Windows 11 Available For Download

[stratman]

I have read that it was possible to bypass the system requirements test and install Windows 11 on a PC that was not officially qualified. But this was for a preview/beta test version. I wonder if you can also do it with the released version?

Googling "install windows 11 without tpm" without the "" finds several hits, for instance this and this.

I posted on this a few weeks back. Your guides look very nice. Very clean!

Now that Windows 11 is out and people have had time to experiment with it these type of instructions should be pretty solid for those wanting to install Windows 11 despite not meeting certain requirements.

Here is yet another method using a different helper software than your links:

https://allthings.how/how-to-install-windows-11-on-legacy-bios-without-secure-boot-or-tpm-2-0/

 

[Artur5]

...........

The MBR2GPT app is found in Windows 10 v1703 (Creators Update, Build 15063) and newer builds and needs this version or newer of Windows 10 to work. Is your Windows 10 version up to date?

While the MBR2GPT app is supposed to be non-destructive, I would still back up or make a complete drive image of your Boot drive before messing around just in case.

Like most everything Windows, there is more than one way to skin a cat. The MBR2GPT.exe app is the easiest way but not the only. You can reformat the Boot Drive choosing GPT partitioning. Unfortunately this will remove all data from the drive and Windows will need to be reinstalled, so have a complete back up. Maybe imaging the drive beforehand will speed up the "reinstall".

My Win10 is v1903, not exactly up to date, but, being 2 years newer than v1703, that shouldn't be an issue.

I have backups of my main disk, no problem. Every month I perform a complete backup of the partition and I store this image on 2 different external disks. If needed, I can boot from the second internal SSD disk and regenerate the original image of the first disk.
I tried your suggestion of deleting totally the second disk, converting it to GPT from Windows disk management tool and clone the image from the first disk into it.
Unfortunately, it seems that when you clone a image from a MBR disk into a GPT disk(or viceversa), you can't boot from the cloned disk., even if you set the partition as Active and use BCDBOOT to copy the system files. I tried in vain.

 

[palombian]

I managed to convert my disk via the advanced startup, this way:

https://www.wisecleaner.com/think-tank/309-How-to-convert-MBR-to-GPT.html

 

[stratman]

Every month I perform a complete backup of the partition and I store this image on 2 different external disks. If needed, I can boot from the second internal SSD disk and regenerate the original image of the first disk.

Fantastic!

I tried your suggestion of deleting totally the second disk, converting it to GPT from Windows disk management tool

Did you delete all volumes on the drive? The disk will then be as if new out of the box it came in - no volumes, no partitions, no data.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...ew-disks#about-partition-styles---gpt-and-mbr

Here are Microsoft's instructions for converting MBR to GPT:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...management/change-an-mbr-disk-into-a-gpt-disk

Don't know how you went about using MBR2GPT but you may want to try using Windows PE instead of going through the Windows GUI.

MBR2GPT.EXE converts a disk from the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition style without modifying or deleting data on the disk. The tool is designed to be run from a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) command prompt, but can also be run from the full Windows 10 operating system (OS) by using the /allowFullOS option.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/mbr-to-gpt

 

[NurseBob]

I have far too many other apps, both graphics and developer oriented, I depend on to risk a Win 11 "upgrade." I'll wait to see how many of the apps I use break for others before venturing beyond the bleeding edge...

 

[stratman]

Unfortunately, it seems that when you clone a image from a MBR disk into a GPT disk(or viceversa), you can't boot from the cloned disk

Not directly through Windows but using a third party app you can.

1) Easy peasy but needs payware version of Aomei.
https://www.ubackup.com/clone/clone-mbr-to-gpt-disk-4348.html

2) A little twisty and not sure if freeware version will do it.
https://www.easeus.com/todo-backup-resource/clone-mbr-to-gpt-disk-ssd.html

3) Too convoluted and payware for the functions required.
https://www.partitionwizard.com/clone-disk/clone-mbr-to-gpt.html

4) Way better than #3 and may be freeware.
http://reflect.macrium.com/help/v5/how_to/conversions/convert_an_mbr_disk_to_a_gpt_disk.htm

5) I have OO Diskimage Pro v15 and it supposedly can clone an MBR drive and then restore to GPT drive. Payware.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

Macrium is incredibly good software and if I had any need for the features of the paid version I would buy it instantly.

 

[stratman]

@Artur5

A free solution to converting a drive from MBR to GPT without data loss (allegedly). No deleting, initializing, formatting or cloning. Restore the image on your back up MBR drive then run the app to convert it to GPT.

https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager-software/free-convert-mbr-to-gpt-without-data-loss.html

The link actually lists three different methods. A nifty free app that does the job sounds nice.

 

[Artur5]

Thanks for all the inputs.
Know what ?.
Tonight I tried again to validate/convert my system disk from MBR to GPT and it worked !

I apprehensively rebooted the computer, fearing the worst, but it booted normally. Now when I run the 'whynotwin11' utility pointed by @palombian, everything is OK. The small Asus UN68 is ready for WIndows 11 ..

What I changed since yesterday to go from failure to success ?. Nothing in the BIOS and nothing in Windows, that I'm aware of. It's a mystery, but I must have done something, somewhere. Maybe it's the conversion of my Disk 2 from MBR to GPT and back to MBR ?. I don't see how that can affect MBR2GPT.

 

[palombian]

Great !

I bet - if someone has nothing else to do - that almost all restrictions can be overridden with registry patches.

But other than this GPT requirement - IMO insufficiently documented by MS - you can't be sure later updates will refuse older hardware again.