News Windows 11 Upgrades Are Free: Here Are the System Requirements

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salgado18

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Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use. Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features.
I guess this means we can still create offline accounts, but only the activation during installation needs internet?
 

punkncat

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[Stares into crystal ball] I foresee Windows 11 arriving on ... hmmm, yes ... it's a bit hazy... Ah, there we go! November 11. Too bad it's a decade late for the 11/11/11 release date.

In fairness, I didn't see that in the article and as I was listening to the live stream I honestly think my conscious mind fogged over a bit, so I didn't hear anyone say a date. Is this "like" a funny reply, or srs bzns?

We are a week out from July 4th which round these here parts is the FREEDOM holiday, so....
 

mikewinddale

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The TPM requirement is strange. I'll be interested in whether Microsoft says this is only required for OEMs.

However, most Intel and AMD processors have firmware-based TPMs. Intel has PTT (Platform Trust Technology) and AMD has fTPM (firmware TPM).

My Ryzen 7 2700X has the fTPM enabled in the BIOS, and Windows Security Processor and Windows Bitlocker both recognize it as a TPM.

So even if the TPM is a strict requirement, a lot of people might be able to just enable the PTT or fTPM in their BIOS. Anyone who has built their own computer shouldn't have too much difficulty.

Interestingly, with my new ThreadRipper Pro 3955WX + Supermicro M12SWA-TF motherboard, there was nowhere to enable the fTPM in the BIOS, so I bought a hardware TPM from Supermicro. As far as I can tell, the ThreadRipper Pro does support fTPM, but Supermicro's BIOS simply doesn't have an option to enable it.

If Windows 11 strictly requires a TPM, then perhaps some motherboard makers will release new BIOS versions that make PTT/fTPM more conspicuous in the BIOS, or even enable it by default, for the sake of easier Windows 11 compatibility?
 
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danielravennest

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People trying to use insider builds are already noting they are being blocked from installing without TPM 2.0 and secure boot. Might be something hammered out or relaxed down the line, but there is already complaining on Twitter about it. Or so another outlet reported.

View: https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1408101708216078337

I have an 18 month old gaming system - ASUS Prime X570P/Ryzen 7 3800X/16 GB ram. It says I can't upgrade to 11. Somethings off if a recent high-end system doesn't qualify.
 
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Heat_Fan89

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So if what I read correctly on a gaming website, that the minimum reqs is a 2 core CPU running @ 1Ghz and 64 bit. If this is strictly a 64 bit OS then it's about time.
 

mikewinddale

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Also, to clarify: Windows 11 does not require Secure Boot. My Supermicro M12SWA-TF has Secure Boot disabled. But I do have a hardware (physical) TPM. And the Windows 11 compatibility checker just said my PC does support Windows 11.

So you need a TPM, but not Secure Boot.

In a few minutes, I'll switch over to my Ryzen 7 2700X with the fTPM (firmware rather than hardware TPM) and test whether the Windows 11 compatibility checker says it supports Windows 11. But Bitlocker has been using the fTPM as if it were a TPM, so I don't foresee any problems.

Edit: the Windows compatibility checker says that my Ryzen's fTPM is enough.

Edit: I wondered: why do I have Secure Boot disabled on my ThreadRipper Pro? So I went into my BIOS and checked. It turns out that Secure Boot was enabled but I needed to reset my keys. Once the keys reset, Windows said that Secure Boot is now enabled. So I don't know why that was necessary. This was a fresh Windows 10 install on a brand-new motherboard and SSD, and I never touched the Secure Boot setting in the BIOS until now. So Secure Boot should have been enabled all along. Oh well, problem solved anyway.
 
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mikeebb

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Direct X12 is going to exclude machines older than 2012/2013 similar to Apple and MacOS.
Perhaps not necessarily. Key point may be whether you have current driver support. I have a GTX 750ti, for instance, that is positively ancient as GPU hardware goes, but it still is in support, and DXDIAG shows it as supporting DX12. Haven't tried the Win11 checker yet, though.

EDIT: tried the Win11 system checker. Passes with the 750ti.
 
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mikeebb

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Also, to clarify: Windows 11 does not require Secure Boot. My Supermicro M12SWA-TF has Secure Boot disabled. But I do have a hardware (physical) TPM. And the Windows 11 compatibility checker just said my PC does support Windows 11.

So you need a TPM, but not Secure Boot.

In a few minutes, I'll switch over to my Ryzen 7 2700X with the fTPM (firmware rather than hardware TPM) and test whether the Windows 11 compatibility checker says it supports Windows 11. But Bitlocker has been using the fTPM as if it were a TPM, so I don't foresee any problems.

Edit: I wondered: why do I have Secure Boot disabled? So I went into my BIOS and checked. It turns out that Secure Boot was enabled but I needed to reset my keys. Once the keys reset, Windows said that Secure Boot is now enabled. So I don't know why that was necessary. This was a fresh Windows 10 install on a brand-new motherboard and SSD, and I never touched the Secure Boot setting in the BIOS until now. So Secure Boot should have been enabled all along. Oh well, problem solved anyway.
I'm going to presume that none of my computers will work with 11 other than the nearly new rebuilt desktop (just cleared as good for Windows 11): i5-10400F, GTX 750ti with plain (no touch) 1080 HD monitor, 16GB, 500GB SSD C: drive (regular SATA), has TPM & Secure Boot enabled in UEFI BIOS. The others are much older so I won't even bother checking: a 32-bit 2-in-1 (Atom is 64-bit, but only supports 2GB RAM so it's running 32-bit Win10), and a i5 Gen 1 laptop that's about 10 years old, running in legacy BIOS mode but even changing to UEFI mode (can I do that without reformatting and reinstalling Windows adn Linux, which it dual-boots?) wouldn't matter since it's too old to have Secure Boot and TPM2. Again, runs Win10 fine.

Yes, a lot of things won't work with my system, but they're not things I really need. I'm not a XBoxer. The basic system should work. The other computers likely won't last until 2025 anyway. Unfortunately, it seems impossible at the moment to get a 10" class tablet or 2-in-1 that runs Windows at a reasonable price or, really, any price if I want a newish one to replace the pink 2-in-1. All that I'm seeing is stuff like (and priced like) a Surface Go 2 or higher - bigger, much more expensive, and with little physical connectivity. Too bad - the old RCA isn't especially quick, but it runs a while on battery and is the right size for what I want in a Windows portable.
 
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mikeebb

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Yes goodbye 32bit but sad news for people that play on 32bit just hope windows 11 can deliver more then windows 10!
If you want to play on 32-bit, you can install Win98 (or XP if you want to deal with activation hassles) in a Virtualbox VM. For even older stuff, DOSBox works well. The only game I've found that doesn't work in one of those is MS Train Simulator - refuses to run in any kind of VM. But there's a modern (.Net, with Monogame port in development) replacement for MSTS (Open Rails) anyway.
 
If you want to play on 32-bit, you can install Win98 (or XP if you want to deal with activation hassles) in a Virtualbox VM. For even older stuff, DOSBox works well. The only game I've found that doesn't work in one of those is MS Train Simulator - refuses to run in any kind of VM. But there's a modern (.Net, with Monogame port in development) replacement for MSTS (Open Rails) anyway.

My comp is 64Bit lol
 
Perhaps not necessarily. Key point may be whether you have current driver support. I have a GTX 750ti, for instance, that is positively ancient as GPU hardware goes, but it still is in support, and DXDIAG shows it as supporting DX12. Haven't tried the Win11 checker yet, though.

EDIT: tried the Win11 system checker. Passes with the 750ti.


This is a list of GPU's that support DirectX 12. Nvidia goes as low as the GT 640, which came out in 2012 just like I said. The GTX750 ti that you own came out in 2014. So..... I'm not sure what you're talking about?
 

mikewinddale

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Here's the big question: Will AMD, who just moved all pre-Navi GCN GPUs to legacy status (HD 7000 - RX 500 series), release a driver for Windows 11 for them?

My guess is, Windows 10 drivers will still work fine in Windows 11.

Heck, I just installed a Windows Server 2019 driver in Windows 10 for my ASPEED AST2600 VGA graphics device, and that driver worked perfectly fine in Windows 10.
 
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