sense, Microsoft added other more controversial ones such as Secure Boot and TPM.
The Trusted Platform Module or TPM It is the most controversial component, although it is a classic. Widely used (almost by default) in business equipment, it is a physical chip dedicated to security tasks, authentication, generation of cryptographic keys and in general to maintain the integrity of the system. The required version 2.0 was introduced in 2015 and although it is not present, it can be installed additionally if the board has a free connector for it. Or enable fTPM firmware-based mode on the motherboard.
Another of the minimum requirements of Windows 11 affects the firmware of your computer, which must be a UEFI Supported Secure Boot. If you remember, the Secure Boot ran rivers of ink when it was implemented a few years ago and blocked the installation of Linux systems and even older Windows systems such as 7. It has to be supported on board and activated. There is little to do here except change the motherboard.
Although Microsoft said it would be “uncompromising” in requiring them, reality has surpassed fiction and – as we said from day one – Windows 11 can be installed on -almost- any current PC. Trial (pirated) versions ready to install on any computer have been available on the Internet for a long time. Scripts capable of bypassing all hardware requirements are also available, allowing installation and upgrades on unsupported physical PCs as well as virtual machines, an additional limitation that Microsoft imposed close to launch and does not exist today.
As Microsoft wants to add users for Windows 11 and the requirements have been a limiting factor, the Redmond firm has definitely adopted a “pragmatic” position. Or even more, active, because it has autohacked the Windows 11 hardware requirements as can be seen on the official support page, where it describes how to install Windows 11 on unsupported computers by a simple registry change. Of course, Microsoft does not support this type of installation and will not be held responsible for it.
TPM and Secure Boot on Windows 10 PCs?
The Twitter user and prolific leaker Xeno has detected a change that is going to put more than one of the nerves, since it indicates that Windows 10 tmay also require TPM and Secure Boot in the future.
Did you know that Cobalt build 21327 is the earliest public build to mention that a TPM module would block your system from installing “Sun Valley”? pic.twitter.com/loUqZvM78c
— Xeno (@XenoPanther) August 27, 2022
The quote has first come to build 21327. Do you mean that Microsoft will force to use them to install the new versions of Windows 10? At the moment there has been no official change in the requirements, but here we leave the tweet.