Windows update nuts...back and forth with qualifications for upgrade to 11

First time receiving the notice from MS that due to hardware I couldn't upgrade, then for a year it says it can and keeps nagging me and now I get the entire screen popup telling me that support is ending and now back to hardware limitations I can't upgrade to 10...

WTF guys is the deal with MS can I update or not? Anyone else have this experience recently?

I also use a desktop-only computer from 2015 that runs Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit, Version 22H2, Norwegian Retail.

As Windows Update has almost always reported: "This PC does not currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11."

However, recently, it was briefly reporting that I could check the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11 to see if it can run THAT edition of Windows.

I used the free ByteJams Windows 11 Requirements Tool to see if my PC meets the requirements to run Windows 11, but unfortunately, the conclusion was that:

My Intel® Core™ i7-6700K Processor does NOT have hardware support for Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity, Virtualization-Based Security, and Mode-Based Execute Control.

As such, I will purchase a new, pre-built desktop-only computer with Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-bit Norwegian OEM by October 14, 2025.

You can also use the free ByteJams Windows 11 Requirements Tool to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Windows 11 or NOT.

Good luck!

I'm thinking of the registry hack to bypass or the rufus with ISO method.

Anyone have any experiences?

I also use a desktop-only computer from 2015 that runs Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit, Version 22H2, Norwegian Retail.

 

As Windows Update has almost always reported: "This PC does not currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11."

 

However, recently, it was briefly reporting that I could check the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11 to see if it can run THAT edition of Windows.

 

I used the free ByteJams Windows 11 Requirements Tool to see if my PC meets the requirements to run Windows 11, but unfortunately, the conclusion was that:

 

My Intel® Core™ i7-6700K Processor does NOT have hardware support for Hypervisor-Enforced Code Integrity, Virtualization-Based Security, and Mode-Based Execute Control.

 

As such, I will purchase a new, pre-built desktop-only computer with Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-bit Norwegian OEM by October 14, 2025.

 

You can also use the free ByteJams Windows 11 Requirements Tool to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Windows 11 or NOT.

 

Good luck!

Thanks gonna need it

First time receiving the notice from MS that due to hardware I couldn't upgrade, then for a year it says it can and keeps nagging me and now I get the entire screen popup telling me that support is ending and now back to hardware limitations I can't upgrade to 10...

 

WTF guys is the deal with MS can I update or not? Anyone else have this experience recently?

I'm guessing that initially your processor wasn't on the 'compatible CPU' list, but later got added so it would then have let you upgrade to Win11 23H2, however the hardware requirements changed with 24H2 and your processor was/is non longer supported (again).

As for your second question; I have used Rufus to put Win11 24H2 on a 12 yo Toshiba Tecra M9 laptop (Originally an XP Pro machine).

Note that Win 11 25H2 is due out shortly, you may want to wait for a while after that before using an updated hack to install it.
A hacked install of Win 11 will not update between major versions, the version updates do a new hardware check.
When there is a major version change your only options with a hacked install are to stick with the version you have or do an new hacked install of the new version.

Back to my experience of installing Win 11 on an unsupported laptop.

It installed with no problem whatsoever, however with the old Core Duo processor and a maximum of 4GB RAM it was slow to run, for those who can remember I'm talking 1980's/1990's computing speeds. (in fact my old Win 98se Desktop runs faster that that laptop did with Win11 installed).
So whilst it was usable with Win 11 anyone used to modern computing speeds would get fed up with it pretty quickly.
After a couple of months I put it back to Win 10 where it is much happier and speedier.

Before you try upgrading any old machine to Win 11 using Rufus or any other hack then make sure that you can put it back to Win 10 if wanted.
Ideally have a full system image backup so that you can restore it exactly as it was, at the least use the Media Creation Tool to make a Win 10 installer USB so that you can install a fresh Win 10.

PS. That Tecra laptop is a bit of a testbed machine now, I've previously had Linux Mint on it for a while, and I'm currently toying with the idea of putting ChromeOS Flex on it to see how that runs.
However all that's just playing about and if I do then I'll put it back to Win 10 afterwards.
It will be a Win 10 machine until it dies, it may even outlive me.
 

Edited by Nukecad, 12 September 2025 - 07:55 AM.

UPDATE: Guys, for those of you following or have stumbled across this post thread......forget all the registry changes and tpm updates etc. 

Just download an app called Flyby on github and get it done correctly...or buy a totally new machine. I've tried all the tatics and they all failed, registry tweaks and rufus versions. Save yourselves some headache and an entire Saturday or Sundy and just use the app. Up to you whether or not to donate to the dev, but it's gonna save you some serious hassle. 

Hope this helps someone. 

Did you try Flyby11 in advanced upgrade mode option?

Thanks Freebooter, I just used the regular Flyby11_Classic from the MajorGeeks website. The github had Trojans and other crap in it. 

I left it on the regular settings and just dropped my ISO file in it. It will say that it's upgrading to windows server, but that's not the case...I had professional and it stayed professional. I need to give the dev a few bucks for a thank you. 

BTW..windows 11 sucks. Just like windows 10 did for 7 users. But this time they made some mishmash of 7 and 10 stuck together into some freak of an OS....you can't even get small icons on the taskbar and the Windows menu sucks horribly. 

The OS is definitely not built for the speedy utilitarian user. It's definitely less of a utility tool than 10 was...And don't try to tweak settings via registry cause nothing works that way. Not customizable. 

Edited by allstock, 14 September 2025 - 08:29 PM.