Did you take one glance at our extensive Windows 11 upgrading checklist and say, “No way!”? There’s a much quicker way to install Windows 11 on machines with older CPUs, and it doesn’t require reformatting your drive, erasing your contents, or even burning the ISO to an external USB drive.

If you’re seeing messages like “This PC doesn’t currently satisfy Windows 11 system requirements” or “The CPU isn’t currently supported for Windows 11,” there’s a Microsoft-approved registry hack that will fix the problem right away.

(We tested this procedure on a Dell XPS 15 with a Core i7-7700HQ processor and a Microsoft Surface Go with a Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, both of which aren’t listed on Microsoft’s compatibility list.)

Here’s how to do it in three easy steps, from beginning to end.

1) Download the Windows 11 ISO

You’ll need to get the ISO file. This method does not function with the Windows 11 Install Assistant, does not trigger Windows Update, and does not deceive Microsoft’s PC Health Check program, according to our tests.

Scroll down to Download Windows 11 Disk Image from this Microsoft page (ISO). Select Windows 11 from the Select Download dropdown, click the Download button, choose your product language from the Choose one dropdown below, hit Confirm, and then click 64-bit Download.

Let’s go on to step two while that 5.1GB picture is downloading.

2) Edit the Windows Registry to bypass the CPU check

To open the Registry Editor in Windows, go to Start and type regedit, then press Enter. Enter ComputerHKEY LOCAL MACHINESYSTEMSetupMoSetup in the box right beneath “File, Edit, View, Favorites, Help” or go down through the HKEY LOCAL MACHINE and System and Setup and MoSetup folders one at a time.

Right-click in the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Remove the quotations from the value “AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU.” Double-click the new value you just created, and in the Value data field, type 1. Close the registry editor by pressing OK.

3) Open the ISO in Windows Explorer and launch setup

Is the ISO file fully downloaded? To mount the virtual disc, simply right-click it and select Open with > Windows Explorer, then double-click the setup file to begin installation.

That concludes our discussion. If the registry hack works, instead of receiving a refusal notice, you should receive a warning message and the option to install Windows 11 without losing your data. If you take this option, Microsoft reserves the right to withhold security updates.