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How to install Windows 11 on "unsupported" hardware.


GD 2W10

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Wow GD 2W10:D

Nice info!

Going to leave it on a test machine for the time being and see what happens with a major update....

Thanks for all your time and effort....

 

bookie32

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10 hours ago, GD 2W10 said:

There's another way to upgrade to a new version of Windows 11, which is basically using the Windows 10 1507 or 1511 setup with the Windows 11 install.wim file, but it just ends in a boot loop, and you have to change the registry values in HKLM\Setup to 0 and the Cmdline to "Cmd.exe". I might try to find a workaround for this, but that's the farthest I've gotten so far.

Here is that said method (it's the scrapped 3rd method from a few months ago):

1. Get and extract a Windows 10 1507 or 1511 ISO. Any Windows 10 ISOs that were made later will NOT work. 

(note: steps 2-5 only need to be completed on Windows 10 or higher, if you are on Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 you can move on to step 6)

2. Right click "setup.exe", then click "Troubleshoot compatibility"

3. Click on "Use recommended settings". This will set the compatibility to Windows 8. 

4. Click on "Test program". It will give you a UAC prompt, but click No.

5. Click on "Yes, save these settings". Then close the troubleshooter.

6. In a Run prompt, type in "setup.exe /noreboot"

7. Go through the setup normally as if you were upgrading, after it closes get the Windows 11 ISO.

8. Go to (insert drive letter):\sources and copy install.wim. Go to C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources and replace the file already there with the one from the Windows 11 ISO.

9. Reboot, then setup will continue.

10. Everything should continue normally until you get into a boot loop.

11. When that happens, boot into setup, load the SYSTEM registry hive, change the Cmdline to "cmd.exe or oobe\msoobe.exe" and set all values (except for Upgrade) to 0.

12. After that, either you will be brought to the login screen, or you will be on the OOBE screen.

13. Once you are at the desktop, your files will probably not migrate, so you will have to manually migrate by copying the files.

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There is also the Rufus method - under ''image option'' select extended windows 11 installation (no tpm/secure boot) 

make sure that the Partition scheme is set to GPT and the Target system is set to UEFI (non-CSM)

.

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1 minute ago, Skitt said:

There is also the Rufus method - under ''image option'' select extended windows 11 installation (no tpm/secure boot) 

make sure that the Partition scheme is set to GPT and the Target system is set to UEFI (non-CSM)

.

Yes this is also another method. I will add it soon.

Edited by GD 2W10
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On 8/1/2021 at 6:08 PM, GD 2W10 said:

These are methods that can be found anywhere on the internet, but I wanted to post it here. With this tutorial you should be able to install Windows 11 on any PC that supports Windows 10 x64.

Method 1: Install Windows 11 with the Windows 10 Setup (clean install ONLY method, does not work with the modern setup, therefore it cannot upgrade) (best clean install method):

1. Get a Windows 10 x64 ISO. You can do this with the Media Creation Tool, or with Windows ISO Downloader.

2. Copy the contents of the ISO to a folder. Go to sources and delete "install.wim" or "install.esd".

3. Get a Windows 11 ISO

4. Mount the Windows 11 ISO.

5. Go to the sources folder, and copy "install.wim" or "install.esd"

6. Paste the install.wim/esd file into the Windows 10 x64 sources folder.

Here’s how to make it into an ISO:

7. Download and install NTLite. https://www.ntlite.com/ 

8. Once you have installed it, select "Free", unless you have a license.

9. Click "Add" > "Image directory"

10. Select the Windows 10 setup with the Windows 11 "install.wim/esd" folder.

11. Right click on "install.wim/esd", and click "Create ISO"

Method 2: Upgrade/Install Windows 11 with the Windows 10 "appraisesres.dll" file (upgrade + clean install method, this method ONLY works with the Modern Windows Setup, using the other setup will still give you the "This PC can't run Windows 11" error) (best method for upgrading) (WARNING: This method may not work for newer builds. It will definitely work with 21996, some versions of 22000, and maybe also some slightly later builds):

1. Turn off your Wi-Fi. If you don't do this, it will still give you the error.

2. Get a Windows 11 ISO. 

3. Copy the contents of the ISO to a folder. Go to sources and delete "appraisesres.dll"

4. Get a Windows 10 20H2 or earlier x64 ISO. You can do this with the Media Creation Tool, or with Windows ISO Downloader.

5. Mount the Windows 10 x64 ISO.

6. Go to the sources folder, and copy "appraisesres.dll" to the sources folder into the Windows 10 ISO.

7. Paste the file into the "sources" folder in the Windows 11 directory. When you run the setup, it should check to see if it is capable for Windows 10 and not 11.

If you want to make this into an ISO, refer to the instructions in Method 1. 

Method 3: Install Windows 11 using DISM, DISKPART, and BCDBOOT (clean install only)

This method only requires a Windows 11 ISO. If you are trying to dual boot on the same hard drive, the partitioning steps will be different.

1. Boot your Windows 11 media

2. Open a command prompt window (You can do this by pressing Shift+F10)

3. Open diskpart by typing in "diskpart" in the command prompt window. If you are installing on BIOS, refer to the Legacy commands. If you are installing on UEFI, refer to the UEFI commands.

Legacy:

diskpart

sel dis 0

clean (this wipes your hard drive)

conv mbr

cre par prim size=100

form quick fs=ntfs label="System Reserved"

assign letter w

active

cre par prim

form quick

assign letter c

exit

UEFI:

diskpart

sel dis 0

clean (this wipes your hard drive)

conv gpt

cre par efi size=100

form quick fs=fat32 label="System Reserved"

assign letter w

active

cre par prim

form quick 

assign letter c

exit

4. After partitioning the drive, go to the sources folder by typing in "cd /d D:(where your Windows 11 media is)\sources

5. Type in the following commands:

dism /apply-image /imagefile:install.wim(.esd) /index:(1 for Home, 6 for Pro) /applydir:C:\

bcdboot C:\Windows /s W: /f ALL

bootrec /scanos

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /fixboot

bootrec /rebuildbcd

6. Now reboot. Windows setup will then continue normally. If it doesn't boot, run Startup Repair. 

Method 4: Install Windows with Rufus (clean install only??)

1. Get a Windows 11 ISO and a USB big enough for it.

2. Download Rufus. https://rufus.ie/en/#google_vignette

3. After downloading Rufus, open the application and connect the USB.

4. Click on "Select".  Select your Windows 11 ISO. 

5. Under image options, you will see three options: "Standard", "Extended", and "Windows To Go". Click on "Extended". This will bypass all of the additional Windows 11 requirements.

6. Click on "Start".

After the tool is finished making the ISO, if you want to make this into an ISO, refer to the instructions in Method 1. 

Added the Rufus method. 

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  • 1 month later...

You can also use the

<!--Skip Trusted Platform Module / Secure Boot Check-->

entry in the autounattend.xml file example that I posted earlier in this thread. This is ideal for those users who already have a working ISO/USB setup and use an autounattend.xml file to auto-install Windows 11.

 

Edited by BYTE-ME
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