For the past three years, Microsoft documented a way to run Windows 11 on PCs that lack Trusted Platform Module 2.0 hardware - but that workaround has now disappeared from its help page.

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a security technology that encrypts sensitive data such as encryption keys and helps to verify the authenticity of hardware and operating systems. The tech can be implemented with a discrete chip on a PC’s motherboard or integrated into a CPU.

When Windows 11 launched in 2021, TPM 2.0 was not yet ubiquitous. Many PCs that possessed the muscle to run the new OS could not therefore use the new cut of Windows.

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Plenty of PC owners thought that was bonkers, because their machines were cut off from an OS that Microsoft said was super-innovative and important.

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Which may be why, shortly after Windows 11 debuted in October 2021, Microsoft published a page that and outlined "ways to install Windows 11" that [4]included instructions for bypassing the requirement for machines running the OS to include TPM 2.0 hardware.

The workaround required creation of a Windows Registry key, but still required the presence of a TPM 1.2 module. TPM 1.2 was a decade old at the time, so was present in many more PCs.

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As [6]spotted by Neowin, language about the bypass is no longer present on the help page Microsoft published in 2021, with the latest [7]version omitting a box about the hack.

Aside from removing the section about the Registry key, the page remains largely the same, and still indicates that physical media will allow installation of Windows 11 on hardware that only has TPM 1.2.

This isn't a new change, and Microsoft appears to have removed the Registry key workaround sometime between December 12 and 14, 2024, based on the Wayback Machine’s [8]archives of the page. Whether the workaround itself still functions or has been actively blocked remains unknown; we reached out to learn more, but haven't heard back.

Server install workaround on its way out, too?

Another popular method of bypassing the [9]TPM 2.0 requirement was to install Windows 11 using Windows Server 2025 hardware requirement checks, which don't stop the operating system from installing despite a lack of TPM.

Microsoft [10]tightened that loophole back in August 2024, after which it was still possible to use it through third-party apps like [11]Flyby11 which allows users to install Windows 11 on hardware without any TPM or Secure Boot, and even on devices with [12]unsupported processors .

[13]Windows 11 stages a comeback – still miles behind older sibling

[14]Why users still couldn't care less about Windows 11

[15]Windows 10's demise nears, but Linux is forever

[16]Microsoft declares 2025 'the year of the Windows 11 PC refresh'

In an update to Flyby11 released yesterday, its developer [17]noted that Microsoft Defender had begun to flag Flyby11 as the potentially unwanted application [18]Win32/Patcher , a known malicious tool. It's not clear if this was intentional or a false positive, the developer said.

We've asked Flyby11’s developer for comment, and have asked Microsoft whether it intentionally flagged the tool.

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While the removal of information from a help page and the potential false flagging of a workaround tool may seem minor, they're another indicator that Microsoft [20]won’t back down on the requirement for Windows 11 to run on machines equipped with TPM 2.0 chips.

Workarounds to bypass these restrictions are likely disappearing fast, as Redmond [21]continues to push the latest version of its flagship OS onto users - glitches and all. ®

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[1] 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=2Z6NE1tJudNbAEDmQc2x1uAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[2] 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=44Z6NE1tJudNbAEDmQc2x1uAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%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=3&c=33Z6NE1tJudNbAEDmQc2x1uAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/06/bypass_windows_11_requirements/

[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=44Z6NE1tJudNbAEDmQc2x1uAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-quietly-removes-official-windows-11-cputpm-bypass-for-unsupported-pcs/

[7] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e

[8] https://web.archive.org/web/20240301000000*/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/windows_11_requirements/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/19/windows_11_loophole_closed/

[11] https://github.com/builtbybel/Flyby11?tab=readme-ov-file

[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/23/windows_11_cpu_requirements/

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/01/windows_11_statcounter/

[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/04/windows_11_avoidance/

[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/28/windows_10_demise_linux/

[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/microsoft_2025_windows_refresh/

[17] https://github.com/builtbybel/Flyby11/releases/tag/1.2.112

[18] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=PUA:Win32/Patcher

[19] 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=33Z6NE1tJudNbAEDmQc2x1uAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[20] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/04/microsoft_windows_11_tpm/

[21] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/20/microsoft_to_force_windows_11/?td=keepreading

[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/