Microsoft Doesn't Recommend You Do This With Windows 11
It's been over four years since Microsoft released Windows 11, introducing a new OS experience while leaving a whole bunch of devices out of the support pool. Though the hardware requirements were not too high, it was the smaller technical mandates, such as TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and DirectX12 (WDDM 2 driver), that left out a whole bunch of perfectly fine laptops and PCs.
In the wake of the shift, a few workarounds popped up, with one of them being changing the registry details to bypass the TPM requirements. Technically, they worked and managed to install Windows 11 on otherwise unsupported devices, and for some users, the journey was fairly smooth-sailing afterwards.
For the rest, however, it was a one-way ticket to a bunch of issues. The system requirements prescribed for running Windows 11 are there for a reason. According to Microsoft, there is a certain baseline requirement at the hardware level to ensure that you get the best performance and a reliable experience of running Windows 11 on a PC. "Installing Windows 11 on this PC is not recommended and may result in compatibility issues," Microsoft says in its support page. These compatibility issues can manifest in various forms. For example, certain apps and features might not work if they require a particular amount of processing firepower or system memory.
Video editing, graphics, and AI development programs might hamper the latest OS, too. Without proper driver support and powerful silicon, they could offer a poor experience, or not work at all. The biggest problem is a lack of official support. Microsoft notes that if you install Windows 11 on an ineligible PC, it will officially be counted out of the supported device pool, and these machines are not entitled to getting software updates either.
What you can do about it
There are two core reasons to avoid installing Windows 11 on an ineligible device. First, your device is no longer eligible for updates, which means it is missing out on performance improvements and bug fixes, alongside next-gen software features with specific hardware and software-level requirements. More importantly, if you end up with any serious hardware problems due to the forced installation, the device will not be eligible for warranty claims. "Damages to your PC due to lack of compatibility aren't covered under the manufacturer warranty," says Microsoft on its support page.
In my experience, I didn't face any such hardware damage to my PC, but your mileage might vary. The process of force-installing Windows 11 is not overtly technical, but if you make a mistake during the BIOS setup, you might end up with a bricked PC that will need expert attention.
On my ageing Microsoft Surface Go, the upgrade to Windows 11 went smoothly, but the performance tanked. The general UI interactions started feeling sluggish, the device began heating up, and the battery life took a hit. The low-powered Intel Pentium Gold processor was almost certainly the culprit, but overall, it was not a pleasant experience.
On the other hand, many users have had a fairly hassle-free experience. For PCs that had powerful innards, such as an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 equivalent processor, and a minimum of 8GB of RAM, the Windows 11 experience has been satisfactory. But if discussions on Reddit forums are anything to go by, it can be a bit of a mixed bag with a trial-and-error situation. For some, it has been a "pleasantly surprising" experience, but if you are worried about the security situation because the device won't get updates from Microsoft, it's best to upgrade.