[SOLVED] TPM/ Windows 11

[Pez]

Hi all.

I contacted Gigabyte support recently regarding my motherboard, the B450M DS3H V2.

Recently, on my Win 10 system, when I go to Settings/ Update and Security, there's a message there (which I'm sure I'm not the only person to have seen ) that says: "This PC doesn't currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11 ".

I then run the little app that's available known as Windows PC Health Check. My system passes all requirements for Windows 11 except for one; the results that came back said "TPM 2.0 must be supported and enabled on this PC./ TPM not detected".

The reply I received from Gigabyte support said: "For Windows 11, just enable fTPM in the bios along with disabling CSM. If the OS is not configure as UEFI, it won't boot after these setting changes so you will need to boot off the Windows 11 image to perform a full OS install".

OK, to an extent, easy enough: I can enter the BIOS upon booting and make those changes, but.....I suppose the part that has me concerned is where Gigabyte support said "If the OS is not configure as UEFI, it won't boot after these setting changes so you will need to boot off the Windows 11 image to perform a full OS install".

Well, gosh, I don't want my system not to boot 😝

I even checked here on Tom's Hardware forums, and there is a thread mentioning this:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-what-you-can-do-to-resolve-problems.3711259/

In that post it also mentions about "Switching to UEFI boot method without swapping drives to GPT first will leave PC unable to boot".

So....am I stuck between a rock and a hard place? A Catch-22? Meaning: My Windows 10 system is telling me that I am not meeting the requirements for Windows 11, and that the one and only requirement I need to meet is enabling TPM, and if I enable TPM......then it may render my system unable to boot. And then without a bootable system, I won't be able to upgrade to Windows 11.

Is there a workaround for this without creating a headache for myself? 😁

Thanks for any helpful info;
Pez

 

[rgd1101]

sure. stick with win 10. is there a reason for windows 11?

 

[DRagor]

Do you really need Win 11? Is it worth the hassle for you?
First thing: you can probably install W11 even without enabling TPM.
If not, there is a way to turn non UEFI install into UEFI one - google "mbr2gpt" tool; BUT: the procedure will tell you to backup all your data (because the tool can fail leaving you with not bootable system), so you can as well just backup the data and do a clean install of W11 instead of going through all steps.
HOWEVER: it is not the only problem that can occur on the way. For example if your GPU is old it may not work in UEFI mode so after making changes you would have booting system but without display.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hi all.

I contacted Gigabyte support recently regarding my motherboard, the B450M DS3H V2.

Recently, on my Win 10 system, when I go to Settings/ Update and Security, there's a message there (which I'm sure I'm not the only person to have seen ) that says: "This PC doesn't currently meet the minimum system requirements to run Windows 11 ".

I then run the little app that's available known as Windows PC Health Check. My system passes all requirements for Windows 11 except for one; the results that came back said "TPM 2.0 must be supported and enabled on this PC./ TPM not detected".

The reply I received from Gigabyte support said: "For Windows 11, just enable fTPM in the bios along with disabling CSM. If the OS is not configure as UEFI, it won't boot after these setting changes so you will need to boot off the Windows 11 image to perform a full OS install".

OK, to an extent, easy enough: I can enter the BIOS upon booting and make those changes, but.....I suppose the part that has me concerned is where Gigabyte support said "If the OS is not configure as UEFI, it won't boot after these setting changes so you will need to boot off the Windows 11 image to perform a full OS install".

Well, gosh, I don't want my system not to boot 😝

I even checked here on Tom's Hardware forums, and there is a thread mentioning this:
https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-what-you-can-do-to-resolve-problems.3711259/

In that post it also mentions about "Switching to UEFI boot method without swapping drives to GPT first will leave PC unable to boot".

So....am I stuck between a rock and a hard place? A Catch-22? Meaning: My Windows 10 system is telling me that I am not meeting the requirements for Windows 11, and that the one and only requirement I need to meet is enabling TPM, and if I enable TPM......then it may render my system unable to boot. And then without a bootable system, I won't be able to upgrade to Windows 11.

Is there a workaround for this without creating a headache for myself? 😁

Thanks for any helpful info;
Pez

First: you can enable the TPM that's internal to the CPU without disabling CSM and use it. Look for an fTPM setting in BIOS, possibly in a Security section.

But that obviously won't get you all the way there. You have to disable CSM to enable UEFI and also enable Secure Boot. IF your drives are operating in GPT mode that should go smoothly, it only gets dicey if still in MBR mode.

To determine if your system disk is GPT, in the Cortana search box type “PowerShell”, and then click “Windows PowerShell”. Type the “Get-Disk” command and press Enter. Under the “Partition Style” column you can see if the drive is using MBR or GPT partition scheme.

If your system drive isn't already you'll have to convert it to GPT first. EVEN IF you decide to just stay on Win 10 I'd STRONGLY suggest doing this as operating in UEFI, with Safe Boot enabled is just so much more secure. It's the best defense against root kits and trojan attacks.

 

[Pez]

Hi again; sorry for the delay in getting back to this post, busy-busy.

rgd1101 & DRagor: Sounds like you are warning me off of getting Windows 11 Just teasing......

But I know what you mean. It's not always necessary to get the next operating system just because it just came out. If nothing's wrong with Win 10 and it's working for me, then hey....

But, I still think I'd like to try Win 11 anyway. I have other recent threads in this motherboard forum. My previous system build had a partial "meltdown", and I swapped out some major components, including the motherboard. When swapping out a motherboard but then reconnecting the hard drive you had been using in the previous build.....sometimes that doesn't always go well. Luckily for me, it went fairly smooth, not too many "bumps".

However, I have had Windows 10 on this build (even with the new motherboard swapped in recently) for over 3 and-a-half years. Plus, with the new motherboard swap (and a processor & GPU), I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to install the Win OS from scratch and have everything fresh....and then with the recent release of Windows 11 being available, I thought: Why not?

DRagor: You said, "For example if your GPU is old it may not work in UEFI mode so after making changes you would have booting system but without display". With the Windows PC Health Check that I ran from the link in the Windows 11 message, wouldn't that have been discovered if my GPU was a problem and not compatible with Windows 11? My GPU is not too terribly old, it's a GeForce GTX 1080. I play games in 4K and my resolution is set at 3840 x 2160; videos in hi-def look great

drea.drechsler: If I do indeed decide to go ahead and do this Windows 11 install, then yes, I will most certainly look in my BIOS in the security section for fTPM.

And, I followed your instructions regarding PowerShell: Under the "Partition Style" column, my primary system ("C") drive - technically a Solid State Drive - is listed as GPT. So that's a good thing, eh? But wouldn't that really only apply if I was attempting to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 11 on top of my Windows 10 system? That it would help it - in your words - go smoothly?

And oh: Inside of my tower unit, besides the Solid State Drive that is my system "C" drive where my Win 10 OS is, I have an additional Hard Drive that I use to store things, like videos, photos, etc. After running "Get-Disk" in PowerShell, that other drive shows up too, and in the "Partition Style" column, that's listed as MBR. That wouldn't be a problem, would it?

If I were to adjust my BIOS settings (disable CSM, enable fTPM), and then perform a clean full install of Windows 11 off of a USB drive onto my Solid State Drive......then later, after I've booted into the Win 11 OS and am at my desktop, that hard drive I have that's MBR, that would still be accessible, wouldn't it? It's not like it's the system "C" drive, it's just a drive I have for extra storage.

Please let me know; thanks,
Pez

 

[kerberos_20]

If I were to adjust my BIOS settings (disable CSM, enable fTPM), and then perform a clean full install of Windows 11 off of a USB drive onto my Solid State Drive......then later, after I've booted into the Win 11 OS and am at my desktop, that hard drive I have that's MBR, that would still be accessible, wouldn't it? It's not like it's the system "C" drive, it's just a drive I have for extra storage.

boot drive needs to be GPT, any other drives doesnt matter

DRagor: You said, "For example if your GPU is old it may not work in UEFI mode so after making changes you would have booting system but without display". With the Windows PC Health Check that I ran from the link in the Windows 11 message, wouldn't that have been discovered if my GPU was a problem and not compatible with Windows 11? My GPU is not too terribly old, it's a GeForce GTX 1080. I play games in 4K and my resolution is set at 3840 x 2160; videos in hi-def look great

that has nothing to do with windows, you will just get black screen in bios if theres compatibility issue with your bios and gpu

CSM doesnt need to be disabled, if CMS wont work (black screen or it reverts itself to be enabled), just make sure storage is set to UEFI under CSM options

 

[DRagor]

My GPU is not too terribly old, it's a GeForce GTX 1080

No problem then. The warning was about much older GPUs.
Anyway, if you intend to do a fresh install of W11 then changing TPM and CSM settings is not a problem - they could make your current Windows installation not able to work but can't stop you from doing a fresh install. Although we do have on the forum several examples of users who managed to brick their Gigabyte boards when trying to enable Secure Boot, but AFAIK you can install W11 without enabling it.

 

[Pez]

kerberos_20 & DRagor: Thanks for the informative replies.

kerberos_20: Good to know that only the boot drive needs to be GPT, and that with my other HDD that it doesn't matter and it'll still be accessible 🆒

And when I eventually go to do this, I'll check in my BIOS what you mentioned about CSM. But, according to Gigabyte tech support (in my original post in this thread up above), they said to disable CSM. But if it causes the issue of a black screen (which I hope it won't!), then I'll look for and make sure storage is set to UEFI under the CSM options.

DRagor: Yes, I think I'll be OK with my GPU

And so, those CSM and TPM setting changes only really cause problems when you're doing a Windows 11 install on top of an existing Windows 10, correct? But should not cause an issue when performing a fresh install from a USB?

But....it causes me some trepidation when you say that there are some users on these forums who managed to brick their Gigabyte motherboards.

Yes, I am familiar with the expression of "bricking" something. If you're using that term in the strictest sense of the expression, then that would mean that you've rendered the item unusable; meaning: It may as well be a brick and non-functional, because you won't be able to power it on in your computer.

So is that what you mean by bricking it? The motherboard would become virtually dead? That there's no way to save it? No clearing the CMOS by either touching the two pins with a screwdriver tip, or, pulling the CMOS battery then replacing it? Neither of those would work? The board would be dead/ a brick?

Holy crap, if that's true....then why would that feature even be on the motherboard if there's a danger of killing your board?

But then, you said, as far as you know, you can install Windows 11 without enabling Secure Boot? Hmmmm....maybe I should try that first, and if the install is successful....well then good! And that won't be an issue with Microsoft? The OS will still get fully supported & updated even if I did not have Secure Boot enabled?

All this is starting to sound scary 😲
Pez

 

[DRagor]

So is that what you mean by bricking it? The motherboard would become virtually dead? That there's no way to save it? No clearing the CMOS by either touching the two pins with a screwdriver tip, or, pulling the CMOS battery then replacing it? Neither of those would work? The board would be dead/ a brick?

Yes, completely dead board was what happened to a few of our users, just by enabling Secure Boot. Those were mostly older Gigabyte boards but not only. It's really hard to say what they did wrong or was that board fault without actually witnessing such thing. But in several reported cases the only way to save the board required reprogramming BIOS (or just replacing whole BIOS chip).
However, no reason to freak out. Those are few reported cases and we have thousands of users here so the chance it hits you (or anyone) is most likely minimal.

 

[kerberos_20]

dont enable secure boot on gigabyte board and you are safe