Microsoft blocks trick that lets you install Windows 11 on older PCs

For most people, installing Windows 11 is really quite easy. As long as you meet the hardware requirements and you have a legitimate product key, the Windows 11 installation process is straightforward.

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What do you do if your PC doesn’t meet the requirements for Windows 11 and you can’t (or don’t want to) upgrade your machine? The official alternative has been to stick with Windows 10.

But there’s also been a less-official option floating around: use a popular trick to bypass the Windows 11 hardware checks, allowing you to install Windows 11 on non-compatible machines.

Sadly, according to one Windows Insider (@TheBobPony on X/Twitter), Microsoft has rendered this trick no longer viable.

Why the trick doesn’t work anymore

Here’s how the trick previously worked: if you used /product server as a launch parameter for the Windows 11 setup file, it would treat your PC as a server and bypass the hardware compatibility lock. We explained how to perform this trick late last year.

Starting with the recently released Build 27686 for Windows 11 Insiders — the same update that bumped up FAT32 max capacity from 32GB to 2TB — this option is disabled. At least, that’s what Bob Pony showed:

The recently released Windows 11 Insider Build 27686 (Dilithium) has patched the “setup.exe /product server” workaround for bypassing the system requirements check. 😢 pic.twitter.com/G9Q1v3O1uU— Bob Pony (@TheBobPony) August 15, 2024

According to more detailed information that he posted in the replies, the trick still works in the live version of Windows 11 version 24H2. However, in a future version that’s based on the Insider build, the trick will probably no longer be possible.

It’s a smart assumption, given that Microsoft repeatedly blocks such workarounds. For example, Microsoft recently made it so that Windows 11 can’t be installed without a Microsoft account.

There was a risk to the workaround

While it can be quite tempting to circumvent compatibility checks, the truth is that the system requirements exist for good reason and Microsoft’s blocking of the workaround isn’t entirely unreasonable.

For starters, if you pass your system off as a server during Windows 11 installation, you’ll no longer receive feature updates. Moreover, if you install Windows 11 on an incompatible machine, you will likely experience instability issues when compatibility fails.

So, yes, it might be annoying to not be able to upgrade to Windows 11 even when you really want to, especially when you can’t afford to upgrade your machine. But it is what it is, sadly.

For now, you can keep running Windows 10 — but when Windows 10 support ends in October 2025, you’ll have to make the hard decision: upgrade your PC or pay for Extended Security Updates for Windows 10.

If you’re on a laptop and you choose to upgrade, consider getting a refurbished laptop. The benefits are plentiful and you’ll get a like-new machine for much cheaper than brand-new prices. Read More