Windows 11 TPM Requirement? Bypass it in 5 Minutes

Controller Master


So you have a $2,000 Core i7-6950X HEDT processor, which you thought would last forever, but Windows 11 Setup stands in your way with its steep system requirements that include TPM and Secure Boot. What do you do? With Windows 11, Microsoft introduced new requirements for compatible hardware, and these are purely software-only checks—nothing really requires it. Besides the much-talked about TPM 2.0 spec compatible hardware Trusted Platform Module as a system requirement, there’s also new requirements for UEFI Boot, and installation on a GPT partitioned drive (no more MBR boot for Windows 11).

While these requirements do make some sense going forward, this walls off a lot of potential users, i.e. everyone without a TPM 2.0 add-on card, or those with processors older than 7th Gen Intel Core “Kaby Lake,” or AMD Ryzen 2000 “Pinnacle Ridge” series. We have discovered a quick and easy way to defeat these checks during Windows 11 Setup, including for that nagging TPM 2.0, and Secure Boot. Here’s a step by step guide for fresh installations. If you’re stuck with upgrading Windows 11 due to the TPM requirement, then a second method, for upgrade only, is described at the end of this article.

Step 1: Create the Registry Modification
After preparing your installation media (on another PC), open Notepad, paste the text below, save this file as “bypass.reg” on the bootable USB flash drive that’s serving as installation media for Windows 11. You can also put just this file alone on a separate USB stick, the Windows installation environment will show it as additional drive.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetupLabConfig]

“BypassTPMCheck”=dword:00000001

“BypassSecureBootCheck”=dword:00000001

“BypassRAMCheck”=dword:00000001

“BypassStorageCheck”=dword:00000001

“BypassCPUCheck”=dword:00000001

Step 2 Boot from that Installation Media USB Flash Drive
Now, simply boot from that USB flash drive, run Windows 11 Setup, and proceed until you hit the screen that says “This PC can’t Run Windows 11.”

Here, click on the “back” button of the wizard (top left of the window), which takes you back to the previous screen.

Step 3: Invoke a Command Prompt

Press “Shift+F10” on your keyboard. This opens a Command Prompt window. Type “regedit” and hit Enter.

Step 4: Get Registry Editor to Pick Up that Registry File You Made
With Registry Editor open, get it to import the “bypass.reg” file that’s been sitting on your USB flash drive.Step 5: Proceed with the Installation
That’s it! Close all windows, and proceed with the installation.

What Happened Here
The Windows 11 installation media, much like that of Windows 10 and Windows 8 before it, is essentially a bootable “live CD” of a Windows environment, with a singular purpose of installing Windows, or attempting to Repair your Windows installation. Logically, this environment needs the tools for such repairs, including a Registry Editor and a Command Prompt. It also has its own Windows Registry, which tells it how to go about installing Windows. With this Registry mod, you’re making the installer overlook multiple system requirements, meeting, including “TPM Check,” which checks for a TPM 2.0 compliant module (or Firmware TPM), whether Secure Boot (and its dependency of a disabled CSM) are met.

Bypass TPM and CPU Requirements for Upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11

Microsoft has released an official method how to reduce the TPM requirement from TPM 2.0 to TPM 1.2 for upgrade installs, it’s really simple.

All you have to do on the target machine, before attempting the update, go to registry path “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetupMoSetup” and add a DWORD value “AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU” with value “1”, or just load the reg file below.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMSetupMoSetup]

“AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU”=dword:00000001

If you need additional help, let us know in the comments,