Reinstall Win 11 on laptop that doesn't meet CPU requirements

[COYS]

Hey all.

Got a laptop that's a few years old. Came with Win 10 and I put Win 11 on it when that first came out. I can't exactly remember the process I went through to do this though.

The laptop is grinding to a halt so thought I'd try and reinstall Win 11 to see if that helps, before deciding whether to just get a new laptop. However the Windows install tool won't let me upgrade from within Windows itself, because the CPU doesn't meet the requirements (i5-7200U).

Also it's stopped updating Windows, so I'm stuck on 21H2.

Would it work if I just created a bootable install USB and installed that way? Or would I still encounter an issue with the CPU not being up to spec any more? Will updates then work or will i again be stuck not being up update?

Thanks!

 

[Orcvader]

Download the Windows 11 ISO then use Rufus to create the bootable USB. It will give you options to bypass the requirements.

 

[throwaway4372]

How to Install Windows 11 on an Unsupported PC

Does Windows 11 say your PC isn't supported? We've got the fixes.

www.howtogeek.com

How to Bypass Windows 11's TPM, CPU and RAM Requirements

Use simple utilities to install Windows 11 on any PC.

www.tomshardware.com

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Rufus: Create bootable USB drives the easy way

rufus.ie

How to create bootable USB drive for Windows 11 with Rufus (2025) - Pureinfotech

Rufus lets you create a bootable Windows 11 USB for supported and unsupported hardware. Also, it offers the option to download the ISO file.

pureinfotech.com

 

[Tetras]

However the Windows install tool won't let me upgrade from within Windows itself, because the CPU doesn't meet the requirements (i5-7200U).

Also it's stopped updating Windows, so I'm stuck on 21H2.

Do you have TPM 2 and secure boot enabled? My experience with unsupported CPU is that it does allow you to upgrade, but only if these are enabled.

 

[COYS]

Thanks guys, I've got it installed now.

I'd previously added the registry hack so deleted that and redit it. Then created a bootable USB with Rufus and rebooted and installed from USB. Don't know if the Registry hack was therefore needed, but it's all working now.