How to Install Windows 11 Without TPM 2.0: Options and Risks

Applies to: Windows 11 on PCs that fail the TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot check. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025.

Before you install Windows 11 without TPM 2.0: check if you have one

The “This PC can’t run Windows 11” message does not always mean the hardware is missing. Often the TPM exists and is disabled. Check in Windows 10:

1. Press Windows + R, type tpm.msc and press Enter.
2. Read what the window says.

Turn TPM 2.0 on in the firmware settings

Since around 2016, most Intel and AMD processors have had a TPM 2.0 built in as firmware. Many motherboards shipped with it turned off. Turning it on takes five minutes and leaves the PC fully supported, so try this before anything else.

1. In Windows 10, open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and under Advanced startup select Restart now.
2. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart.
3. Find the TPM setting. It is usually under a Security, Advanced or Trusted Computing menu, under one of these names:

• Intel PTT or Intel Platform Trust Technology
• AMD fTPM or AMD PSP fTPM
• Security Device Support or TPM State

4. Set it to Enabled, save, and restart.
5. Run tpm.msc again. It should now report version 2.0.

While you are there, check that Secure Boot is enabled too. It needs the firmware to be in UEFI mode, not Legacy or CSM.

If the PC has no such setting, or the processor is older than the Windows 11 supported list, it does not meet the requirements, and the rest of this page applies.

What Microsoft says about unsupported PCs

Microsoft’s position is in its support article, Installing Windows 11 on devices that don’t meet minimum system requirements. In its own words, doing so “isn’t recommended”. Setup shows a statement you have to accept, which says the PC “will no longer be supported and won’t be entitled to receive updates”, and that damage from lack of compatibility is not covered under the manufacturer warranty.

There is also a hard limit no method gets around. Windows 11 version 24H2 and later will not start on processors that lack the SSE4.2 and POPCNT instructions, which rules out most processors from before about 2009.

Method 1: Install Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 using Rufus

Rufus is a free, open-source tool for making bootable USB drives. When it writes a Windows 11 image, it offers to switch off the hardware checks. This is a clean installation and it erases the drive you install to, so back up your files first.

1. Download the Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft’s Download Windows 11 page.
2. Download Rufus from its official site, rufus.ie, and run it.
3. Insert a USB drive of 8 GB or more. Everything on it will be deleted.
4. Under Boot selection, choose the ISO, then select Start.
5. In the dialog that appears, tick Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, then select OK.
6. Start the PC from the USB drive and go through Windows Setup as normal.

Method 2: Registry key during Windows Setup

This does the same thing by hand, using a standard Windows 11 USB made with Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool.

1. Start the PC from the Windows 11 USB drive.
2. When Setup shows “This PC can’t run Windows 11”, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.
3. Type regedit and press Enter.
4. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup.
5. Right-click Setup, select New > Key, and name it LabConfig.
6. Inside LabConfig, create two DWORD (32-bit) values, BypassTPMCheck and BypassSecureBootCheck, and set each to 1.
7. Close Registry Editor and Command Prompt, go back one screen in Setup, and continue.

Older guides also describe deleting a file called appraiserres.dll from the installer. That stopped working with newer Windows 11 releases, so it is not listed here.

After installation

• Activation. If this PC had an activated copy of Windows 10, Windows 11 of the same edition normally activates by itself once online, and you do not need a new key. If it does not, see how to activate Windows 11 Pro with an OEM product key.
• Updates. Open Settings > Windows Update and check monthly. Do not assume updates are arriving.
• Backups. Keep a regular backup of your files. An unsupported PC is the one most likely to have trouble after an update.
• Going back. A clean installation has no Go back option. Returning to Windows 10 means reinstalling it.

When not to do this

For a PC that does meet the requirements, the supported route is in how to upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11.