Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Win 11 adds 'requirements not met' nag for unsupported hardware
The Register ^ | Mar 21, 2022 | Brandon Vigliarolo

Posted on 03/24/2022 10:53:40 AM PDT by dayglored

Don't wanna buy the latest stuff? Here's your watermark

Those running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware are getting an update, though not the kind that low-end hardware and VM users might be hoping for.

The latest Release Preview of Windows 11 adds an undocumented feature that slaps a line of text in the lower right hand side of the Windows desktop and a similar warning in the Settings app for any system that fails to meet Windows 11's exacting standards.

The message is short and to the point: "System requirements not met. Go to Settings to learn more."

It's also far less obtrusive than the watermarks on unactivated Windows 11 systems, which shows inside full-screen apps. This one does not.

Microsoft's strict hardware requirements for Windows 11 are well known, and the method for bypassing them is likely also known to anyone who needs to run Windows 11 on older computers or in a virtual environment.

Even when circumvented, Microsoft takes pains to notify users, which can get cumbersome in enterprise environments. (This will be rare, as Windows 11 on unsupported hardware is nightmare fuel for admins.)

However, the warnings are not as burdensome as the hardware requirements, which have kept Windows 11 software from running on countless machines that didn't meet the requisite 4GB RAM, 1GHz 64-bit processor.

As of November 2021, Microsoft's latest operating system was only on 0.21 percent of systems included in a survey of 10 million IT assets, compared to Windows XP's 3.62 percent.

Microsoft didn't respond to a question about whether or not it plans to take any additional action against those running Windows 11 on unqualified hardware. The Windows-maker put a number of restrictions in place on unregistered copies of Windows 10, but hardware requirements aren't the same as violating terms of service.

Microsoft would be setting itself up for serious PR blowback if it started restricting Windows 11 on unqualified hardware after upsetting people with strict hardware requirements in the first place.

Microsoft has previously stated that Windows 11 installs on unsupported hardware won't be entitled to updates, though when and how that cutoff is decided remains unclear, as this feature would have been pointless had that time already come.

It's also worth noting that, as previously reported by The Register, hardware requirement checks on Windows 11 are only performed when upgrading a PC from Windows 10, and it's those instances where the bypass comes in, and where warnings will start to appear.

Fresh Windows 11 installations from an ISO file don't check for hardware requirements, so if you're willing to start fresh you might be able to avoid this entire kerfuffle.

Unless, that is, Microsoft is adding that watermark to all systems, even those with a fresh installation that didn't experience a hardware check with a prior version of Windows 11. ®


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: microsoft; windows; windows11; windowspinglist
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-42 next last
To: The Louiswu

Need to check it out later


21 posted on 03/24/2022 11:37:06 AM PDT by Gil4 (And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, ax and saw)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

im running win10 and im getting “this laptop does not meet win11 basic requifements”.

im 69, ive been windozed since win 1.0, and i do not see The need to spend money i dont jave on a new laptop.

i have an older tpad, and am thinking og linux, but i domt want to truck it all up, either!

yes my shakey finger is pecking on my phone!


22 posted on 03/24/2022 11:53:31 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

Crap like that could make a person not want to ruin Win11. Oh wait, never mind......


23 posted on 03/24/2022 11:57:57 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored; Swordmaker

I haven’t seen him in awhile, is he ok?


24 posted on 03/24/2022 12:31:25 PM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Terry L Smith

Lay off the sauce...
;^)


25 posted on 03/24/2022 12:33:29 PM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Bikkuri

my friend, a written comment, such as: “lay off the sauce”, is just dad-blamed stupid, and such a hand wave-off, it just might be seen by other readers,as shallow.

1. i am 69 years old.
2. icymi, i’ve been dry since 1986.
3. I’m a disabled veteran, so i’m allowed to shake a little.
4. just might be a comment la familia, but i won’t.


26 posted on 03/24/2022 1:04:24 PM PDT by Terry L Smith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Bikkuri; dayglored; Swordmaker
I haven’t seen him in awhile, is he ok?

He is an asset to the community and very knowledgeable abut just about everything, not just Apple products. He just posted the other day. But the last 12 months might have been pretty tough for him after he lost his long time girlfriend.

27 posted on 03/24/2022 1:21:52 PM PDT by fireman15 (Irritating people are the grit from which we fashion our pearl. I provide the grit. You're Welcome.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Terry L Smith

Apologies if you took it the wrong way, I was just being sarcastic. (I did see you mention your typing issue)


28 posted on 03/24/2022 1:37:30 PM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: fireman15

Man, so sad, I wasn’t aware of his gf :(


29 posted on 03/24/2022 1:37:56 PM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

In most ways I consider it a blessing that Microsoft inexplicably decided that the processor in my primary laptop which is more capable than the approved processor in my wife’s laptop did not get their official blessing. It demonstrates the idiocy of Microsoft decisions that do not get reversed even after creating a bit of an uproar. And I am not receiving the constant nags to upgrade to 11. A win win in my view.

Fortunately, when I got the update to the newest preview it was in a virtual machine, so I just rolled back to the checkpoint that was made three days before when the latest cumulative update was installed.

It is just annoying. I am hoping that it will not make it to the coming public releases and will only affect those of us in the Windows Insider Program. It is also likely that by the time the version for the general public is released that someone will have figured out how to get rid of it.

“Fresh Windows 11 installations from an ISO file don’t check for hardware requirements, so if you’re willing to start fresh you might be able to avoid this entire kerfuffle.”

I installed Windows 11 in a virtual machine from an ISO file and only used a Windows 10 Pro license to register it. So I did start fresh and I am still getting the nag... so no, sadly starting fresh has no apparent effect on the nag.


30 posted on 03/24/2022 1:42:28 PM PDT by fireman15 (Irritating people are the grit from which we fashion our pearl. I provide the grit. You're Welcome.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

Windows 7 is OK, but I miss my XP.


31 posted on 03/24/2022 2:27:52 PM PDT by PAR35
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored
...is likely also known to anyone who needs to run Windows 11 on older computers ...

I've been running 11 since November and it's fine, but I can't imagine why anyone would "need" to run it.

32 posted on 03/24/2022 3:24:29 PM PDT by KevinB (''...and to the Banana Republic for which it stands ...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

Apparently Microsquish REALLY doesn’t want me for a customer anymore...

(Challenge accepted ;’}


33 posted on 03/24/2022 5:54:43 PM PDT by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored
The Windows-maker put a number of restrictions in place on unregistered copies of Windows 10, but hardware requirements aren't the same as violating terms of service.

Failing to register is a violation of the terms of service?

34 posted on 03/24/2022 10:09:08 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

That crap came on my new laptop. It sucked so bad it came off and I upgraded to Windows 10.


35 posted on 03/24/2022 10:12:05 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dayglored
Me: Ooh, another Microsoft post!

[scroll]

[scroll]

FReeper: "Something something Windows 7. Something Linux."

Also Me: "There it is! There's always one ten twenty..."

36 posted on 03/25/2022 3:49:57 AM PDT by rarestia (“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” -Hamilton)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bikkuri

z’ok!
sometimes the rubber bumper stick thingie has a mind to ignore pushes, too!


37 posted on 03/25/2022 7:08:18 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: rarestia
> "There it is! There's always one ten twenty..."

Unavoidably, Windows threads act as troll-bait, snagging a lot of anti-Windows (or at least, other-than-Windows) comments.

Then again, Mac threads do the same with regard to anti-Apple/other-than-Apple comments.

Linux threads not as much, other than "it's a commie-hippie-difficult-to-use" OS. Even those have trailed off over the years.

38 posted on 03/25/2022 7:46:23 AM PDT by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: Terry L Smith

Well, my keyboard has issues with adding spaces when I don’t need one. I always have to go back and double check everything :/
(I also have a keyboard cover that doesn’t help very much (except to keep the keyboard clean ;^))


39 posted on 03/25/2022 11:13:55 AM PDT by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: dayglored

A registry fix should be a fix.

You can do this in Windows 7, 10 prior if you want to upgrade.
Otherwise you can follow the directions below for a clean install.

Get Windows 11
https://tweaks.com/windows/67321/dow...indows-11-now/

How to Install Windows 11 on just about any Device
https://tweaks.com/windows/67324/how...ut-any-device/
Using the tricks I’m about to share with you I was able to install Windows 11 on my $79 8” NuVision Windows Tablet I purchased from the Microsoft store in 2017. Originally shipping with Windows 8, this tiny tablet is packed with 2GB of RAM, 32GB hard drive, no TPM, no secure boot, and a 1.4 Ghz Atom processor that is no where to be found on the CPU requirements list.

Need 64-bit processor
Plug in your USB installation media and boot up the installer on your PC. When you get to the main Windows Setup screen shown below, stop

Next, hold down the Shift and F10 keys to open up a secret Command Prompt window. On this screen type in regedit and hit Enter to open up Registry Editor.

In Registry Editor, navigate through HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, and then Setup. Right click on Setup and select New and then Key.

Name the new key LabConfig and then hit Enter.

Next, under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SYSTEM, Setup and then the new LabConfig key we just created, we need to create three new DWORD (32-bit) values. Right click on the background and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value and create a DWORD named after each item below:

BypassTPMCheck
BypassRAMCheck
BypassSecureBootCheck

And now for the final step, set the value for each DWORD you just created to 1 by either double click on each item or right clicking on each and selecting modify.

Simply close Registry Editor and Command Prompt and begin your install by clicking Next back on the Windows Setup screen.


40 posted on 03/26/2022 12:08:10 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy gas)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-42 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson