[W11] [GUIDE] Installing Windows 11 on ANY Bare-Metal Computer (Bypassing "Does Not Meet Requirement")

[m3tech]

If you ever tried to install the leaked Windows 11 onto your computer, you will get a result saying that "Your computer does not meet the minimum requirement" or something like that. It turns out that it's not that Microsoft does not allow users to install Windows 11 on bare metal. It's just that Windows 11 install loader requires users to have both Secure Boot and TPM enabled. But even the support itself is still finicky.

 

Since Windows 11 is still Windows 10 under the hood, I have managed to install it on Surface Go (1st Gen, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y), MacBook (12-inch, 2015, Intel Core M-5Y31), and MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019, Intel Core i9-9980HK) with working drivers with no issue. And currently installing it on a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Intel Core i5-1038NG7) as of writing this thread. Here's how to do it.

 

Required materials: Windows 11 ISO file, Windows 10 ISO file (20H1 or later), USB thumb drive

1. First step is just as usual, write the Windows 11 ISO file onto your selected USB thumb drive.
2. After the writing has finished, you shall simply open up the sources folder in your USB thumb drive.
3. Double click the Windows 10 ISO file (20H1 or later) to mount it, and navigate to the same sources folder inside the mounted Windows 10 disc image.
4. Select all the files in the Windows 10 sources folder except for the install.wim file, and copy them into the sources folder on your USB thumb drive.
5. It will ask if you want to replace the files, click "yes to all".
6. After that completes, simply boot into the USB thumb drive and start installing Windows 11.

 

Tech behind this method: substituting the Windows 11 install loader with a Windows 10 install loader, thus bypassing the requirement.

See attached to see some images of me installing Windows 11 on a 13-inch 2020 MacBook Pro as of writing this thread.

[randomredditor]

the install.wim file doesnt exist on my windows 10 installation (20H2), only have a install.esd. So in short terms i need to extract both ISO files onto usbs and move across evverything in the sources folder from the windows 10 install to the windows 11 install but dont move across the install.wim file?

[BondiBlue]

2 hours ago, randomredditor said:

the install.wim file doesnt exist on my windows 10 installation (20H2), only have a install.esd. So in short terms i need to extract both ISO files onto usbs and move across evverything in the sources folder from the windows 10 install to the windows 11 install but dont move across the install.wim file?

Make the Windows 11 USB installer just like you would with Windows 10 (Rufus, UUI probably works, etc.). Then mount the Windows 10 ISO, navigate into the Sources folder, and copy everything except install.wim or install.esd. Paste those files into the Sources folder on your Windows 11 USB installer, and choose to replace the files as necessary. Once that's done the Windows 11 installer will boot up exactly as normal and will install perfectly fine. 

 

TL;DR Copy everything from sources except install.wim/esd onto Windows 11 installer.

[EthernalRaine]

Remember how Linus said you can't install Windows 11 on Bare Metal? After a bit of tinkering, I managed to do it and I'm going to show you how.
 

• Step 1: Download the latest Media Creation Tool from Microsoft.
• Step 2: Make a Bootable USB Drive with the Settings shown first image attached below:
• Step 3: Fetch yourself a Windows 11 ISO from Totally Legal Websites.
• Step 4: Mount the ISO and Copy the "install.wim" (Located in \Sources in the ISO) (Second Image Attached).
• Step 5: Paste the "install.wim" you copied earlier into the \Sources on the USB Stick
• Step 6: Reboot into the USB, Select your Windows 11 Version and Have fun Using it.

You can see 2 Pictures of the Freshly installed 11 below (the last two pictures).

As a side note, everything that works on 10 works on 11 as the Kernel still identifies as 10.0.21996.1 and also receives updates for "Windows 10 Next" on a separate Insider Fast Ring stream.

[Kilrah]

@angelhoneymerged with existing thread about that method.

[crookedvult]

Good morning. Im a bit confused here. Should I now copy the install.wim file from the Windows 10 ISO to the Windows 11 USB stick, or should I copy all the files (except install.wim) from the Windows 10 ISO to the Windows 11 USB stick?

 

Thanks

[DarthBaggins]

Hmm by this logic and instruction, I can use a deployment server I use at work that has the w10 bootloader and install the image by pxe install. Since it uses the initial w10 to load in then pulls the wim once you select install location etc. 

Going to have to try this or see if I can build an all-in-one solution to host to make the process easier for others.