by Jan Cauchi
A few weeks ago, we’ve gone through some of the most salient features Windows 11 will be bringing forth to the table.
Globally, many of these features have been received quite well with those keen on getting their hands on early, developer builds of the upcoming Microsoft operating system.
That said, we did highlight that many PCs built before 2016 (a general assumption), are most likely unable to run or upgrade to Windows 11. “How so?” I hear you asking… TPM and Secure Boot are the answers to that.
We will be focusing on TPM and attempt to answer some of your queries
So, what is TPM anyway?
Without getting too much into the technological jargon, Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, is based on secure cryptoprocessor technology, found either in software or physically, in the form of hardware. Essentially, these chips are designed to add other layers of security in a particular system. Data is kept encrypted at all times, wherever TPM is involved.
Wait, why is Windows 11 requiring TPM?
Older versions of TPM have been around for more than a decade with version 1.2 making its way into systems way back in 2011. Windows 11, however, is requiring systems to have TPM version 2.0 - released a few years later in 2014. Microsoft is intensifying its drive towards this technology to protect your data
How do you check if your system supports TPM?
Microsoft was providing a tool called ‘PC Health Check’ for a short stint before pulling it from its website in order to improve upon it. Up till the time of writing of this article, it’s still listed as ‘Coming Soon’, although this should change eventually. However, the Redmond giant released a list of Intel and AMD based CPUs able to run Windows 11. On top of this, you need to make sure that both TPM and Secure Boot are enabled in the System BIOS settings. If you are not familiar with these settings, we recommend you ask your technician of choice as altering settings in the BIOS can render your machine unusable.
We hope we’ve given you a better understanding of how to proceed with the eventual upgrade to Windows 11.
Is your system supported?
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