However, to upgrade normally or using the standard methods, your Windows 10 machine must meet Windows 11 minimum requirements. What if your system is old and does not meet Windows 11 requirements? Well, you can still upgrade using non-standard methods which Microsoft does not recommend. We have written a post and shown you how to download Windows 11 ISO and create a bootable disk to install Windows 11 on unsupported PCs. In the steps below we’re going to show you how to upgrade an old PC that does not meet Windows 11 requirements using another workaround method. With this, there will be no need to reformat your drive, erase your files, or even burn the ISO to an external USB drive. When you’re ready to get started, continue below.
How to download Windows 11 ISO
As mentioned above, if you have a valid Windows 10 licensed computer, you can upgrade to Windows 11 for free. If your computer doesn’t meet Windows 11 requirements, you can still upgrade using the workaround method below. First, you’ll need to download Windows 11 ISO file online. Go to Windows 11 ISO download site, and scroll down to Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO). Click on the Select Download dropdown, pick Windows 11, then hit the Download button, select your product language from the Choose one dropdown that appears, hit Confirm, then click 64-bit Download to download the ISO file on your computer. You can also read the post below to show you how to download Windows 11 ISO files on your computer. How to download Windows 11 ISO file
How to edit Windows registry to bypass Windows 11 CPU checks
Now that you’ve downloaded Windows 11 ISO on your Windows 10 machine before you begin to upgrade using the downloaded ISO file, go and edit your Windows 10 registry to bypass the Windows 11 CPU checks. How to open and edit the Windows registry With the Windows registry editor open, navigate to the below, either by copying and pasting the path below: or drilling down through the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and System and Setup and MoSetup subkeys or folders one at a time. In the right pane, right-click and blank area and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU. Next, double-click on the new value you created, and enter 1 into the Value data field. Hit OK and close the registry editor.
How to upgrade to Windows 11 with setup
Now that you’ve created a workaround, go to your Downloads folder where you downloaded the Windows 11 ISO file earlier. Then Right-click the file and select mount to mount the ISO file. Or simply double-click the ISO file and open it with File Explorer. In File Explorer, double-click the setup file to begin the installation. When the installer opens, click Next. That should do it! If the workaround method above worked, you should see a warning message instead of a rejection message, allowing you to install Windows 11 without losing your data. Conclusion: This post showed you how to upgrade to Windows 11 with a workaround. If you find any error above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.
