Microsoft confirms there will be no U-turn on Windows 11 hardware requirements
- Reference: 1733340614
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/12/04/microsoft_windows_11_tpm/
- Source link:
Microsoft Senior Product Manager Steven Hosking [1]called TPM 2.0 "a necessity for a secure and future-proof Windows 11."
TPM provides hardware-level security for a device. It can be a discrete chip, or included in the processor or its chipset, and with the help of firmware is tasked with keeping confidential data safe, encrypting and decrypting data, etc. It does have its uses.
[2]
It also features prominently in the Windows 11 hardware requirements, which have played a significant role in the operating system's market share stalling.
[3]
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Considering Windows 10 is well into the final year of free support for most editions and remains dominant in the marketplace, a reasonable person might expect Microsoft to relax those requirements. After all, shouldn't it be up to the user if they want or need the protection Hosking attributes to a TPM chip?
It appears not, and Hosking has stated that TPM 2.0 is a "non-negotiable standard" for Windows.
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Unless, of course, a customer is using the Server 2025 version of Windows. In that instance, TPM 2.0 is not a "non-negotiable standard." Yes, it'll be needed for services such as BitLocker Drive Encryption, [6]according to Microsoft . But it does not form part of the minimum requirements.
[7]Arm lays down the law with a blueprint to challenge x86's PC dominance
[8]Buckle up, admins – Windows Server 2025 officially hits GA
[9]After 3 years, Windows 11 has more than half Windows 10's market share
[10]Microsoft closes Windows 11 upgrade loophole in latest Insider build
To be fair to Microsoft, buying a PC without TPM 2.0 hardware has become increasingly difficult over the last few years. However, there remain a large number of Windows 10 devices that would be perfectly capable of running Windows 11 if it were not for Microsoft's hardware demands. For example, this writer has an i7 machine with an SSD that would be an ideal candidate for an upgrade if it weren't for the hardware requirements.
There are multiple ways of dodging the requirements for Windows 11, but the loopholes run the risk of sudden and unannounced closure. Hosking said: "It's true that its [TPM 2.0] implementation might require a change for your organization," which will be of scant comfort to enterprises considering the cost of a wholesale hardware update driven by Microsoft's intransigence.
Hosking's attempt to justify the TPM hardware requirements goes some way to explaining why the security hardware is demanded. However, it does not explain why consumers lacking the hardware could not simply opt out. Particularly since the setup of Windows Server 2025 will not come to a halt if the hardware is not present. ®
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[1] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/tpm-2-0-%E2%80%93-a-necessity-for-a-secure-and-future-proof-windows-11/4339066
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z1DfGDK4FuHbq-6fef43GgAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1DfGDK4FuHbq-6fef43GgAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z1DfGDK4FuHbq-6fef43GgAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z1DfGDK4FuHbq-6fef43GgAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/hardware-requirements?tabs=cpu&pivots=windows-server-2025
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/21/arm_pcbsa_reference_architecture/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/04/windows_server_2025_ga/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/01/windows_11_market_share/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/19/windows_11_loophole_closed/
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I think it is an excellent requirement
Thanks, that makes two of us.
Well...
Then MS can really fark off..... I'm not buying a new computer just to be able to run that piece of sh*t they call an O.S. !
Re: Well...
... just to be able to run that piece of sh*t they call an O.S. !
Then why bother?
If you gave been on this site for a while you surely must realise that there are options other than MS Windows.
It might take a bit of time and effort but examine what's out there and jump off the MS train.
I look forward to the end of life of W10. My email server runs it and many times it has frozen with the last entry in the system log being the start of an update. It's never failed to apply an update but something about WSUS seems to be locking it solid every now and again. I thought I'd fixed it a couple of years ago by giving it more RAM but it recently started again. So I've now installed a utility that claims to block Windows Update.
It seems to be working but there's always the risk that it somehow fails to block an update so the sooner MS stops making updates available for W10 the happier I will be. The server is behind a firewall and I never use it to browse the internet (I download anything it needs on different PCs and scan them before pushing them across the LAN) so the risk of anything bad sneaking onto the machine is low.
And I'll confirm that I have no regrets about moving everything in my home and business to Linux about 10 years ago.
I have no intention of moving to Windows 11 so don't know what won't work without a TPM, but since you can fudge a Win 11 install on a PC without a TPM, then its clearly NOT a requirement is it?
And if its just bitlocker that won't work without it, i doubt that will both the majority of home users and quire a lot of business would forego it to save having to buy a whole new PC.
Rufus is the one stop tool of choice to install W11 on a noncompliant machine. It includes/supports Bitlocker.
Can anyone clarify if the TPM requirement has resolved security vulnerabilities of note in Windows 11? Is it non-negotiable because it's providing a levee against a persistent vulnerability or has it simply introduced theoretical "dependencies" they can't remove?
Re: Can anyone clarify
Shirley, it's about helping certain big companies sell new laptops.
Obligatory
And don't call me Shirley!
Re: Can anyone clarify
Not really.
First, you have to understand what a "Trusted Platform" actually means...
Trusted by whom? Trusted to do what?
IF a TPM were instead labelled as a unique cryptographic identifier that cannot be spoofed, that's a bit closer to the mark. It's like fingerprints for a chipset.
For example, this writer has an i7 machine
You'd enjoy Mint with Mate Desktop (X-Windows) and maybe an W9x / Server 2003 theme more.
Works well even on i3 with a 5400 rpm HDD.
Super on i5 laptop with SSD + 1T HDD
Unless you have some task that can only be achieved on Windows. I also have XP, W7 and W10 VMs I don't use. The XP and Win7 imaged from real existing computers that are retired using and MS tool.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd
Instructions not quite accurate, but you CAN make files from existing machines if they used BIOS mode for install/boot even if a UEFI PC (the W7 thus worked). And the default "free" Oracle VM tools can use them.
Oh dear, what a shame...
....looks like it won't be "accidentally" downgraded to Windows 11 without my consent.
Re: Oh dear, what a shame...
....looks like it won't be "accidentally" downgraded to Windows 11 without my never forthcoming consent.
FTFY ;)
And I feel the same way about it.
Do people here realize what a TPM provides in terms of added security?
Do they not realize that every Intel and AMD processor has a built in equivalent for a TPM that meets all the requirements of Windows 11?
You don't need a discrete TPM . Chances are very good you have one built in already! Intel calls theirs Platform Trust Technology (PTT). Make sure it is enabled in your BIOS/UEFI.
Even Linux can take advantage of a TPM.
Wouldn't even if I could.
I for one am not installing Windows 11 natively on my primary PC, even if I could. My CPU supports Intel PTT (what Intel calls the CPU based firmware TPM), but my motherboard vendor would rather charge $200 for a DTPM module to go with the $700 motherboard than allow you to simply turn on what's already in the $2900 processor. The rufus and other bypass methods don't work either on this system for some reason. If and when I ditch Win10 / WSL, it will be to 100% Debian, and no stinking Windows.
In mother Russia...
You don't take advantage of a TPM. A TPM takes advantage of you.
That's OK
I won't u-turn on my shift from W10 to Linux, either. Holidays are coming up, that's my big project to fill the time. (apart from too much food and drink, of course)
This is lining up to be the Windows Phone 7 debacle all over again.
Not everybody needs to encrypt their drive and you can still encrypt a drive without TMP you will just need to enter a pre-boot password.
This from a company that touts their “green efforts” by building wooden bit barns but then sends million perfectly good PCs to an early grave?
Reverse the decision!
I think it is an excellent requirement
I've disbaled it on my Win 10 system to ensure win 11 can never be installed inadvertently or by M$ sneakiness