How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices

Introduction

With the recent release of Windows 11, Microsoft has imposed certain requirements for hardware compatibility, including the need for TPM 2.0, specific CPU architectures, and a minimum amount of RAM. However, not all users may have hardware that meets these requirements, or they may simply want to bypass these checks for other reasons.

That's where Rufus comes in. Rufus is a popular tool that can create bootable USB flash drives from ISO images, and it also offers various customization options, including the ability to bypass certain installation checks for Windows 11. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of using Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive that will allow you to install Windows 11 without the need for TPM, CPU, and RAM checks, as well as online signups.

Before we proceed with the guide, it's important to note that while it is possible to bypass the hardware requirements for installing Windows 11 using Rufus, it does not guarantee optimal performance on underpowered hardware. Windows 11 is designed to take advantage of the latest hardware technologies, and running it on older or underpowered hardware may result in slower performance, crashes, or other issues.

Below you can see the changes Rufus will make to the registry of the installation media.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup]

"AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig]

"BypassTPMCheck"=dword:00000001

"BypassSecureBootCheck"=dword:00000001

"BypassRAMCheck"=dword:00000001

"BypassStorageCheck"=dword:00000001

"BypassCPUCheck"=dword:00000001

Ce dont vous avez besoin

Étape 1 Install Rufus

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Install Rufus: étape 1, image 1 de 2

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Install Rufus: étape 1, image 2 de 2

Launch the windows command line interface.
Enter winget install Rufus.Rufus to install Rufus.
Restart the terminal application and launch Rufus by typing rufus.
If you are running a version of Windows older than Windows 10 1709 (build 16299) or it didn't work for any other reason, you'll need to manually download Rufus from the GitHub.

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Étape 2 Download the ISO

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Download the ISO: étape 2, image 1 de 2

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Download the ISO: étape 2, image 2 de 2

Download the Windows 11 ISO file.
You can download the ISO at the official Windows 11 download page.

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Étape 3 Plug in the flash drive

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Plug in the flash drive: étape 3, image 1 de 1

Plug in a USB flash drive with a capacity of at least 8GB.
Any content on the flash drive will be deleted.

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Étape 4 Configure Rufus

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How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Configure Rufus: étape 4, image 2 de 3

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Configure Rufus: étape 4, image 3 de 3

Select the flash drive you want to use.
Select the ISO image you downloaded.
Press START.
Select the option Remove requirement for 4gb+ RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0 and confirm with OK.
Here you can also set other options, like to automatically opt out of data collection, or remove the requirement for a Microsoft account on setup.

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Étape 5 Boot from the flash drive

How to install Windows 11 on unsupported devices, Boot from the flash drive: étape 5, image 1 de 1

Boot from the USB flash drive by rebooting your PC while pressing the key that opens the boot-device selection menu.
This will vary from device to device, but typically Enter, Esc, F10 or F12 are a good starting point.
Select the option that boots the PC from the USB flash drive.
This will typically be called something along the lines of USB: Mass Storage.
Some devices, like the Microsoft Surface tablets, don’t use a menu and just directly boot from USB when p. ex. the Volume-Down button is pressed while turning the device on.