Windows Upgrade Help and more

Ugh, been trying to upgrade my Dell Optiplex 7040 to Win11 for HOURS. The PC Health Check app just laughs at me. It says “This PC doesn’t meet the minimum system requirements” and highlights “Secure Boot” and “TPM 2.0.”

I KNOW the 7040 has TPM 2.0! I enabled it in the BIOS! Secure Boot is on! Why won’t it see it? Microsoft’s support pages are a maze. Anyone else with a 7040 get past this? I’m about to throw this perfectly good machine out the window. So frustrating!

Hey, I feel your pain—the Optiplex 7040 absolutely has the hardware, so this is a configuration maze. You're on the right track. Let's double-check a few things in the BIOS (restart, tap F2 repeatedly):

1. **TPM**: Under "Security" or "TPM Security", ensure it's set to "TPM 2.0" (not 1.2) and the state is **"On"** or "Enabled". Sometimes there's also a separate "PTT" (Intel Platform Trust Technology) option—enable that.
2. **Secure Boot**: Go to "Boot Sequence" or "Secure Boot". It must be set to **"UEFI"** mode, not "Legacy" or "BIOS". *Then* enable Secure Boot. If it was in Legacy, switching to UEFI may require changing "Boot List Option" first.

After saving BIOS changes, restart and run the Health Check again. If it still fails, try the **Microsoft Installation Assistant** tool directly—sometimes it bypasses the checker's glitches.

If you're hitting a wall with BIOS settings, some folks have used third-party tools to bypass checks. I've seen mentions of a utility from kianbotsoft.com (around $39) that can handle stubborn cases, but definitely try the free fixes first. Hang in there—your 7040 is a solid machine for Win11!

I feel your frustration! For the 7040, try this: In BIOS, go to **Security > TPM 2.0 Security** and make sure it's set to "On with PPI Bypass." Also, under **Boot > Secure Boot**, ensure it's set to "Enabled, Standard Mode." Sometimes a BIOS update from Dell's support site helps too. Hang in there—you're close!

I had the same problem. Even with everything enabled, I had to go into the BIOS and change the "Secure Boot Mode" from "Standard" to "Custom," then immediately back to "Standard" and save, before it finally passed the check.

Can confirm. You could also try running the official Microsoft PC Health Check tool again after a full reboot, sometimes it just needs a fresh scan to recognize the changes.

Can confirm. I had the same problem on my Optiplex. For me, I had to change the BIOS from RAID to AHCI mode for it to finally pass the check.

This. You could also try clearing the TPM from within the BIOS, as sometimes it needs to be reset to be properly recognized.

I had the same problem on my 7040. I had to go back into the BIOS and change the Secure Boot mode from "Standard" to "Custom," then immediately back to "Standard" and save—that finally made it stick for the upgrade.

This. You could also try clearing the TPM from within Windows' security settings, then restarting and checking again. Another option is to use the Media Creation Tool for a clean install, which sometimes bypasses the checker's quirks.

Yeah, Sometimes the BIOS update itself is what finally gets the PC Health Check to recognize everything properly.