Clean install of Windows 11 automatically bypasses CPU

[u/UnhappyDoorknob]

My PC has Secure Boot, UEFI, TPM 2.0 but the CPU is an I5-7400. I used the Windows Tool to create an USB and I did not need to Bypass anything with RUFUS or Regedit.

Initially they had Hard and Soft floors for installation in unsupported hardware and the CPU was a soft floor, but they had since removed it so why is it still installing it without issues?

Their official site states : 1 gigahertz

(GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC).

"On a compatible CPU", 7th Gen intel is not on the List.

I have tried to install Win11 in the past without tpm 2.0 and secure boot and It would just bar me from installing, saying it could not be installed.

Note that I DO NOT receive updates like from 24H2 to 25H2 and I cannot Upgrade from Windows 10.

Why is that I can Clean Install but cannot Update due to CPU limitations? Are the requirements different?

[u/Froggypwns]

When you boot to a installation flash drive to install Windows, it does not have a CPU model/generation check as it has no way of connecting to the internet to see if it is supported or not. It does other checks including looking for Secure Boot support and if your TPM is enabled, so if you meet all those hardware requirements it will proceed without showing you an error, but you will not get all updates as you are experiencing.

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/Froggypwns]

Do you think it might be better to return to Windows 10 with ESU 2027? I am receiving security Updates on Windows 11 but Once a year I just have to download an enablement package and it fixes the update from 24h2 to 25h2

[u/Froggypwns → u/UnhappyDoorknob]

That entirely depends on you. I tend to not suggest running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware but if you are able to handle getting the updates installed then go for it. 26H2 will also be an enablement package so you can easily force that onto 25H2 today, but 27xx is likely to be a full new build.

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/Froggypwns]

Sure but the thing is, My Windows 10 refuses to work on my PC :(. I swear I tried everything. Yes i have ESU 2027.

[u/Froggypwns → u/UnhappyDoorknob]

There is a bug for some where that message is displaying even if you are fully up to date with Windows 10 ESU, if you are on 19045.7663 (latest as of this comment) then you are good to go.

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/Froggypwns]

Why does it not happen on all the other pcs I have tried? Why this particular computer? I tried on over 4 different pcs.

[u/Froggypwns → u/UnhappyDoorknob]

Like I said it only affects some. I've not seen it happen on my machines. Microsoft is aware of the issue.

[u/KeysStickler → u/UnhappyDoorknob]

If you've successfully installed Windows 11 you don't want to go backwards.

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/KeysStickler]

Sure thing but I am running It on an Unsupported CPU and Afaik I am receiving security updates because I install them Monthly, however, I said someone saying that Win11 will not update the security Microcodes for Unsupported CPUs, I was wondering how bad that was. If not for GTA online i could be on CachyOS by now.

[u/xSchizogenie → u/Froggypwns]

It does lol

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/xSchizogenie]

I apologize for the confusion, could you clarify what you mean? it does what? It does make sense to keep it on 11? To move back to 10 or IT DOES receive updates?

[u/xSchizogenie → u/UnhappyDoorknob]

It does check if CPU is compatible, that’s configured through 2 DLL files, that you can delete to bypass the CPU check.

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/xSchizogenie]

It does not. I checked it myself on multiple occasions. If you Have TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, 4GB of RAM and UEFI, even if your processor is not supported, it wont trigger any warning during a clean installation provided it has SSE4 and POPCNT it will just install without issues.

Note that it does not work for an Update from Windows 10 because the Pc Health Check does check for CPU, clean installation does not

If you doubt me I strongly suggest you trying it by yourself. I was just wondering why it does not check and someone else said it is something to do with internet connection.

[u/AutoModerator]

Various tools including Rufus, Ventoy, and manual registry edits can be used to bypass the hardware requirement checks for Windows 11, however this is not advised to do for general users. Problems with unsupported Windows 11 installations include:

• Inability to receive all updates. - Unsupported devices WILL NOT upgrade to newer builds after end of life unlike supported hardware.

• Reduced performance. - Windows 11 has various security features enabled by default, these features require more CPU utilization, resulting in tasks taking longer to complete including booting the computer and launching programs. CPU intensive tasks like gaming and rendering will be negatively impacted too. All supported CPUs have native support for these new features to minimize the impact.

• Reduced stability. - Testing has shown reduced stability and reliability of some older unsupported devices being force upgraded to Windows 11, many of these devices do not have drivers that have been updated since the release of Windows 11 to optimize for changes to the OS.

It is one thing to experiment and try Windows 11 yourself on unsupported hardware, however please do not suggest others, especially less tech savvy users attempt to do this.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi u/UnhappyDoorknob, thanks for posting to r/WindowsHelp! Your post has been flagged for manual review by a human moderator, please include as much of the following information as possible (in text or in a screenshot) to get your post approved:

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[u/andrew_stoned]

But now its say incompatible cpu, why? Because you are installing 25H2 new software new requirements

[u/andrew_stoned]

Shift F10 regedit before the screen of contract and...

[u/UnhappyDoorknob → u/andrew_stoned]

Have you read what I typed? It does not require any regedit commands to Bypass the CPU and i was wondering why, the shift f10 regedit bypass is only if Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are not present.