Microsoft said these 400 readers couldn't upgrade to Windows 11. They did it anyway

IgorNelson/iStock / Getty Images Plus Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Hundreds of readers have completed upgrades using ZDNET's help. In general, they report the upgrade is easy, with few issues. For those who had problems, there were typically simple fixes. Microsoft's warnings about the end of support for Windows 10 are becoming more strident as the October deadline approaches. For anyone who owns a PC that's more than five years old, those messages come with a prohibition that seems ironclad: "Sorry," the Windows installer shrugs. "You need to buy a new PC because you can't upgrade this old one to Windows 11." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that's the gist of the message. And you know what? It's simply not true. I have nearly 400 firsthand reports from readers this year alone that prove it. Those readers followed the instructions in my article, "How to upgrade an 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 free options," and the overwhelming majority were able to complete the upgrade without issues. All of the respondents chose one of two options to upgrade: Option 1 is for PCs that were originally designed for Windows 10 but whose CPUs are too old to make the compatibility cut. This technique involves making a single registry edit and then running the Windows 11 Setup program. Option 2 is for older PCs and for those that fail the compatibility check for other reasons, such as not having Secure Boot enabled or lacking a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). This method uses the third-party Rufus utility to create custom installation media. At the end of that post, I encouraged readers to share their experience via email. Here's what they had to say. The upgrade is easy They would like you to know that the upgrade is easy, even for those without a technical background. The small number who ran into issues were able to resolve them fairly quickly. Most of all, they're grateful to have saved hundreds or thousands of dollars that Microsoft insisted they should spend to replace perfectly functional hardware. Some of the reports I received were brief; others were filled with helpful details about hardware, drivers, and minor glitches. Here's a sampling of what those folks had to say: "THANK YOU for the concise, easy-to-follow steps. Like, I mean, OMG just perfect." "Thanks for your instructions. They made the job easy. I am not a computer expert or even much of a hobbyist, but I did enjoy upgrading this old PC." "Your instructions were well written and easy to follow. Everything went 'as smooth as cream.' The download of Win11 Pro took around 45 minutes to complete. There were no issues at any time. ... I am quite happy that I did not have to recycle or destroy my laptop." "The steps provided here worked flawlessly! I am very happy I came across this article and have managed to salvage my 6 or 7 year old laptop (from 2018 or 2019) for at least a few more years." "Thank you so much for your article! It has literally saved my family hundreds if not thousands of dollars by not having to abandon our older (but perfectly functional) laptops!" "People give me their old laptops. I refurbish them and then give them away again, so with Windows 10 nearing its end, I've been updating quite a few to Windows 11 using your regedit technique." Most issues can be resolved quickly A small percentage of readers wrote in asking for assistance, and some had questions. In all but a handful of cases, we were able to resolve any issues quickly, with nothing more than basic troubleshooting. The most common problem, by far, was also the easiest one to troubleshoot. At least a dozen readers reported that they were unable to complete the upgrade using the registry edit that bypasses the CPU compatibility check. The cause was an error they had made when creating the required registry edit -- a typo in the value, choosing the wrong value type, or creating the required value in the wrong subkey. As soon as they corrected the typo or moved the key to the correct location, the upgrade proceeded normally. Also: This free tool installs Windows 11 on unsupported PCs - without any bloatware A few readers reported that the upgrade ended prematurely with an unhelpful error message that reported the installation had failed. In most of these cases, the cure involved downloading a fresh copy of the Windows 11 ISO, restarting the PC, and trying again. A few readers saw a message that said, "Your PC isn't supported yet." That indicated a "safeguard hold" imposed by Microsoft because of a problem with an app or device driver that was known to cause issues with the upgrade. Sometimes those issues are documented on the Windows Release Health dashboard; other times, tracking down the issue involved a trial-and-error approach, unplugging external devices, and uninstalling apps. Yes, you'll still get updates. One question that came up repeatedly as part of those reports was some variation of "Will I still get updates?" The short answer is yes, PCs upgraded using these techniques will still receive security updates. Given that Microsoft encouraged many of its enterprise customers to make these upgrades, it's unlikely that the company would risk abruptly shutting off the update spigot. Also: Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? You have 5 options So far, I've received multiple reports from upgraders who confirmed that security updates were arriving as expected every month. It's possible, especially with older devices, that future feature updates might fail to install automatically. In those cases, an in-place upgrade using the same techniques described here with the latest installation media should get the job done. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see "Is Microsoft really going to cut off security updates for your 'unsupported' Windows 11 PC?" Why is Microsoft doing this? The other question that came up repeatedly in these reports is an overwhelming sense of confusion, mixed with a little bit of anger, over Microsoft's decision to impose these compatibility checks. "The entire situation is a farce," said one reader whose pricey Dell laptop had a CPU that missed the cutoff date by just a few months. Microsoft has never done a satisfactory job of explaining the reasons behind these compatibility requirements. Over the past four years the company has cited security and reliability as the main reasons, using ambiguous language like this, which appeared in an official blog post published shortly after Windows 11 was announced: We need a minimum system requirement that enables us to adapt software and hardware to keep pace with people's expectations, needs and harness the true value and power of the PC to deliver the best experiences, now and in the future. ... Windows 11 raises the bar for security by requiring hardware that can enable protections like Windows Hello, Device Encryption, virtualization-based security (VBS), hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) and Secure Boot. The combination of these features has been shown to reduce malware by 60% on tested devices. To meet the principle, all Windows 11 supported CPUs have an embedded TPM, support secure boot, and support VBS and specific VBS capabilities. While those vague statements are true, a more likely explanation for the strict CPU requirements is that all of the CPUs on the older list were affected by the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities that were discovered in 2018. Those flaws affected every CPU then available in the PC market, and the fix required patching microcode in a way that typically had a major impact on performance. One leading security organization said the only surefire way to avoid these serious security flaws was to replace the affected hardware. Microsoft has never officially acknowledged the connection between that event and its CPU compatibility list, but the timing seems too close to be a coincidence. But we'll probably never know. Want to follow my work? Add ZDNET as a trusted source on Google. Featured