Question Need to understand possible pitfalls of Win11 upgrade and TPM 2.0

[Big _Rich]

I have been informed by the Microsoft update software that my PC needs to add TPM 2.0 and a Gen 8 or higher CPU in order to update to Win11.

The first question I have is, will adding and enabling TPM 2.0 make any data on the current system unavailable?

Sorry if this sounds stupid but it does seem to be some sort of data security enhancement and I have hundreds of GB's of data on the current system that I cannot lose access to.

I currently have a Gen 7 CPU (Intel i7-7700) on an MSI H270 Pro Carbon MB.

Will the OS upgrade (Win10 to Win11) allow me to change the CPU (and the TPM ) without trashing the license because it "thinks" I'm moving the software to a new machine? I seem to recall that the Microsoft software only allows a certain number of hardware changes before it thinks your stealing their software by copying it to another machine.

I have other questions about the TPM module but they are moot if the answers to the previous questions won't work for me.

 

[USAFRet]

I have been informed by the Microsoft update software that my PC needs to add TPM 2.0 and a Gen 8 or higher CPU in order to update to Win11.

The first question I have is, will adding and enabling TPM 2.0 make any data on the current system unavailable?

Sorry if this sounds stupid but it does seem to be some sort of data security enhancement and I have hundreds of GB's of data on the current system that I cannot lose access to.

I currently have a Gen 7 CPU (Intel i7-7700) on an MSI H270 Pro Carbon MB.

Will the OS upgrade (Win10 to Win11) allow me to change the CPU (and the TPM ) without trashing the license because it "thinks" I'm moving the software to a new machine? I seem to recall that the Microsoft software only allows a certain number of hardware changes before it thinks your stealing their software by copying it to another machine.

I have other questions about the TPM module but they are moot if the answers to the previous questions won't work for me.

You need to upgrade the CPU first.
7th Gen Intel is not natively Win 11 compatible.

Your existing Win 10 license is probably viable to apply to a new Win 11 install, with a new motherboard.
I say "new motherboard", because your current one is not compatible with a later CPU (8th gen)

And if you're going to change the motherboard and CPU, you may as well come up to something closer to 2025...😉

 

[USAFRet]

The first question I have is, will adding and enabling TPM 2.0 make any data on the current system unavailable?

And, going through ALL the changes mentioned above...you really really really need a known good backup of ALL critical data.
Offline during this process.

 

[Big _Rich]

You need to upgrade the CPU first.
7th Gen Intel is not natively Win 11 compatible.

Your existing Win 10 license is probably viable to apply to a new Win 11 install, with a new motherboard.
I say "new motherboard", because your current one is not compatible with a later CPU (8th gen)

And if you're going to change the motherboard and CPU, you may as well come up to something closer to 2025...😉

Well, that pretty much sums it up. Thank you USAFRet. If the MB won't support the Gen 8 then it's time for a new machine.

 

[USAFRet]

Well, that pretty much sums it up. Thank you USAFRet. If the MB won't support the Gen 8 then it's time for a new machine.

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/H270-GAMING-PRO-CARBON/support#cpu

 

[Big _Rich]

And, going through ALL the changes mentioned above...you really really really need a known good backup of ALL critical data.
Offline during this process.

I have multiple backups but that won't make the MB compatible with a Gen 8 so TurboTax and Microsoft have painted me into a corner.
TurboTax won't support Win 10 after Microsoft stops supporting it and the MB can't accept the Microsoft requirement.

Thank you for your answers. That's why I came to this site.