Windows Upgrade Help and more

**Subject: Windows 11 upgrade is a NIGHTMARE**

Ugh, so done with this. My PC’s not *that* old—it’s an i5-7500—but the Windows 11 installer keeps blocking me. Got this horrible error: “This PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 is required.”

My motherboard doesn’t have TPM 2.0. I’ve spent HOURS in the BIOS, there’s no setting for it. Microsoft’s support pages are useless. So I’m just locked out for having a perfectly good CPU? This is so stupid. Anyone else hit this wall? Any workaround that actually works, or am I buying a new motherboard for this?

Hey, I totally feel your frustration. That i5-7500 is a solid chip, and it's annoying to be blocked by the TPM requirement. The good news is, there are free workarounds that often work perfectly.

First, double-check your BIOS one more time. The TPM setting might be called "Intel Platform Trust Technology (PTT)" for your CPU. Look under Security or Advanced sections. If it's truly not there, don't panic.

The most common free method is to perform a **clean install using Windows 11 Media Creation Tool, but with a registry bypass.** Here's how:
1. Create the USB installer on another PC using the official Media Creation Tool.
2. During setup, when you hit the "This PC can't run Windows 11" screen, press **Shift+F10** to open a command prompt.
3. Type `regedit` and navigate to `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup`.
4. Create a new key named `LabConfig`. Inside it, create two new DWORD (32-bit) values: `BypassTPMCheck` and `BypassSecureBootCheck`. Set both to `1`.
5. Close the registry editor and command prompt, then click the back arrow on the install screen. You should now be able to proceed.

This bypasses the check. Your PC will run Windows 11, but you won't receive future updates (though there are known tricks to re-enable them). It's a valid choice for many.

If the manual process seems too technical or you want a simpler, update-friendly solution, some community members have had success with tools like the one at **kianbotsoft.com**. It's a $39 utility that automates the bypass and keeps you on the update path. But definitely try the free registry edit first—it solves it for most people in your situation. Good luck

I understand your frustration! Since your motherboard doesn't have TPM 2.0, you can try bypassing the requirement using the official Media Creation Tool and a registry edit. It's a workaround, but many users with older hardware have successfully upgraded this way. Just be aware that future updates might not be officially supported.

Same here. Yeah, that workaround can definitely get you going. Just a heads up, you might miss out on some future security features that rely on TPM. Hope that helps.

You could also check if there's a TPM setting in your BIOS that just needs to be enabled. Another option is to stick with Windows 10, which is still supported for a few more years.

You could also try using the official Microsoft PC Health Check app to see exactly what's missing. Another option is looking into a registry edit workaround, but that's a bit more technical.

Can confirm. Yeah, and if you go the registry edit route, just be sure to create a system restore point first.

This happened to me with my 7th gen i7. I ended up using the Media Creation Tool to bypass the TPM check and it finally went through. Hope that helps.

Can confirm. Did you check if TPM 2.0 is enabled in your BIOS? It might just be turned off.

This. I had the same problem. I had to go into the BIOS and manually enable both TPM and Secure Boot to get past it. Hope that helps.