How to Install Windows 11 Without TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot
Windows 11 officially requires TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and a roughly 8th-generation-or-newer Intel (or Ryzen 2000+) CPU. Plenty of perfectly fast PCs fail those checks. The checks can be bypassed — here's how, plus what you're accepting when you do.
First, check what's actually failing
Press Win+R, run `tpm.msc`, and see whether a TPM is present and which version it reports. Many PCs from 2014–2017 actually have TPM 2.0 — it's just disabled in the firmware as “Intel PTT” or “AMD fTPM”. Enabling it there (and Secure Boot alongside) may make your PC fully compliant with no bypass needed.
Method 1: Rufus extended installation media (cleanest)
Rufus (free, Windows) can build install media that skips the checks for you. Download the Windows 11 ISO from microsoft.com, then in Rufus select your USB and the ISO and click Start. Rufus shows a “Windows User Experience” dialog — tick “Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0”, and optionally the local-account and privacy-questions removals. Boot the resulting USB and install normally; no registry editing required.
Method 2: the LabConfig registry keys (works with stock media)
If you're using an unmodified Microsoft USB and hit “This PC can't run Windows 11” during setup, bypass it live:
- At the error screen press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt, run `regedit`.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup and create a key named LabConfig.
- Inside LabConfig create DWORD (32-bit) values: BypassTPMCheck = 1, BypassSecureBootCheck = 1, and BypassRAMCheck = 1.
- Close regedit, click the back arrow in setup, and retry — the compatibility check now passes.
What you're accepting on unsupported hardware
Microsoft's official position: Windows 11 on unsupported hardware isn't entitled to updates. In practice, security and feature updates have continued to flow to bypassed installs, but Microsoft can tighten that at any time, and major version upgrades sometimes need the bypass re-applied. BitLocker and Windows Hello features that lean on the TPM may be limited without one. Back up before you start — and if the machine is truly ancient, Linux Mint will treat it better than Windows 11 will.
The zero-effort route
Our 16 GB Windows 11 install drive ships with the no-TPM/no-Secure-Boot configuration already built in, boots both UEFI and legacy BIOS machines, and works over USB-A or USB-C. Plug it in, boot, install — no Rufus, no registry editor.
Frequently asked questions
Is bypassing the TPM check safe?
The bypass itself is just a Microsoft-documented set of setup flags — it doesn't weaken Windows. What you give up is the security the missing hardware would have provided (TPM-backed BitLocker, measured boot) and a guarantee of future updates on unsupported hardware.
Will my unsupported Windows 11 install keep getting updates?
So far, bypassed installs have continued to receive normal monthly updates. Major annual upgrades occasionally re-check hardware and may need the bypass applied again via an in-place upgrade with modified media.
Can I upgrade from Windows 10 in place, keeping my files?
Yes — run setup.exe from modified (e.g. Rufus-built) Windows 11 media inside Windows 10 and choose “Keep files and apps”. With a TPM 1.2 chip present you can instead use Microsoft's documented AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU registry switch.