ToddAndMargo via users writes:
W11 install: How to bypass Windows 11's stupid system requirements:
You are fighting a losing battle.
I can't think of anything that would prevent Microsoft from removing this
bypass at some point in the future, and, for example, result in the system
always booting up in safe mode, or refuse to download any updates, or some
other shennanigans of that sort.
A) "New > DWORD (32-bit)". Name the new value
"BypassTPMCheck". Set it to 1.
I was able to successfully get Windows 10 to recognize swtmp's emulated TPM
2.0 check. That is eminently doable. This shouldn't be necessary.
B) "New > DWORD (32-bit)". Name the new value
"BypassRAMCheck". Set it to 1.
Not sure what that is.
C) "New > DWORD (32-bit)". Name the new value
"BypassSecureBootCheck". Set it to 1.
And I was able to get Windows 10 to some up in a VM configured for a secure
boot. It came up being deactivated, and wanted me to buy a license, but I
have a good hunch as to why. I should have some free time this weekend to
hack at it some more.
In any case, Windows 10, at least, is fully capable of starting with secure
boot.
Missing from this laundry list of registry hacks is anything that seems to
be related to the CPU vintage, which I suspect will probably be a
showstopper for most; at least until the super-smart qemu folks implement
emulation of recent Intel CPUs. It remains to be seen how well the
performance will be. But, I wouldn't be comfortable updating to Win 11 until
it can do it on its own and without any registry hacks. I just do not trust
Microsoft not to remove the registry hacks at any point in the future.
Especially things like secure boot? No way they'll allow Windows to continue
to boot without secure boot forever. It's only a matter of time.
There's a moderate chance that I'll be able to convert my existing Win 10
VMs, that already have a working, simulated TPM 2.0 chip to secure boot. And
then I'll see what Windows Update thinks of the emulated Haswell-era CPU. I
know for a fact that Qemu can emulate both TPM and secure boot sufficiently
for Windows 10 to start without any hacks. The only missing piece is the CPU
emulation.
Just today Windows Update threw up a "This PC cannot currently update to
Windows 11, click here to run the health check app", on its own volition,
for the first time. So, it looks like Microsoft is rolling out more
telemetry via Windows Update, and, I'd guess, that over the next couple of
weeks they'll get a lot of telemetry back from their existing user base to
see what the results are.
I would think they would've already known, a long time ago, how many of the
existing Win 10 seats meet the update requirements. It's unclear why the
additional step of downloading and installing the health check gizmo is
needed.
So, it remains to be seen what kind of telemetry Microsoft gets back, and
whether enough people will end up replacing their hardware. Microsoft
definitely wants everyone to upgrade to Windows 11, but if they see that a
large percentage will not I think there's a good chance they'll officially
drop some of their requirements, and that's the only path forward that I'll
trust. I won't trust the registry hacks.