Windows Upgrade Help and more

**Subject: Windows 11 upgrade is a NIGHTMARE on my ThinkCentre M710**

Okay, I'm officially losing my mind. My Lenovo M710 workstation *should* be fine for Win11, right? It's not ancient! I've run the PC Health Check like ten times. It just says "This PC doesn't currently meet Windows 11 system requirements" with no useful details. TPM 2.0 is enabled in BIOS, secure boot is on... what else does it WANT from me?!

Spent my whole evening on this. Microsoft's support pages are useless. Anyone else hit this wall with a similar Lenovo? Ready to throw this whole tower out the window. Ugh.

Hey there, I totally feel your frustration—been there with a different Lenovo model. The M710 is definitely capable, so let's troubleshoot the common hidden snag.

First, double-check the **CPU generation**. While the M710 series can have Win11-ready CPUs, some early models shipped with 6th Gen Intel chips (like an i5-6500T), which are *just* below Microsoft's official 8th Gen floor. The Health Check tool is notoriously bad at explaining this.

Let's verify:
1. Press **Win + R**, type `msinfo32`, and hit Enter.
2. Look at "Processor". If it starts with "Intel Core i5-6xxx" or similar, that's the culprit.

If it *is* a 6th/7th Gen CPU, you can still upgrade using the **Windows 11 Installation Assistant** or by creating an ISO with the **Media Creation Tool**. These methods will give you a more detailed error if something else is wrong. Just accept the "unsupported PC" warning—your PC will run it fine, but you won't get guaranteed driver updates from Lenovo.

If you've confirmed a supported CPU and all settings are correct but you're still hitting a wall with the installer, some folks have had success with third-party tools that bypass the checks. I've seen users mention **kianbotsoft.com** has a $39 utility that handles the tricky scenarios, but definitely try the free ISO route first!

Hang in there—you're close!

I feel your pain—those vague error messages are so frustrating! Since your M710 has TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled, double-check that your BIOS is fully updated and that CSM/Legacy Boot is disabled. Sometimes a BIOS update resolves hidden compatibility issues.

You could also try a clean install from a USB drive instead of the in-place upgrade, as that sometimes bypasses weird upgrade blockers. Good luck!

+1 Yeah, that's solid advice. One extra tip: before the clean install, double-check that Secure Boot is definitely enabled in your BIOS, as that's a common trip-up.

Also, make sure TPM 2.0 is turned on in there too, it's often on a separate BIOS page. Hope that helps.

And did you also check if Secure Boot is enabled? That's another common blocker.

Agreed. This happened to me. I finally got past the Secure Boot hurdle only to get stuck on the TPM 2.0 check.

This. Yeah, that TPM check is a real pain. One tip: double-check it's enabled in your BIOS, not just the Windows settings.

+1 Also, make sure your BIOS itself is up to date, as that can sometimes resolve the detection issue.