How to install Windows 11 without TPM [Bypass CPU requirements]
Windows 11 is a 64-bit only OS. Like macOS, Microsoft too has moved to supporting only 64-bit systems with its newest operating system. In addition to the 64-bit requirement, Windows 11 also requires secure boot UEFI and TPM 2.0 on a system in order to run. For many users, the TPM chip version is what blocks them from upgrading to Windows 11.
Install Windows 11 without TPM
The TPM chip is a hardware component. If your system doesn’t have one, chances are you need to buy a new system. This chip isn’t exactly something you can upgrade like RAM. Your motherboard may not support a newer version of the chip. That said, you can bypass Windows 11’s requirement for the chip.
To do this, it is best to upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10. Before you upgrade, you must edit the registry and tell Windows 10 to bypass the TPM requirement.
This is generally safe to do but we strongly encourage you to backup important files on your system before you proceed. If you can, create a restore point. This will work for systems with both supported and unsupported CPUs.
How to install Windows 11 without TPM
To install Windows 11 on a system that does not have a TPM chip, or that does not have TPM 2.0, follow these steps.
- Tap the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the run box.
- In the run box, enter
regeditand tap the Enter key. - Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup - Right-click the Setup key and select New>Key from the context menu.
- Name this key:
LabConfig.
- Right-click the newly created LabConfig key and select New>DWORD (32-bit) Value from the context menu.
- Name this DWORD value
BypassTPMCheck. - Double-click the BypassTPMCheck value and set its value to 1.
- Right-click the LabConfig key again and select New>DWORD (32-bit) Value from the context menu.
- Name it
BypassRAMCheck. - Double-click it and set its value to 1.
- Right-click LabConfig again, and select New>DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name this value
BypassSecureBootCheck. - Double-click it and set its value to 1.
- Click Ok and close the registry editor.
- Run the Setup file for Windows 11.
Note: You can upgrade to Windows 11 by creating a installation disk, connecting it to your Windows 10 system, and accessing it from File Explorer.
Clean install Windows 11
If you are not upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10, and instead are choosing to clean install the new OS, you still need to edit the registry. The trick is getting to the registry before you install Windows 11.
- Shut down your computer.
- Turn the system on and go to BIOS.
- Change the first boot device to USB.
- Connect the Windows 11 USB/installation disk.
- Restart the computer.
- When the Windows 11 installation disk boots, you will see a message “This PC can’t run Windows 11”.
- Press the Shift+F10 keyboard shortcut to open Command Prompt.
- In Command Prompt, enter
regeditand tap Enter. - The registry editor will open.
- Follow the steps in the previous section and make all the edits to the registry.
- Once the edits are complete, enter Exit in the Command Prompt window.
- Click the Back button on the “This PC can’t run Windows 11 screen”.
- Run the installation again and it should succeed.
Conclusion
Microsoft generally doesn’t create software that forces users to buy new hardware. If you have a system that is too old to have a TPM 2.0 chip, you should consider buying a new system. The TPM chip adds improved security to your system and going forward, you will need it. It’s also possible that Microsoft will patch this work around leaving you in a bind.
