24
votes
Upgrade desktop to win11 when hardware isn’t supported?
Ive been using Linux Mint for like 10 years now but my s/o still wants to use Windows
Win 10 is about to lose support, and they cant upgrade to Win 11 cause its missing some new chip?
Anyone have details or fixes? Im way out of the loop cause Linux is just plug and play for me so I don’t keep up with this stuff any more
Easy fix, stay on Windows 10 until 2032: https://massgrave.dev/windows10_eol#upgrade-windows-10-home-pro-etc-editions-to-windows-10-iot-enterprise-ltsc-2021-while-keeping-files-and-apps
I just want to add, for anybody thinkjng about this - I did this on my personal PC last week and found it pretty easy to follow. Once the installation was completed, my PC was in the exact same state as before except for the updated license. There was no data loss or reinstallation of any drivers/software required
I'm tempted to do this, but I've read you could run into compatibility issues and that it's a bit of a dead end upgrade wise (I guess fresh install in 2032 wouldn't be too bad...).
Don't know what you've read, but it was probably wrong.
Win10 IoT is a binary equivalent to Win10 Enterprise and since Win10 is EOL'd as of last week it is a "dead end upgrade wise" as it is.
The only difference is the license and the IoT LTSC license gets security updates until 2032, there are no more feature updates for Win10, so there's nothing to be missed there (which would be a thing that could be missed if you were on IoT before Win10 EOL).
Simply put, if you're on Win10 now, you can run Win10 IoT LTSC.
My windows is 22H2 and IoT LTSC 2021 is 21H2, so I don't think they are identical, but the difference is minor apparently.
For the upgrade path, as I understand I could upgrade to windows 11 or windows 11 LTSC, bypassing the requirements if needed, but once you transition to Win10 IoT LTSC that not the case anymore. Although it might be possible to use the same registry tricks to go back to 10 and then 11, not sure.
Binary equivalent to Win 10 Enterprise. 22H2 is a feature update that was only for General Availability Channel (GAS). Since it amounted to little more than cosmetics and unnecessary additions (search bar back to taskbar, addition of Copilot AI crap, new themes, etc.) it wasn't pushed to Enterprise users.
LTSC versions have caused compatibility issues with software in the past by leaving users behind on feature updates. But Windows 10 is never getting another feature update.
Do you have any articles about that? I'd be very curious as to why that'd be the case - As far as I know, the IoT version of Windows is quite literally the exact same as Pro, other than the license. If you read that guide, it even specifies that you can use a regular Pro image for the install instead of the IoT version.
I could be totally wrong, though, as I'm not an expert on the matter.
I think I heard that on a youtube video but I don't find much info about it tbh, this kinda repeats the same concerns :
https://windowsforum.com/threads/windows-10-iot-enterprise-ltsc-2021-support-through-2032-explained.385333/#-why-you-should-not-view-ltsc-as-a-general-escape-hatch-from-the-2025-deadline
Does this method cost anything? None of the docs mention buying a license
Nope.
You will be running a pirated copy of Windows, since if you paid for a license you wouldn't need to use this guide or activation scripts.
You can make this a future you problem by enrolling the Windows 10 PC for Extended Security Updates(ESU) for one year.
Requires one of the following:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/extended-security-updates
Most of the suggestions I would point out have already been mentioned, but another creative method that comes to mind is to set up a VPN and make it look like your computer is connected to the internet in the EU. Microsoft is providing extended support to EU users through 2026. - you'd probably need to make a new Microsoft account after setting up your VPN.
Note: this is not the best option, just one that has not yet been mentioned.
Lmao thats by far the most unhinged idea Ive seen
Thank you.
The officially sanctioned and least-headache-prone way way is to buy a "hardware TPM" ($25 range) if your motherboard has a header for it - outside of this, Windows 11's minimum requirements are actually quite lenient: https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/what-is-a-tpm-and-why-do-i-need-one-for-windows-11
There are a variety of workarounds outside of that but I'm unsure of the limitations, some claim Windows Update stops working, some claim that they're getting regularly patched, etc. I'm sure other Tilde users will chime in about their experiences doing so.
It's been a minute, but you could update so long as the CPU supports sse4.2 and popcnt instructions
Just use Rufus to create the install media and select the relevant options
Overview of the situation:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-upgrade-your-incompatible-windows-10-pc-to-windows-11-2-free-options/
Edit: as others pointed out, extending windows 10 support is also an option. The win 10 IoT ltsc gets support through 2032 and is an in place upgrade.
Re: upgrading with Rufus, you can perform an in place upgrade with Rufus, you just have to mount the install media with windows running and run the setup from the usb. If you boot from the install media, afaik you have to do a clean install. Should go without saying, backup the files + application data (E.g. Bookmarks) before you try any of the workarounds we're suggesting.
This is true, but as far as my understanding goes you will not get the bigger feature updates that windows 11 gets on a yearly basis. So I am not entirely sure how that impacts security patches as well.
Getting security fixes is pretty much the entire point of the LTSC build.
LTSC gets all security patches and fixes for critical bugs, but no feature updates. The only thing is it's not intended for general desktop use so it's missing a few things like the Microsoft Store (that I honestly assume most people don't care about? but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
E: and if you can't upgrade to Windows 11 anyways, then you're not missing out on the feature updates because regular W10 isn't getting them either.
What I replied to isn't upgrading to the LTSC build though. That was a later edit, not there when I replied. I am referring to the practice of forcing an upgrade to win11 with unsupported hardware as described in the first few sentences.
Oops, my bad!
It's very unlikely you need any new hardware. Reboot your computer, hold F12 or whatever, and find the setting to enable fTPM (AMD) or PTT (Intel). Boom, your computer now supports Windows 11. You probably have to download Microsoft's PC Health Check to get it to acknowledge it.
Not terribly unlikely. You need a CPU with TMP 2.0 support. I have a first generation AMD Ryzen I bought in 2019 and a Intel Kabby Lake CPU from 2018.
Both are not supported, and yet are perfectly fine machines. The former one sits next to a 2 year old GPU and runs all modern games on high settings, the latter one is inside a Thinkpad X1 Carbon which is an outstanding work laptop after all those years.
Wouldn't surprise me if both machines see the end of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC in 2032.
Just to add to this, if there's no setting then updating the bios may add it.
Will that work while still on win10?
Yes, it's in the BIOS/UEFI. It doesn't matter what OS you're running.
It's been long enough that I don't remember the details of installation (I believe it was just booting from a flash drive and doing a registry edit, this guide looks close to what I did), but I've been running Windows 11 without TPM with zero issues.
I can't speak to CPU or RAM requirements, though.
If they're interested in Upgrading to Windows 11, these steps worked for me, and it should provide a path to continue updating in the future.
https://gist.github.com/asheroto/5087d2a38b311b0c92be2a4f23f92d3e
is this a shared system? Why not run a VM w/ W11 for her? No use having two suffer unnecessarily. It'll save her sessions, too -- so its kind of her own.
Nah its just their computer I don’t touch it
oh nice. w11 enterprise with startallback is fine if you can get the other stuff taken care of. i think windows is probably a good OS for non-technical people who aren’t trying to tweak everything… like wanting full control of the shortcuts with the hyper key.
Honestly linux is pretty good for basic users.
Theres just some specific programs that dont have support for linux that keeps most people from switching. Sometimes you can use wine, sometimes you cant.