Windows 11 on older computers

[pnutts]

Tried to install windows 11. Early attempts ended up - CPU not supported, TPM 2 not available, SecureBoot not available.

 

Finally got win 11 on 12 year old laptop ( used small harddrive ). it was simple but time consumming.

You need iso for win 10 and 11.

mount both, copy to separate folders. replace win 10 sources file 'install.wim with one from win 11.

run setup. voila.

 

 

[jwhess]

I have no knowledge of how "old" or how far back...but some CPU/BIOS combinations have the ability to turn on the TPM2 equivalent in the BIOS firmware settings.  Windows 11 accepts this.

[pnutts]

6 minutes ago, jwhess said:

CPU/BIOS combinations have the ability to turn on the TPM2 equivalent in the BIOS firmware settings.  Windows 11 accepts this.

I am aware of this, but a lot older than 5-7 years don't have that setting in their BIOS. Then there is the CPU and secureboot factors.

I have that bypass info too.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Nice fix! But is it worth the effort? I find some of the 'new' features of Win 11 sadly lacking. For example, with Win 10 (and previous versions) I could click and drag my Task Bar to the side of the screen.
When I have multiple monitors, I like this feature.
I cannot do this with Win 11.
I expect (and I have not researched this - just based on my experience),
the processor speed and memory limitations of older PC's can easily be overwhelmed by the new bigger code.
That's not to say what was done is brilliant, but my experience is there will be a memory call, or address jump that may cause the system to crash.
Recommended for experienced users only.
IMHO
PS I also use this to justify to my 'Minister of Finance' why I need a new laptop.....

Old (Downunder) Tone

[Myew]

I would recommend against upgrading your operating system at the cost of security... let them work out the kinks first. Windows 10 is still fine. If you're running an older computer, you might find it easier to get better performance out of a Linux variant.

[pnutts]

Kinks in Windows? What are you talking about? Windows doesn't have kinks.

Spoiler

Windows is and always has been Bugy. I have Windows 2.0 and up 💀
Even had 3.1 with win 95 style start button.

 

[jwhess]

5 hours ago, pnutts said:

Kinks in Windows? What are you talking about? Windows doesn't have kinks.

  Hide contents

Windows is and always has been Bugy. I have Windows 2.0 and up 💀
Even had 3.1 with win 95 style start button.

 

Br. Peter, you made me think.  i have been assembling personal computers (PC, XT and AT style) for sale since 1984.  Started with DOS 2.0 and later Windows 2.0 but I never remember seeing a Windows 1 (dot anything).  Do you remember a version before Win 2.0?

[Qapla]

According to Wikipedia

 

Quote

Windows 1.0 is a graphical operating environment for personal computers, developed by Microsoft. Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apple's 1984 original Macintosh, the first mass-produced personal computer with a graphical user-interface (GUI) that enabled users to see user-friendly icons on screen. Microsoft released Windows 1.0 on November 20, 1985, as the first version of the Microsoft Windows line. It is a type of software that runs as a graphical, 16-bit multi-tasking shell on top of an existing MS-DOS installation, providing an environment which can run graphical programs designed for Windows, as well as existing MS-DOS software. Microsoft's founder Bill Gates spearheaded the development of Windows 1.0 after he saw a demonstration of a similar software suite, Visi On, at COMDEX in 1982.

Despite positive responses to early presentations and support from a number of hardware- and software-makers, critics received Windows 1.0 poorly, feeling that it did not meet their expectations. In particular, they raised concerns about the lack of resources for new users, and performance issues, especially on systems with lower hardware specifications.

Despite the criticisms, Windows 1.0 proved an important milestone for Microsoft, as it introduced the Microsoft Windows line.[3]

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 1.0 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.

Windows 1.01 was released in the United States in November 20, 1985, while the European version was released as Windows 1.02 in January 1986.

 

[jwhess]

And then there was IBM OS2 in 1987...😀

[pnutts]

I remember OS2, even had an OS2 computer in late 90s. Plug and play components,  no wires. Concept was good but IBM tried doing an Apple proprietary thing with it. Only thing that survived is the smaller round mouse and keyboard connections.

IBM is responsible for Microsoft as they chose their DOS basic ( UNIX ) to run on PC Jr.

Plus Microsoft was 'supposed ' to be working on OS2 but wasn't and that caused a split between them that lasted for years.

One of the worst windows was 98 original. Would not work on Compaq computers at the time and caused one of the largest home computer companies to basically lose so much that HP bought them out. My 12 year old laptop is a Compaq by HP.

[pnutts]

Got full win 11 working ( slowly ) on a HP with 2 Gb ram and 1Gb cpu.  Tried to do a 32 bit by using win 10 32 bit and replacing install.wim in sources folder.

had to do fresh install from usb but it is 64 bit.

On another broken laptop ( bad screen - young sister dropped it ) I had win 10 64 bit and replaced install.wim with win 11 version.  Would Not update.

It checked for updates then quit install as it felt it had finished win 10 updates.  tried fresh install from USB and it worked.

 

Of course I shut down or removed a lot of the bloat thru apps & features. They both work, even online.😁

 

Forgot to add. They loaded install files faster than win 10 did.

Edited October 8, 2021 by pnutts

[vern]

I think the easieast thing to do with os change overs is just get a new hard drive... Then you can have both... Old one as back up plug and play.

 

But yes you would need the ISO download to manually instal it.

 

The drivers a pain?   Might want to check if your computer has driver support or mothboard manufacturer.... Computer indusyry is getting to be more of a buy new and throw away old...

 Less and less support for older stuff.... Why you want to buy business machines atleast for parts.

Edited October 11, 2021 by vern

[jwhess]

My Windows 10 desktop is quite new and it has a message that I can install Win-11 now.

 

My HP 360  (2-N-1) laptop/tablet is 3 years old (2018).  It says it can't update for two reasons.  No TPM and outdated CPU.  The TPM can be turned on by way of the UEFI Bios setting, so that is OK.  But this device has an I5 7th generation Intel CPU.  the minimum requirement list for Windows 11 shows support for only 8th generation CPUs and newer.  I decided to leave it alone for now.

[pnutts]

You can install 11 on most computers if your cpu is fast enough, etc. I have it on 12 year old compaq a900 with 4 gb ram. Pic is up top.

Yah, just wait until more computers are supported.

For now M$ is hand in hand with over priced computers due in part to chip shortage. Good thing there are enough geeks out there ( even M$ ) who tell how to bypass some features so you can install 11.

[Bsas3]

For anyone who wants to convert to Win11, you will probably have problems with secure boot. This is because most computers have been set up with MBR disk partitioning , however GPT partitioning is required for UEFI drive, which is necessary for secure boot. The good news is, that if you already have an established Win10 system, you don't have to reformat & repartition the drives. There is a fix available. I have used it & it works. MBR2GPT.exe is a command line tool which is located in the System32 folder. With it, you can effectively and non-destructively convert a Windows 10 OS disk from MBR (for Legacy BIOS) to GPT partition style (for UEFI) without modifying/deleting any data on the disk or making a clean installation of Windows 10. Hope this saves some headaches.

[jwhess]

I have an HP Laptop/Tablet and the BIOS accidently got confused.  I don't know how (probably my fault - but I don't see how).  It would not boot using the native MBR disk.  It kept looking for a UEFI drive.

 

Eventually, I tried a Microsoft recovery and it wanted t look for UEFI drivers and settings.  I said YES and it churned around for a while and eventually restored my device using a UEFI drive.  I never formatted the drive or downloaded a new Windows 10 OS.  So the ability to do the conversion from MBR to UEFI without a format is possible.  MS did it for me without my intervention.

[pnutts]

There are easier methods  too, without converting away from MBR. I am running 3 computers with win 11 with MBR. One way is to replace install.wim in win 10 with the one from win 11.

There is a usb fresh install  method from iso not using Refus nor M$ creation tool. There is a free media creation tool, can't think of name, senior moment. It bypasses secure boot and TMP 2.0

[pnutts]

Remembered to give link to do clean install of win 11 on older computers using a non M$ medial creation tool.bat

Go to part in article that describes it then go and download zip file ( 220 Kb ).

https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/clean-install-windows-11

 

I used to use this site to get hdd pin config for different brands - main/main w slave/slave