How to Upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10

Are you the go-to tech expert for your family and friends? When the next call comes in for help with a Windows PC, check which version is running. If it’s Windows 10, it’s time to act fast—Microsoft ended official support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Without the security updates that are essential to protect your system, running Windows 10 post-expiry is risky. However, upgrading to Windows 11 may not be as straightforward as it seems.

Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 10 in October 2025, meaning your PC no longer receives security patches unless it’s enrolled in the Extended Security Updates program, which extends support until October 2026. If your PC is still running Windows 10 and hasn’t received updates since November 2025, you’re already behind. It’s essential to upgrade to protect your device and your data. But how easy is that? Not so fast.

Upgrading to Windows 11 on older PCs can lead to frustration. If your PC is over five years old, you might encounter compatibility issues. Windows 11 requires specific hardware, such as a compatible CPU, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0, and UEFI firmware instead of legacy BIOS. If your PC doesn’t meet these requirements, you’ll likely be blocked from upgrading via standard methods like Windows Update or the Windows 11 Installation Assistant.

But don’t worry; there are workarounds for most PCs built for Windows 10. This article outlines two main methods to bypass the restrictions and upgrade your device to Windows 11.

Option 1: Use a Simple Registry Edit

For PCs that meet the basic requirements but have an unsupported CPU or TPM, a registry tweak can bypass the compatibility check. To perform this upgrade, your PC must have UEFI firmware, Secure Boot, and TPM (version 1.2 or higher) enabled. Here’s how to do it:

Edit the Registry
Open the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup. If the MoSetup key doesn’t exist, create it by right-clicking Setup and selecting “New > Key.” Name the new key MoSetup. Then, create a new DWORD value called AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU and set its value to 1. This tweak tells the Windows 11 Setup program to skip the compatibility checks.
Download the Windows 11 ISO
Visit the official Windows 11 download page, and choose “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.” Once downloaded, open File Explorer and double-click the ISO file to mount it as a virtual drive.
Run Setup
Inside the mounted ISO, find the Setup.exe file and run it. You’ll see a warning about compatibility, but you can safely click “Accept” and continue with the upgrade. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.

Option 2: Use Rufus for Unsupported PCs

For PCs that don’t support Secure Boot or TPM, you can use the free Rufus utility to bypass compatibility checks. This method involves creating bootable media that includes tweaks to bypass Microsoft’s restrictions.

Download Rufus
Get the latest version of Rufus from its official website and install it. Rufus will help create installation media on a USB drive with the necessary tweaks.
Create Bootable Media
Select your USB drive in Rufus, then choose the “Disk or ISO image” option and select the Windows 11 ISO you downloaded earlier. In the Rufus settings, check the option to bypass hardware checks. Start the process, and Rufus will create a bootable USB drive with the modified Windows 11 setup.
Install Windows 11
Plug the USB drive into your PC, restart it, and boot from the USB drive. Run the setup as usual, and after clicking “Accept” on the compatibility warning, proceed with the installation.

Important Notes

Free Space: Ensure you have at least 25-30GB of free space on your system drive before attempting the upgrade. The official requirement is 64GB, but a lower amount can still work.
CPU Requirements: Beginning with the Windows 11 version 24H2 update, Microsoft introduced a new CPU requirement that mandates support for SSE4.2 and PopCnt. Most Intel CPUs from 2009 and later, and AMD CPUs from 2013 and later, should meet these requirements.
Clean Installation: If you want to perform a clean installation, you can skip compatibility checks entirely by booting from installation media. This method erases everything on your system drive, so ensure you back up your data beforehand.

Conclusion

Upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11 doesn’t have to be difficult. While Microsoft imposes certain restrictions, the workarounds in this article offer a way to bypass those checks. Whether you’re editing the registry or using Rufus, you can successfully upgrade most PCs to Windows 11. However, if your PC is too old to meet the minimum requirements, it might be time to consider replacing it.