Microsoft said my PC can't run Windows 11, but I upgraded in 5 minutes anyway - here's how

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 10 last October.
• Many PCs with Windows 10 don't pass Microsoft's strict requirement check.
• It's possible to bypass this and install Windows 11 in 10 easy steps.

I built my current desktop back in 2020, and it's had Windows 10 installed for the duration of its lifecycle. I went with what was -- at the time -- a solid, midrange Asus motherboard and Intel Core i9-9900 CPU, both of which still perform quite well in 2026. 

Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 free options

But there's one problem: This motherboard -- and many out there just like it -- is right on the cusp of being eligible for Windows 11. It doesn't have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2 ...