Trying to upgrade laptop to W11.

SimplyBetter

GDB2222 said:

SimplyBetter said:

GDB2222 said:

I’ll put the alternative point of view, perhaps just to be contrary!

This is an old laptop. The software gets bigger every year, and this machine may be frustratingly slow to use . At least I would expect so. Maybe your sil is more patient than me.

I'm reluctant to use the workarounds to install W11 on unsupported hardware, as ms could easily block this at some point, and I would not want to risk being amongst a horde of people suddenly needing to upgrade their computers, all at the same time, and having to pay top dollar. That is why I am dealing with this issue now, rather than waiting until W10 reaches the end of its life in a few months. You are dealing with it now, too, of course. 

So, I think this mostly comes down to money. Can sil afford an upgrade, and will she value having a better computer?  Is she willing to risk a sudden panic if ms block w11 on unsupported hardware, as they are perfectly entitled to do? 

This is really nonsense.
If you can install the feature upgrade then it will run until EOL. Please don't scaremonger.
Currently one can install 24H2 with Microsoft's OFFICIAL workarounds. That will run until October 2026.
We don't know about 25H2 yet.
These are FACTS, rather than your FEARS, which are based on nothing at all other than your lack of understanding of how it works.

My understanding is that the 'official workarounds' are actually not official at all. 

W10 will continue working for yonks. There are people running old, unsupported versions of windows. Personally, I think they are foolish and antisocial if they have those machines connected to the internet. 

Your understanding is not really an understanding at all, but a guess. Not based on any facts. The fact is that Microsoft supplied the Registry workaround.On what is your understanding based?

SimplyBetter

ThisIsWeird said:

timdavid010 said:

The Lenovo Z575 with an AMD A6-3420M CPU and 6GB RAM is unfortunately not compatible with Windows 11. Microsoft has strict system requirements, including:

1. Processor Compatibility – The AMD A6-3420M is not on the supported CPU list for Windows 11.
2. TPM 2.0 Requirement – The Z575 likely lacks TPM 2.0, which is mandatory for Windows 11.
3. UEFI and Secure Boot – Older laptops like this often run on Legacy BIOS, another roadblock for Windows 11.

Your Best Options

1. Stick with Windows 10 – Windows 10 is supported until October 2025, so you can continue using it safely for now.
2. Upgrade to a Newer Laptop – If you're looking at second-hand Windows 11 laptops, focus on models with at least an Intel 8th Gen or AMD Ryzen 2000-series CPU to ensure long-term compatibility.
3. Try Windows 11 Unofficially – There are workarounds to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, but this comes with potential stability and security issues.

As for adding her laptop to an MS account, you need to sign into the laptop with that Microsoft account under Settings > Accounts > Your Info and ensure it's linked. However, since Windows 11 officially won’t run on this laptop, it won’t help with the upgrade.

A budget-friendly refurbished laptop (e.g., Intel i5 8th Gen / Ryzen 5 2500U with SSD) would be a better investment than trying to force Windows 11 onto this machine.

Hi Tim David.

Thank you - that's probably the perfect answer to all my Qs!

Yes, I've decided to go the second route, and such 'tops can be had for less than £100 with careful choosing, so a no-brainer.

Cheers!

But his synopsis is flawed and inaccurate. It just states what you want to hear. If these things were not compatible, then you would not be able to install Windows 11 and Microsoft would not have provided an official workaround for you to do so. I have no idea why they have put 6GB in bold when the minimum requirement is 4GB.
Of course the laptop has UEFI and Secure Boot. I guess it was too much for them to actually check before posting here.

All of this mandatory nonsense is just parrot speech. TPM 2.0 can be used for security related features such as BitLocker and Windows Hello. Most people don't use those things anyway and if they did and wanted to do so, could use other solutions. It's not mandatory, just preferred by Microsoft. 
Not supported means that they won't help you if you call them with a problem. It doesn't mean that it won't work and when is the last time that you called Microsoft? Supported means that you can call them if you have a RETAIL licence.
I don't know how people don't get this by now. Every time a new OS comes out they go into a panic, worrying about this and that and swallowing everything they read, hook, line and sinker.
Yes, Microsoft provided the workaround. There are no stability issues. They simply do not want to support tens of millions of old devices and going forward can work within the parameters of newer tech. But that has absolutely nothing to do with your SIL's laptop, which will can install and run Windows 11 24H2 until October 2026. But it seems that you simply cannot be bothered to do the job properly and be done with it. Merely kicking the can down the road.
But I guess it's just easier to go the route you had in mind, rather than to change direction. 

SimplyBetter

ThisIsWeird said:

SimplyBetter said:

Why do you keep writing about cloning? You seem to have cloning on the brain.  Indelibly marked. Let's try to forget about cloning.
You are just backing up her files and restoring them to the new Windows 11 install on the SSD. No cloning. No partitions. Just a USB drive as you mentioned.
Explained here: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/transfter-files-from-windows-10-to-11.html
Or use third party software: https://www.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/
Backup files to an external storage drive and link her Windows 10 activation to a Microsoft account. Don't neglect Bookmarks.
Swap HDD for SSD and install Windows 11 to it using the Rufus tool to create the media. Restore files to new Windows 11 install from the backup. Restore activation by signing in. No cloning involved 
I don't understand why you are differentiating this scenario from the new laptop scenario. You would have to transfer the old files to the new laptop in exactly the same way. The laptop fitted with SSD is effectively that new laptop. It's the same thing. You are just doing it now. Hopefully it will last her until 24H2 EOL.

Ah, I see what you mean - soz :-)

You mean to shove in the new SSD and load W11 from a USB?

One of my first Qs on here was about trying to register her W10 on her MS account so that MS would recognise her current digital licence, and would then allow the W11 upgrade.

Anyhoo, I'm going to play safe - and easy - on this one, and just find a better laptop with a fast enough proc and SSD, and I've updated the current one so it'll be ready to run - crawl - when I fit the new keyboard to keep her going until then.

Cheers.

Your plan was to play it safe and easy in the first place and you haven't changed that position at all.   If you are taking the time to open it up, pop an SSD in, install Windows 11 cleanly and pop her files back on. I already told you how to register the licence, but really it makes no difference. It's just belt and braces. If it states that you have a Windows 10 Digital licence, it will work with a clean install or in-place upgrade of Windows 11. You are just overcomplicating everything in your head, making it seem like a daunting task. When really, it's simple.
If you buy a new laptop, you will have to do exactly the same thing anyway. back up from old laptop and restore to new. So what is the difference? I keep asking. The difference is that the other scenario is somewhere down the road  
Do it and you'll have until October 2026 to find a new laptop. Of course I'll take this all back if you actually buy a laptop for her within the next month or so. But likely it will all be forgotten and she'll be stuck with a painfully slow laptop because you didn't want to take the time to do a proper job now  

jshm2

If you download Flyby11, it will remove the check restrictions, and let you install Windows 11 on your hardware. 

flaneurs_lobster

SimplyBetter said:

ThisIsWeird said:

SimplyBetter said:

Why do you keep writing about cloning? You seem to have cloning on the brain.  Indelibly marked. Let's try to forget about cloning.
You are just backing up her files and restoring them to the new Windows 11 install on the SSD. No cloning. No partitions. Just a USB drive as you mentioned.
Explained here: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/transfter-files-from-windows-10-to-11.html
Or use third party software: https://www.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/
Backup files to an external storage drive and link her Windows 10 activation to a Microsoft account. Don't neglect Bookmarks.
Swap HDD for SSD and install Windows 11 to it using the Rufus tool to create the media. Restore files to new Windows 11 install from the backup. Restore activation by signing in. No cloning involved 
I don't understand why you are differentiating this scenario from the new laptop scenario. You would have to transfer the old files to the new laptop in exactly the same way. The laptop fitted with SSD is effectively that new laptop. It's the same thing. You are just doing it now. Hopefully it will last her until 24H2 EOL.

Ah, I see what you mean - soz :-)

You mean to shove in the new SSD and load W11 from a USB?

One of my first Qs on here was about trying to register her W10 on her MS account so that MS would recognise her current digital licence, and would then allow the W11 upgrade.

Anyhoo, I'm going to play safe - and easy - on this one, and just find a better laptop with a fast enough proc and SSD, and I've updated the current one so it'll be ready to run - crawl - when I fit the new keyboard to keep her going until then.

Cheers.

Your plan was to play it safe and easy in the first place and you haven't changed that position at all.   If you are taking the time to open it up, pop an SSD in, install Windows 11 cleanly and pop her files back on. I already told you how to register the licence, but really it makes no difference. It's just belt and braces. If it states that you have a Windows 10 Digital licence, it will work with a clean install or in-place upgrade of Windows 11. You are just overcomplicating everything in your head, making it seem like a daunting task. When really, it's simple.
If you buy a new laptop, you will have to do exactly the same thing anyway. back up from old laptop and restore to new. So what is the difference? I keep asking. The difference is that the other scenario is somewhere down the road  
Do it and you'll have until October 2026 to find a new laptop. Of course I'll take this all back if you actually buy a laptop for her within the next month or so. But likely it will all be forgotten and she'll be stuck with a painfully slow laptop because you didn't want to take the time to do a proper job now  

Chill mate.

It's @ThisIsWeird's (or rather their sister's) laptop.

If they choose to upgrade it by running it under the tap and then stuffing Marmite in all the ports then that's their choice to make.

Try not to get so exercised by what other people choose to do with their stuff just because you KNOW it's not the best way of doing things and it's not the way you'd have done it.

GDB2222

SimplyBetter said:

GDB2222 said:

SimplyBetter said:

GDB2222 said:

I’ll put the alternative point of view, perhaps just to be contrary!

This is an old laptop. The software gets bigger every year, and this machine may be frustratingly slow to use . At least I would expect so. Maybe your sil is more patient than me.

I'm reluctant to use the workarounds to install W11 on unsupported hardware, as ms could easily block this at some point, and I would not want to risk being amongst a horde of people suddenly needing to upgrade their computers, all at the same time, and having to pay top dollar. That is why I am dealing with this issue now, rather than waiting until W10 reaches the end of its life in a few months. You are dealing with it now, too, of course. 

So, I think this mostly comes down to money. Can sil afford an upgrade, and will she value having a better computer?  Is she willing to risk a sudden panic if ms block w11 on unsupported hardware, as they are perfectly entitled to do? 

This is really nonsense.
If you can install the feature upgrade then it will run until EOL. Please don't scaremonger.
Currently one can install 24H2 with Microsoft's OFFICIAL workarounds. That will run until October 2026.
We don't know about 25H2 yet.
These are FACTS, rather than your FEARS, which are based on nothing at all other than your lack of understanding of how it works.

My understanding is that the 'official workarounds' are actually not official at all. 

W10 will continue working for yonks. There are people running old, unsupported versions of windows. Personally, I think they are foolish and antisocial if they have those machines connected to the internet. 

Your understanding is not really an understanding at all, but a guess. Not based on any facts. The fact is that Microsoft supplied the Registry workaround.On what is your understanding based?

There are loads of articles / videos about how to load W11 on unsupported hardware, and many of them falsely claim that MS support this.  Click bait. 

MS actually recommend uninstalling W11, and rolling back to W10. You can see their official stance here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11-on-devices-that-don-t-meet-minimum-system-requirements-0b2dc4a2-5933-4ad4-9c09-ef0a331518f1


If you read that article you will see that MS became so concerned about the false claims that last month they reissued the warnings they issued in 2021.  

Incidentally, I know about this, not because I made it up, but because I read about it in the IT press.  I won’t provide a link to the article as I have provided a link to MS. 

I think you probably believed wholeheartedly what you wrote, so I think you should be a bit more sceptical about what you read on the internet. 

GDB2222

jshm2 said:

If you download Flyby11, it will remove the check restrictions, and let you install Windows 11 on your hardware. 

Presumably this just edits the registry, for those who don’t feel comfortable to do it themselves? 

SimplyBetter

flaneurs_lobster said:

SimplyBetter said:

ThisIsWeird said:

SimplyBetter said:

Why do you keep writing about cloning? You seem to have cloning on the brain.  Indelibly marked. Let's try to forget about cloning.
You are just backing up her files and restoring them to the new Windows 11 install on the SSD. No cloning. No partitions. Just a USB drive as you mentioned.
Explained here: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/transfter-files-from-windows-10-to-11.html
Or use third party software: https://www.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/
Backup files to an external storage drive and link her Windows 10 activation to a Microsoft account. Don't neglect Bookmarks.
Swap HDD for SSD and install Windows 11 to it using the Rufus tool to create the media. Restore files to new Windows 11 install from the backup. Restore activation by signing in. No cloning involved 
I don't understand why you are differentiating this scenario from the new laptop scenario. You would have to transfer the old files to the new laptop in exactly the same way. The laptop fitted with SSD is effectively that new laptop. It's the same thing. You are just doing it now. Hopefully it will last her until 24H2 EOL.

Ah, I see what you mean - soz :-)

You mean to shove in the new SSD and load W11 from a USB?

One of my first Qs on here was about trying to register her W10 on her MS account so that MS would recognise her current digital licence, and would then allow the W11 upgrade.

Anyhoo, I'm going to play safe - and easy - on this one, and just find a better laptop with a fast enough proc and SSD, and I've updated the current one so it'll be ready to run - crawl - when I fit the new keyboard to keep her going until then.

Cheers.

Your plan was to play it safe and easy in the first place and you haven't changed that position at all.   If you are taking the time to open it up, pop an SSD in, install Windows 11 cleanly and pop her files back on. I already told you how to register the licence, but really it makes no difference. It's just belt and braces. If it states that you have a Windows 10 Digital licence, it will work with a clean install or in-place upgrade of Windows 11. You are just overcomplicating everything in your head, making it seem like a daunting task. When really, it's simple.
If you buy a new laptop, you will have to do exactly the same thing anyway. back up from old laptop and restore to new. So what is the difference? I keep asking. The difference is that the other scenario is somewhere down the road  
Do it and you'll have until October 2026 to find a new laptop. Of course I'll take this all back if you actually buy a laptop for her within the next month or so. But likely it will all be forgotten and she'll be stuck with a painfully slow laptop because you didn't want to take the time to do a proper job now  

Chill mate.

It's @ThisIsWeird's (or rather their sister's) laptop.

If they choose to upgrade it by running it under the tap and then stuffing Marmite in all the ports then that's their choice to make.

Try not to get so exercised by what other people choose to do with their stuff just because you KNOW it's not the best way of doing things and it's not the way you'd have done it.

With respect...what has it to do with you? You do you. Don't impinge on what I choose to do, unless I am breaking some forum rule.
Now if you have some advice for the OP, then go ahead. Otherwise....
They asked for advice and I'm giving it to the best of my ability. Again, with respect, if you have nothing to contribute to the topic, then perhaps it is best if you stay silent.

flaneurs_lobster

@SimplyBetter said:

Now if you have some advice for the OP, then go ahead. Otherwise....
They asked for advice and I'm giving it to the best of my ability. Again, with respect, if you have nothing to contribute to the topic, then perhaps it is best if you stay silent.

With respect....

My advice to the OP is spend £200 on a decent refurb and not to listen too hard to my advice or anyone else's off the internet.

SimplyBetter

GDB2222 said:

jshm2 said:

If you download Flyby11, it will remove the check restrictions, and let you install Windows 11 on your hardware. 

Presumably this just edits the registry, for those who don’t feel comfortable to do it themselves? 

Again you are just guessing and getting it wrong. In fact it automates the setupprep process that I described in the post above.