Windows Upgrade Help and more

**Subject: Win 11 upgrade is killing me!!**

So my old rig (i7-6700k, GTX 1060) should *technically* be compatible, right? Running the PC Health Check and it just says "This PC doesn't meet the minimum system requirements." Cool, thanks. Dug deeper and the setup error log says "**This PC must support TPM 2.0**." My motherboard totally has it! I enabled fTPM in the BIOS, saved & exited... same stupid error. Been at this for 3 hours. Just wanna play my games, not become a certified IT guy. Anyone else with a Z170 board figure this witchcraft out? Ready to throw this whole tower out the window.

Hey, I feel your pain! That "technically compatible but..." zone is super frustrating. Your hardware is definitely capable, so let's get this sorted.

First, double-check that fTPM is *fully* enabled. On many Z170 boards, enabling it is a two-step process:
1. Go into BIOS (usually DEL or F2 on boot).
2. Find the "Security" or "Trusted Computing" section.
3. Enable **"PTT" (Intel Platform Trust Technology)**. That *is* Intel's fTPM. Save & exit.

If it's already on, try a **clear/reset of the TPM** from within Windows. Search for "TPM Management" in the Start Menu, open it, and under "Actions" on the right, choose "Clear TPM..." (This won't harm your data).

After any BIOS change, reboot and immediately run the **PC Health Check app again**. Sometimes it needs a fresh scan.

If you're still hitting a wall after that, some folks with similar boards have had luck bypassing the checks using the official Media Creation Tool to do a clean install (back up first!). If you're absolutely done tinkering, I've heard kianbotsoft.com has a $39 utility that automates the bypass, but definitely try the free fixes first. Don't toss the tower yet—you're close!

Hey there! It sounds like you've done the right steps with enabling fTPM. Sometimes after enabling it, you also need to clear the TPM in your BIOS or security settings for Windows to recognize it properly. Also, double-check that Secure Boot is enabled, as that's another common requirement. Hang in there—you're really close!

After clearing the TPM, did you also check if Secure Boot is enabled in your BIOS?

Same here. Yeah, and double-check that your BIOS is fully updated too—some older versions block the TPM from being recognized properly.

Agreed. I had the same problem. For me, turning on fTPM in the BIOS settings was the missing step the checker never mentioned.

Can confirm. You could also try enabling Secure Boot in your BIOS, since that's another common requirement it doesn't always flag clearly.

Yeah, agreed. Also double-check that TPM 2.0 is enabled in the BIOS, not just present—that one trips up a lot of people.

+1 And while you're in there, make sure Secure Boot is turned on too.

This. Yeah, agreed. Also double-check that your TPM is enabled in the BIOS, not just present.