Windows 11 Hero

Getting your device Windows 11 ready – TPM 2.0

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Last Updated on June 28, 2021 by GrahamWalsh

I want to get my have my Dell Precision Tower Windows 11 Ready. It is running Windows 10 today, but of course I want to ensure it is Windows 11 ready. However, when I checked out the minimum requirements, it had to be on TPM 2.0. What is TPM? This is the Trusted Protection Module that you would use with say Windows 10 BitLocker to enhance the security of your system. If you enter your system ID into the Dell support site, you can see if your system can be upgraded. As you can see below, when I run Start > Run > tpm.msc I can see that mine is 1.2.

TPM Version Check > Now 1.2
TPM v1.2

When I go to the Dell website, I can see that mine is capable of being upgrade as it is listing TPM 2.0 under the Security category.

Dell Drivers Download Site
Dell Driver Downloads

One thing you should do before you apply that firmware is clear the current TPM ownership and disable auto provisioning, otherwise you’ll never be able to upgrade the TPM version. Open an elevated PowerShell command and run Disable-TPMAutoProvisioning. Full details here on the Microsoft site. You could do it just for the next reboot.

Disabling TPM AutoProvisioning
Disable-TPMAutoProvisioning

Once you have run this, you can then clear the current TPM state. Just run tpm.msc and then reboot. You have to be in front of the device to do this. I had to press F12 to clear the TPM before it would boot back to Windows.

Clearing TPM State
Clearing the TPM

Now I can update the TPM version on my desktop using the file I downloaded from the Dell site. Of course another reboot.

Upgrading the TPM Version
TPM update utility
Confirming the Version Upgrade for TPM.
Upgrading TPM Version

Once rebooted, I run tpm.msc to check my TPM version and hey presto. Version 2.0 is now on my desktop.

Upgraded TPM Version.
TPM Version 2

So now let’s check the Windows Insider Programme and see if I’m ready to receive Windows 11.

Windows Insiders Programme validation
Windows Insider Programme Status

Arrgh, why not? So lets click on Learn more and this shows us what is needed for Windows 11. But it doesn’t tell me why it’s not ready for Windows 11. Come on Microsoft, make this easier for the average consumer. After a conversation on Twitter, Ian Moran shared a handy tool that someone has built. This is what Windows 10 should have built in!! Now when I run this tool, it tells me what the issue is.

WhyNotWin11 checker
Windows 11 Checker

So it turns out my Intel i7-6700 processer isn’t supported. A full list of support processors for Windows 11 certainly doesn’t include my CPU. My 6-year-old processor can’t run Windows 11 🙁 Surely it could run Windows 11, albeit a little slower?

On the site page about learning more as to what Windows 11 requires, there is a PC Health check tool here. So let’s run this version and see what it says.

Official Windows Health Check Tool for Windows 11
Installing the Windows PC Health Check

Once installed, let’s run the app.

PC Health Check Tool
Checking for Windows 11 Compatibility

Well at least it is short and to the point

Why my system can't run Windows 11
Why my system can’t run Windows 11

So, what does Learn More tell me? Nothing, I can buy a new PC!!

What can I do if my system doesn't run Windows 11?
PC will not run Windows 11

So, can I run Windows 11 with a degraded performance? Well, I hope to be able to. Not sure why Windows 11 is so strict against the processor. Otherwise, I can carry on running Windows 10.

Let me know any thoughts below.

Updated evening of 28th June: Microsoft added a new blog post here outlining an issue with the Health Check tool and it’s been removed for now. The good news is that I can now install Windows 11 on my Dell desktop. I am also checking my Surface Laptop, and this too cannot run Windows 11 due to CPU issues. My guess is that Microsoft will use the data from us Insiders to work out how well Windows 11 performs before it goes GA in the fall, around October timeframe is the rumour.


Also published on Medium.

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