Published Feb 11, 2026, 10:00 AM EST
Gavin is the Segment Lead for the Technology Explained, Security, Internet, Streaming, and Entertainment verticals, former co-host on the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent product reviewer. He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, more than a decade of professional writing experience, and his work has appeared on How-To Geek, Expert Reviews, Trusted Reviews, Online Tech Tips, and Help Desk Geek, among others. Gavin has attended CES, IFA, MWC, and other tech-trade shows to report directly from the floor, racking up hundreds of thousands of steps in the process. He's reviewed more headphones, earbuds, and mechanical keyboards than he cares to remember, and enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football.
I'm still rocking Windows 10 on a number of devices around my home. It's not that I don't like Windows 11; it's more that I just don't always have the time to back up the hardware and make sure everything is compatible with Windows 11 hardware requirements.
That's in part because Microsoft tightened the rules around what hardware could run Windows 11, and it was a big step up from the more carefree approach to Windows 10. In fact, Windows 11 hardware requirements made so many folks so angry that they left Windows behind for good once Windows 10 was officially declared dead.
But if that's not an option and you need to stick with Windows, there is a better option. The free USB creator, Rufus, has built-in options that let Windows 11 ignore the hardware requirements, meaning you can upgrade your computer either way.
How does Rufus' Windows 11 requirements hack work?
It doesn't just ignore them
Interestingly, Rufus doesn't change how Windows functions or how Windows itself works. You still end up with a "full" version of Windows 11 without any modifications. That's because Rufus modifies the installation package rather than the operating system, making some tweaks to how the installer works.
When you create a Windows 11 USB installer with Rufus, you can remove TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, RAM, and CPU checks. Under the hood, Rufus disables the compatibility checks built into the Windows installer. One key component is appraiserres.dll, a file used during setup to verify whether your PC meets Microsoft’s requirements. Rufus replaces or neutralizes this file, so the checks simply don’t run.
It can also inject registry entries (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig) that tell the installer to bypass TPM, Secure Boot, RAM, and CPU validation. Normally, you’d have to manually add these during setup using Command Prompt, but Rufus automates the process.
As said, this isn't the same as "cracking" Windows like the older days of stolen Windows installations and keygens. Microsoft's Windows 11 hardware requirements are enforced during installation, which is how Rufus' workaround lets Windows 11 run on unsupported hardware.
Use Rufus to create a bootable USB
Adjust the settings to skip Windows 11 installation restrictions
First up, head to Rufus and download the latest version of the app. Also note that the Windows 11 hardware bypass options don't appear until you press the Start button — they were a specific menu previously, but Rufus has changed this functionality.
- Select the USB device you're using for installation from the dropdown menu.
- Now, select the Windows 11 ISO file you previously downloaded.
- From here, Rufus should auto-populate most of the menus and options. The Partition Scheme should default to GPT, and the Target system should default to UEFI. You shouldn't need to toggle any other options.
- Next, press Start. Rufus will give you a warning that your drive will be wiped during the process.
- On the next screen, choose your Windows 11 restriction settings. I tend to stick with the default options, but you can adjust as you see fit. The only options you shouldn't disable in this situation are the "remove requirements," as that's what you're trying to achieve.
Then, you just have to sit back and wait for the installation to complete.
Installing Windows 11 on restricted hardware
Take a backup first
Before you attempt to upgrade a computer that doesn't fit Microsoft's specific hardware recommendations for Windows 11, I strongly advise you to take a whole system backup.
If the worst happens and you can't boot into Windows 11 or something else in the process breaks and locks you out, you'll at least have a whole system backup to reboot from and start again.
How do I know this is worth doing? This is what happened to me when I tried to use this workaround a few weeks back, and ended up staring at what looked like a dead PC. As I'm sure you'll agree, it's not a fun experience.
On Windows 10, it's surprisingly simple to back up your whole PC.
- Input backup in the Start menu search bar, and select the Best Match. Note that this uses the older, original Windows backup tool, which is more robust for this type of backup.
- Next, select where you want to store your backup. Don't choose the drive hosting your operating system, as that will get wiped during the Windows 11 upgrade. You can use an external hard drive with enough storage.
- Now, select Let me choose. From here, you can choose which files and folders to back up. I tend to back up the C: drive, as this is typically where the operating system is stored. Note that the Windows 11 installation process shouldn't do anything to your other drives—only the target drive for the operating system.
- Make sure the Include a system image of drives option is checked, then press Next.
- On the next screen, you can check the settings, then run the backup.
Depending on your drive size, this can take a significant amount of time.
Installing Windows 11 with the Rufus bootable USB
You have two options to choose from
There are two main ways to use the Windows 11 bootable USB drive. The first is to use it to upgrade to Windows 11 directly from Windows 10. This involves inserting the USB drive, letting it check for updates, and allowing the installation process to complete.
This process is simple and straightforward, and gives you the added option of choosing files and folders you want to keep. The other big difference is that the direct upgrade gives you the "Go back" recovery option, which allows you to revert the installation up to 10 days after upgrading. It's a handy additional backup option.
In fairness to Microsoft, its "upgrade in place" option has massively improved over the years. It's a much better prospect than when Windows 11 launched in late 2021, when the process was beset with errors, bugs, data loss, and more problems. I upgraded a laptop from Windows 10 to 11 using this method, and it hasn't had a problem. I also found an older laptop my kids were using had upgraded itself (go Windows?) and was also still working fine.
The other option is the more nuclear version, which is to use the bootable USB drive to make a clean Windows 11 installation. This option doesn't allow you to choose any files or folders to save during the process, but most experts agree that it's the better option as it reduces the chances of errors and other bugs after installation. However, there is no "easy rollback" process during a clean installation, as you're not using the existing Windows 10 files to upgrade. It's a completely new version of Windows.
Related
Here's how I deep clean my Windows PC
I spend one day each year to keep my Windows PC running like new.
Go forth and install Windows 11
It sounds like skirting Microsoft's Windows 11 requirements is some sort of underground hack, but in reality, it's just clever tinkering with the installation files. It's also great because it gives you a way to upgrade older machines still running Windows 10, meaning they can still receive important security and feature updates.
I'd really strongly advise you to take the full system backup before making any changes to Windows 10. Just because you can skip the requirements and upgrade to Windows 11 doesn't mean you shouldn't take adequate precautions when doing so.
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