On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will stop providing security updates for your Windows 10 PC unless you are willing to pay an exorbitant price to participate in the Extended Security Updates program.
If you try to upgrade to Windows 11 on a PC that’s more than a few years old, you’ll be told in no uncertain terms that your old PC doesn’t qualify because its CPU isn’t on the official list of compatible processors. Microsoft has made it clear that it won’t revise these requirements. You’ll also run into roadblocks if your PC doesn’t have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.
Also: The Windows 10 clock is ticking: 5 ways to save your old PC in 2025 (most are free)
While this may be the official policy, as with anything Windows-related, it’s worth reading the fine print.
These annoying limitations prevent you from automatically upgrading to Windows 11 using Windows Update or the Windows 11 Installation Wizard. However, there are two fully supported workarounds, as I document in ZDNET’s Windows 11 FAQs.
Also: How to install Windows 11 the way you want (and bypass Microsoft’s restrictions)
If you’re ready to perform a clean install of Windows 11, you can boot from the installation media and run Windows Setup. This option skips the CPU compatibility check entirely. After the installation is complete, you’ll need to reinstall all your apps, restore your data files, and tweak settings to personalize your system settings.
Want to avoid all the hassle? Follow these four steps.
How to upgrade your old “incompatible” PC to Windows 11
You’ll need to make a small change to the Windows Registry, as documented in this Microsoft support document. This change tells the Windows 11 setup program to skip checking for compatible CPUs and allow installation on a PC with an older TPM (version 1.2). Of course, the usual warnings apply when working with the registry, and I recommend you make a full backup before proceeding.
Open the Registry Editor (*Regedit.exe) and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup
Select this key and then right-click in an empty area in the right pane. Select the option to create a new DWORD value, AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU, and set its value to 1. The result should look like this:
Use this registry tweak to override Windows 11’s CPU and TPM compatibility checks.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Click OK to save your changes.
Once the download is complete, open File Explorer and double-click the ISO file. This will mount the file as a virtual DVD drive in its own folder.
In File Explorer, locate the Setup.exe file and double-click it to begin the upgrade. You’ll get a stern warning about compatibility issues, but after clicking OK on this dialog, your upgrade should proceed without any serious issues. You have three options: you can keep your apps, settings, and files (Full Upgrade); you can keep your data files but start over with apps and settings (Keep Data Only); or you can start over from scratch (Clean Install).
Also: The best Windows laptops you can buy: Tested and rated by experts
If you want more control over the upgrade process and aren’t afraid to create custom installation media, you can use the free, open-source Rufus utility. My ZDNET colleague Lance Whitney covered all the details in “How to install Windows 11 the way you want (and bypass Microsoft’s restrictions in the process).”
