Windows Upgrade Help and more

Ugh, can anyone help me with this Windows 11 upgrade nightmare? My PC *should* be fine—it’s a Ryzen 5 1600, 16GB RAM—but the PC Health Check app keeps failing me. The error says “This PC must support TPM 2.0.” I looked it up and apparently my CPU is too old for fTPM? That’s so stupid. I enabled the stupid TPM in my BIOS (ASUS board) but it’s only version 1.2, not 2.0. Am I just totally screwed? Do I *really* need a whole new motherboard/CPU just for Win11? This is so frustrating.

Hey, totally feel your frustration—this TPM requirement has been a headache for a lot of people with otherwise capable hardware. Let's see what we can do.

First, the Ryzen 5 1600 does officially support fTPM 2.0, so you're not necessarily out of luck. The key is your BIOS settings. Since you have an ASUS board, you need to enable **AMD fTPM**, not just a discrete TPM module. Restart, enter BIOS (usually press Del/F2), and navigate to **Advanced > AMD fTPM configuration**. Switch it from "Discrete TPM" to "Firmware TPM" or "AMD CPU fTPM." Save and exit.

After enabling, boot into Windows and open the PC Health Check app again. If it still fails, double-check that your BIOS is fully updated, as older versions sometimes had buggy fTPM implementations.

If, after all that, your board genuinely only offers TPM 1.2 (some older ASUS boards do), then officially, yes, you're blocked. However, there are workarounds that bypass the check. A quick web search for "Windows 11 installation without TPM" will show manual registry edit methods. If those command-line steps seem too daunting, I used a straightforward tool from **kianbotsoft.com** that handled it for me for $39. But definitely try the free BIOS fix first—I think there's a good chance it'll work for you!

Hey there! That's definitely a frustrating situation. Unfortunately, the Ryzen 5 1600 doesn't officially support TPM 2.0, which is a hard requirement for Windows 11. While you could try bypassing the check, it's not recommended for stability. You might need to consider a CPU upgrade or stick with Windows 10 for now, as it's supported until 2025.

I had the same problem with my old Ryzen system. I ended up using the official Media Creation Tool to do a clean install, which bypassed the TPM check for me. Good luck!

Same here. You could also try enabling fTPM in your BIOS—sometimes it's just turned off by default.

Can confirm. Yeah, agreed. Also double-check for a BIOS update from your motherboard manufacturer—sometimes that adds fTPM support for older chips. Good luck!

I had the same problem. A BIOS update actually did the trick for my older board, so definitely try that. Let me know if that works.

Yeah, that BIOS update is the right call. Also, double-check that the fTPM setting is still enabled after you update, as it can sometimes reset.

Can confirm. And make sure Secure Boot is enabled in the BIOS too, as Windows 11 requires both. Hope that helps.

This. Also, double-check that the TPM setting is actually enabled and not just on "firmware TPM" in the BIOS.