- Microsoft might be updating the Windows 11 installation files to block unsupported hardware even further.
- Users have been reporting that they can no longer install previews of Windows 11 on unsupported processors.
- However, modifying the installation files may be the solution.
Microsoft may be planning to start blocking installations of Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. According to a report from Deskmodder (via Neowin), users on its forum have been noting that they can no longer use the available workarounds to install the operating system on a processor that isn’t supported.
The report points out a user unable to install the Windows 11 build 25905 using a device featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor, even though the same user was able to install previous releases of the operating system on the same machine. Also, installing the operating system on an AMD Turion II P650 system using workarounds didn’t work.
The interesting part of the news is that modifying the latest version of installation media by using an older version and replacing the “install.wim” file with the one available on build 25905 resolves the issue of installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
Although the company has changed the system requirements to install Windows 11, tools such as Rufus and many others can help you create a bootable installation media to remove the restrictions to perform a clean install of the operating system on unsupported hardware. However, it appears that Microsoft will soon implement even harder restrictions to prevent users from bypassing the requirements.
This could also be the case of a bug in the latest version of the operating system that is causing the wizard to prevent users from continuing with the installation on unsupported hardware using workarounds. However, the chances for that to be the case are slim.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].