Windows 11 Workaround Not Working (Solved Successfully)

Vern1961

Vern1961

Vern1961

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Apologies if this is similar to previous threads. Although I'm hoping to replace or upgrade my old potato PC before the Win 10 support deadline, I still have to convince the wife to let me spend the money.

So in the meantime, decided to have a go at forcing a Win 11 update using the registry change as widely described. First of all I did it on the laptop which is a lesser spec than the main PC and it worked fine.

Come to do the main PC. Registry updated, mounted the ISO but after thinking about it, the installer knocked back with the not compatible message.
My motherboard is an ASUS Z87-K running an I7 4770.

Just wondering if there's anything I need to change in BIOS in order to make the process work? (Would have to find a wired mouse for that as the wireless one doesn't work in BIOS).

Don't think I can use Rufus as described elsewhere, as the Z87 doesn't have a boot option from USB.

Any advice welcome, or am I stuffed?
 
Vern1961 said:
Don't think I can use Rufus as described elsewhere, as the Z87 doesn't have a boot option from USB.
Click to expand...
To boot from a USB on an ASUS Z87-K motherboard, turn on your computer, immediately press the "Esc" key to access the boot menu, then select your USB drive from the list and press Enter to boot from it; if the boot menu doesn't appear, you can enter the BIOS settings by pressing "Del" or "F2" and change the boot order to prioritize your USB drive there.
Click to expand...
 
Just a note with the reg fix to force the update, I did this on an old PC and noticed after a month it was not downloading any security updates. I wiped and reloaded it using Rufus and it was fine then.

Unless you have found a different registry fix of course, I would check the laptop is updating.
 
Ran the WhyNotWin11 and it threw up the following as errors:
Boot Method - Legacy.
CPU Compatability - Not Supported.
Disk Partition Type - GPT Not Detected.
Secure Boot - Disabled/Not Detected.
TPM Version - Disabled/Not Detected.

Presumably some of the above would be covered by the registry change as I assume WhyNot is just looking at the BIOS directly. So any suggestions as to what I need to change (if I can) on the Z87 to get round that, appreciated. In the meantime I'll dig out a wired mouse so I can play around with the BIOS.

Oh and regards the laptop, yes it has been grabbing and installing Windows Updates since I pushed Win 11 on it.
 
Vern1961 said:
Ran the WhyNotWin11 and it threw up the following as errors:
Boot Method - Legacy.
CPU Compatability - Not Supported.
Disk Partition Type - GPT Not Detected.
Secure Boot - Disabled/Not Detected.
TPM Version - Disabled/Not Detected.

Presumably some of the above would be covered by the registry change as I assume WhyNot is just looking at the BIOS directly. So any suggestions as to what I need to change (if I can) on the Z87 to get round that, appreciated. In the meantime I'll dig out a wired mouse so I can play around with the BIOS.

Oh and regards the laptop, yes it has been grabbing and installing Windows Updates since I pushed Win 11 on it.
Click to expand...

  1. Check
    1. Read all these instructions and google as necessary to understand fully, no rush
    2. Check in the BIOS you have UEFI and Secure Boot options (I have no idea if your mobo supports it, if it doesn't you stop here)
    3. Read about this issue with older NVIDIA cards when switching to UEFI bios in case it applies to you:
      1. https://linustechtips.com/topic/663941-post-screenbios-doesnt-display-with-displayport/
      2. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/nv-uefi-update-x64/
  2. Prep
    1. Backup data just in case
    2. Reboot
  3. MBR to GPT (will require UEFI mode to boot after this)
    1. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
    2. Run the following command: mbr2gpt.exe /convert /allowfullOS
  4. BIOS Settings
    1. Restart the system and boot into the system BIOS.
    2. Change the settings from Legacy BIOS mode to UEFI mode.
    3. Enable Secure Boot
    4. Save and Exit the BIOS and boot into Windows
  5. Rerun WhyNotWin11 post the results
 
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throwaway4372 said:
  1. Check
    1. Read all these instructions and google as necessary to understand fully, no rush
    2. Check in the BIOS you have UEFI and Secure Boot options (I have no idea if your mobo supports it, if it doesn't you stop here)
    3. Read about this issue with older NVIDIA cards when switching to UEFI bios in case it applies to you:
      1. https://linustechtips.com/topic/663941-post-screenbios-doesnt-display-with-displayport/
      2. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/nv-uefi-update-x64/
  2. Prep
    1. Backup data just in case
    2. Reboot
  3. MBR to GPT (will require UEFI mode to boot after this)
    1. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
    2. Run the following command: mbr2gpt.exe /convert /allowfullOS
  4. BIOS Settings
    1. Restart the system and boot into the system BIOS.
    2. Change the settings from Legacy BIOS mode to UEFI mode.
    3. Enable Secure Boot
    4. Save and Exit the BIOS and boot into Windows
  5. Rerun WhyNotWin11 post the results
Click to expand...
Thanks for the above. Will digest and attempt when I feel brave!
 
Finally got into the BIOS as, slight digression, even the wired mouse was just returning to centre when trying to navigate. Turned out unplugging my Logitech Joystick cured that particular issue, it was previously causing issues with the camera spinning in Mass Effect LE so guessing its jiggered and now in the bin of broken computer bits.

Anyhow from what I can see secure boot is already enabled and currently in CSM Boot is set to UEFI and Legacy; there is an option for UEFI only. So now I just need to decide if I want to convert my discs to GPT (I presume all the HD's will need this doing) and arrange to back everything up. So not a five minute job and part of me says hold out to see whether MS have a last minute change of heart, either re Win 10 going out of support or lowering the Win 11 system requirements. Or risking the divorce courts and the rest of my life in a park home, telling the wife I've bought a new PC!
 
Vern1961 said:
So now I just need to decide if I want to convert my discs to GPT (I presume all the HD's will need this doing)
Click to expand...

Only the OS drive needs to be GPT. If you decide to go ahead with a reinstall, follow these steps. And just to be safe disconnect all other drives, so you don't format the wrong one.

Boot using the Windows setup USB
At any setup screen press SHIFT+F10 to open a command window
Enter these commands

DISKPART
SELECT DISK 0
CLEAN
CONVERT GPT
EXIT

If it's not convenient to disconnect other disks, after DISKPART type LIST DISK and identify the OS disk by size. If you have two or more disks of the same size the select each one, e.g. SELECT DISK 0, SELECT DISK 1, and LIST PARTITION. Your current OS disk will have multiple partitions, System, Windows and Recovery.

Before you run the CLEAN command, always check you have the correct disk selected. Run LIST DISK and look for an asterisk next to the disk.


VUPRHZy.jpeg
 
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Slight problem there is no Windows setup USB. Original install was OEM Windows 7 when I bought the box in 2013, subsequently updated to Windows 10. The original Win 7 DVD provided by the vendor has vanished at some point.

Not even sure if an ASUS Z87 supports a USB boot, just HD or DVD drive.

Reading around, there does appear to be a way to convert the C drive using a command line prompt which doesn't involve a reformat or reinstall of the OS.

Which is why I'm treading very cautiously.
 
I had a small SSD that I used for OS drive backup/clone, and then disconnected this.

Download the media creation tool - you'll need an 8GB USB (https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb...0c3b507420d#section-1_tabControl-1=Windows_11)
CAUTION - this downloads Win11 24H2 which would not activate!
I raise your Win7 OEM disc for a Vista OEM disc :cry:

I then cloned Win10 back from small SSD, and upgraded Win10 to Win11, which used Win11 23H2 and activated fine

WhyNotWin11 was very useful, as is Throwaway's stepbystep guide
 
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Made the change to GPT successfully.

Install now only falls over on CPU compatability and TPM version (not detected).

Any deas please?
 
Use Rufus to create the USB installation media. Rufus will show you options to remove checks for CPU and TPM.

Does the MS website give you an option to download an ISO? IIRC the media creation tool copied all the files to a USB. For Rufus you'll need the ISO file. If you don't have one I'll send you a link.
 
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Mujja said:
Use Rufus to create the installation USB installation media. Rufus will show you options to remove checks for CPU and TPM.

Does the MS website give you an option to download an ISO? IIRC the media creation tool copied all the files to a USB. For Rufus you'll need the ISO file. If you don't have one I'll send you a link.
Click to expand...
Rufus can download the iso for you if I remember correctly
Just to the right of the select button
There's a little drop down menu that allows download as
An option rather than add a local iso
 
Well had to abort for this evening as the iso file I grabbed previously was for the International version whereas for some weird reason my PC is using the US version. Would have deleted all my apps etc. Now downloading the correct iso so will need to set up the USB with Rufus again once that's ready.
 
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