Ahead of Microsoft’s Surface event on September 22, the company finally released its enhanced PC Health Check app.
If you’ve been following the ongoing Windows 11 update debacle, chances are you’re familiar with the PC Health Check app. For those who aren’t, Microsoft released the app alongside the initial Windows 11 announcement for people to scan their PC and check if it is compatible with the new operating system.
Unfortunately, the app did not offer an explanation when a PC failed verification. Since Microsoft’s seemingly arbitrary CPU and security requirements caused many capable and custom PCs to fail, Windows users were left struggling, trying to figure out why and what they could do about it. At the time, the most logical explanation was that the new TPM requirement caused PCs to fail verification, causing TPM prices to rise as people rushed to buy them. Additionally, tons of coverage detailed how some CPUs had built-in TPM capabilities and explained how users could enable that functionality.
In the end, Microsoft withdrew the PC Health Check app and promised to bring it back with more clarity and detail. The new version was released to Windows Insiders in August and is now widely available. You can download it from the bottom of Microsoft Windows 11 website.
PC Health Check Now Says Why Your Computer Is Not Compatible With Windows 11
However, a lot has changed since the initial PC Health Check application. On the one hand, Microsoft has gone out of its way to better explain the stringent hardware requirements for Windows 11. While some would say the company has been unsuccessful, I’d say at least we have a better understanding of what CPU Windows 11 doesn’t have. support, if not why did Microsoft decide not to support them.
This is compounded by the fact that many people have been able to run Windows 11 without problems on hardware that supposedly would not be compatible with the new operating system. A great example of this is The edge Tom warren, who wrote that you ran the new PC Health Check application on your desktop PC and received a message that the PC is not supported, even though the PC was running Windows 11 when you did the test.
Also, that seems to back up the information Microsoft provided in August – the company said it would not prevent PCs with older CPUs from installing Windows 11. However, Microsoft also followed up on that announcement saying it could withhold future updates, including security updates. . from PC with unsupported hardware.
New installer message warns of compatibility issues on unsupported hardware
Windows 11 Installer Message (Credit: The edge)
Also, Warren reports that the Windows 11 installer now comes up with a new message that basically warns that your PC is not compatible, that there may be compatibility issues because of it, and that running Windows 11 may void your warranty. The warning doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, though it may also simply be a way for Microsoft to cover its butt in case something really goes wrong.
All of this is to say that updating Windows 11 is still confusing and frustrating, especially for people with custom PCs or older, but still capable hardware. Even my Windows 10 desktop with a 10th Gen Intel CPU was listed as incompatible with Windows 11 until I looked in the BIOS and changed various settings. The updated PC Health Check app should help identify cases where Windows users can get away with it – change a few settings to get your PC in order. But for those who don’t have a CPU on Microsoft’s special list, they’re still out of luck.
Source: The edge