Microsoft is getting read to release Windows 11 to the public sometime in October this year. Before you just go and download the new operating system there are a few things to consider.

Microsoft has a few requirements for this new operating system and here they are:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
RAM: 4 gigabyte (GB)
Storage: 64 Gigs
System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Display: High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per color channel
Internet connection and Microsoft accounts: Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use.
Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. Learn more about S mode from Microsofts webste

For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features.


These are just the minimum requirements – lets explore what you will need to do in order to upgrade to Windows 11.

Processor – Most of use have more than a 1 Ghz Processor in our machines. I recommend and Intel or an AMD at least an i5 or more and most of today’s machines have 2 cores. The processor controls the machine – it’s responsible for carrying out all tasks. The stronger the processor the faster the tasks complete. The gigahertz, or GHz represents how many calculations the processor can make each second. The Cores represents how quickly the CPU (Processor) can process data. Each core is basically a CPU in itself, and many programs are written so that multiple cores can work on processing the data the program requires at the same time – vastly increasing how quickly that program can run. For the home use 2 cores is plenty and most home PCs have 2.

RAM – Random Access Memory represents the super-fast and temporary data storage space that a computer needs to access right now or in the next few moments. The more RAM the faster things are processed. Basically, it’s your machines short term memory. Things like applications and data get held there temporarily and are released when you go on to the next thing. Again, the more memory the faster things process. I usually recommend 8 to 16 gigs of ram for today’s users

Storage – Is your hard drive that stores all your information. Microsoft recommends 64 gigs of storage space as a minimum. Today I believe the smallest storage is 500 gigs. Side note – what I do recommend is users have an external device like a USB or an external USB hard drive to store anything they can’t afford to lose in case your machine dies. This will help you basically recover from a disaster. Some people use cloud storage, which is fine but you pay for it. Purchasing a USB drive or an external hard drive is a one-time fee. That choice is yours

System Firmware – There are two types of firmware that can be serviced via Windows: system firmware and device firmware. System firmware is responsible for providing critical boot and runtime services to the system as a whole, and device firmware is associated with a particular device integrated into a system. Such device firmware typically works together with a device driver, allowing the OS (Operating System – Windows) to expose the device to OS-level services and applications.
UEFI-updatable device firmware is what Microsoft is requiring:
This device firmware can be updated using a device driver package from the Manufacturer (basically a BIOS update which you can download from the website of the vendor) leveraging the same mechanism as system firmware. A device firmware update is distributed as a firmware update package. After the firmware update package is on the end-user’s system, Windows will use the UEFI UpdateCapsule function to hand-off the device firmware payload to the platform firmware for processing. This process is virtually identical to how Windows hands off system firmware update payload, and is discussed below.

This sounds complicated but actually it’s just a setting in your systems BIOS (BIOS – just a set of instructions that controls input and output operations on your machine) if you know how you can adjust these setting to meet these requirements– I’ll explain that later

TPM – Trusted Platform Module can be turned on in the BIOS. TPM is a computer chip (microcontroller) that can securely store artifacts used to authenticate the platform (your PC or laptop). … These artifacts can include passwords, certificates, or encryption keys.

The rest of this is pretty standard on all machines.

Next How do I know if I have this in my system? Most newer machines have all these setting in their system BIOS and the latest machines have them turn on.

How can you check – Each machines manufacturer has a specific way of getting into the BIOS. You can easily look that up on line. For my purposes and this explanation, I will show you how to check or change these setting in Dell’s BIOS.


When you turn on your Dell Machine tap F12 this will bring up a menu. You must start tapping F12 as soon as your turn on the machine.
Notice I already have UEFI set and I want to go to the BIOS setup – Use the down arrow key to get there

This will allow me to enter the BIOS just hit enter on your keyboard.

Once you open the BIOS you will see:
You will need to scroll down to secure boot

Click on Secure Boot and open it and click on Enabled if it’s disabled. And make sure you save the settings. The next piece is Security and TPM Security.

Scroll up to Security and then down to TPM Security: Make sure the boxes are check as you see them here. The minimum is TPM security. Make sure you save the changes. Exit and reboot.

You are now ready for Windows 11
Different Machine from different vendors do this differently. Follow these links for both HP and Dell for further instructions on the BIOS. If you feel you can’t do it then call you IT professional and have them set it up for you.

This gives you many different ways to get to the BIOS in Dell:

https://candid.technology/dell-bios-key/

This is for HP and maybe a little older – I suggest you find the exact model of your machine before you try this:
https://makmodo.com/how-to-enable-tpm-in-bios/