back to article Microsoft closes Windows 11 upgrade loophole in latest Insider build

Microsoft has finally patched a workaround exploited by users seeking an upgrade path for Windows 11 that dodged the company's hardware requirements. The tweak arrived without fanfare in the Windows Insider build 27686. There were a few neat tweaks in the build, including updates to the Windows Sandbox Client preview and a …

  1. stupid-frakking-handle

    I wonder...

    I'll try copying the setup.exe file from an old Win11 installer and see if that fixes it. If not there are other ways around it.

  2. steviebuk Silver badge

    Should be made illegal

    Considering its going to put a lot of kit in landfill it should be made illegal. Yes, we all know those devices can have Linux installed but the average Joe won't know how. Having said that I wonder if a lot of decent kit will end up cheap on ebay, with folks who've no idea thinking they just have to sell it on.

    1. dmesg

      Re: Should be made illegal

      My personal experience is that installing Windows is more of a pain than installing Linux, at least with major distros aimed at desktop use. No faffing about with license keys, or figuring out which of the multiple Windows editions (Home? Student? Pro?) to download, or wondering if you need to first download a "Media Creator" app. Or figuring out how to evade M$'s desperate attempts to get you to sign up for an account.

      1. MatthewSt Silver badge
        Joke

        Re: Should be made illegal

        "or figuring out which of the multiple Windows editions"

        Yes, good point. You can just pick Linux and go. No decision necessary about which "edition" to choose...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Should be made illegal

        No need to faff with license keys.

        https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts

    2. FlippingGerman

      Re: Should be made illegal

      I'm more pissed off that "Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows" turned out to be false advertising. I paid for the copy on my desktop - it came on a USB drive in a shiny box! - but support has not been as long-lived as I'd like, despite the hardware being more capable than the majority of computers on desks.

  3. Ken Hagan Gold badge

    Lesson learned?

    A machine bought with Win11 today may or may not meet the minimum spec for Win12 in however many years time, but it will almost certainly still be able to do the job that it is being bought for today after MS decide to pull support for Win11.

    1. that one in the corner Silver badge

      Re: Lesson learned?

      Wave hands vertically whilst going Diddleee-didddllee-diddleee as we wind back to the past:

      A machine bought with Win10 today may or may not meet the minimum spec for Win11 in however many years time, but it will almost certainly still be able to do the job that it is being bought for today after MS decide to pull support for Win10.

      1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

        Re: Lesson learned?

        But until Win11 came out a few years ago, no-one buying a WinX machine had any reason to suppose that X+1 would not be a viable upgrade.

        This is a new strategy from MS and they appear to be doubling down on it.

        1. martinusher Silver badge

          Re: Lesson learned?

          Their upgrades now appear to interfere with GRUB. Will their arrogance/incompetence never end?

          I'm amazed at the amount of intellectual effort that goes into stopping things from working that used to work fine. I know its all done in the name of security but I keep getting the feeling that a lot of the security holes are created just so that users can be made to feel insecure and so follow the program.

          I also expect the last updates of Windows 10 to completely screw it up. Its not that it won't work, it just won't work at all well. When this happens to this machine it will be converted from dual boot to single boot -- I'll just rebuild the system without Windows.

  4. ChrisElvidge Bronze badge

    Upgrades?

    It's about time that their biggest customers (Business and Government) get together and tell Microsoft to stop pissing about with unnecessary hardware requirements and fix all the bugs in current release(s).

    Forced binning of capable hardware should be a crime.

    1. Matthew "The Worst Writer on the Internet" Saroff

      Re: Upgrades?

      It's worse than a crime, it is a mistake.

      1. Spanners
        Meh

        Re: Upgrades?

        It may be a mistake and even a crime.

        It is however profitable for MS and their friends.

    2. Jonathon Green
      Trollface

      Re: Upgrades?

      They’ll probably just keep running Windows 10 while paying MS an ungodly amount of money for a bespoke extended support package…

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This always works for me

    Setup.exe /skipthismicrosoftshitinstalllinux

    1. Nematode Bronze badge

      Re: This always works for me

      Indeed. I reconsider Linux every couple of months, but my list of necessary (Windoze) apps unsupported under Linux with no equivalent, with no web/browser interface, and most unsupported under Apple, is around 15. Not until the Linux community reduces the proliferation of distros to some sensible number, turns Linux into a credible everyday product for the man or woman in the street, doesn't require a terminal window and SUDO to fix the tiniest blip, and attracts enough app developers to go through the pain of porting their software to a different ecosystem, bug fixing it, supporting it long term, will I be able to switch. I doubt I'll ever port SWMBO, who doesn't need these non Linux apps, to Linux, due to the support issues once I'm gone. I wish it were otherwise, but these are the reasons Linux doesn't make headway apart from with those able and competent to migrate.

      1. Richard 12 Silver badge

        Re: This always works for me

        Almost everything on your list has been fixed for many years.

        Your necessary applications are genuinely the only blocker - and that list is getting very short.

        The majority of people can switch without even noticing, as most of what they do is in the browser, and the rest either has a free replacement or already works just fine under Proton/WINE.

        Not everything though. Niche market commercial stuff and the likes of Adobe won't offer Linux versions until their customer base demands it.

        1. Snake Silver badge

          Re: This always works for me

          "The majority of people can switch without even noticing, as most of what they do is in the browser, and the rest either has a free replacement or already works just fine under Proton/WINE."

          Running, and dealing with the compatibility issues of, an emulation layer is not a solution unless it is 101% compatible and invisible to the user. Anything else is a hindrance to the user experience and necessary productivity. Apply gets away with it because their emulations actually, you know, work - the less that 100% compatibility with Proton/WINE just isn't sufficient enough to warrant a user's risk and effort of switching.

          1. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
            Linux

            Re: This always works for me

            Wine Is Not an Emulator, though...

            1. Snake Silver badge

              Re: WINE Is Not an Emulator

              And that makes it worse: converting API calls to native Linux, when you don't even know all the (some hidden) API's that Windows has, is a sure-fire way to make your user experience 100% satisfactory...

              And API call translation still does not 100% deal with hardware calls.

              As I said, Apple gets away with it because they only have to adapt to the changed hardware layer, not only do they know their own API back-to-front they are using those API's untouched (same OS just on different hardware). Apple is very successful in this and is the only reason Apple users go willingly into the (now 4th) hardware change frontier - they know they can continue working with very little productivity hit on their shiny new Fruity hardware.

      2. simpfeld

        Re: This always works for me

        Reducing your exposure to the windows pathogen seems the correct approach. I have a Linux host with 95% of the apps I use , and a Widows VM for the few apps I can't get.

        Continuing to fight to keep windows just opens you up to being data harvested to death (forced MS accounts) and now forced HW upgrades.

        1. Snake Silver badge

          Re: reducing Windows

          At 95% for your Linux coverage that makes you a good Linux fit. Many of us do not have that level of fit, for me beyond DaVinci Resolve and LibreOffice everything else is Windows only, especially the Adobe suite and all the associated audio/video hardware support, plus updaters for a lot of 'convenience' hardware in my life.

  6. thexfile
    Facepalm

    We'll be using tablets.

    1. Alumoi Silver badge
      Joke

      Moses, is that you?

      1. ITMA Silver badge
        Flame

        That's not a "I'm pissed off" icon.

        It's a burning bush.... :)

    2. Anonymous Coward
  7. FF22

    They closed this loophole a year ago

    Microsft has closed the "setup.exe /product server" loophole already a year ago in build 25977.

    "setupprep /product server" was - and most likely is - still working though.

    1. stupid-frakking-handle

      Re: They closed this loophole a year ago

      I installed Win 11 23H2 using that workaround on a 2012-era PC without a hitch last month.

      1. FF22

        Re: They closed this loophole a year ago

        We're talking about Insider builds here. 23H2 is a stable release, with a build number of 22631. As said, Microsoft patched this out in build 25977, last October.

  8. Yorick Hunt Silver badge
    Happy

    I'm just happy...

    ... That disabling the TPM in BIOS still prevents Windows 10 from downgrading to Windows 11.

    1. Hubert Cumberdale Silver badge

      Re: I'm just happy...

      Yeah... "users eager to upgrade to Windows 11"... who are they exactly?

    2. Someone Else Silver badge

      Re: I'm just happy...

      From the article:

      The workaround has been known for a few years and was welcomed by users eager to upgrade to Windows 11 [...]

      Who are these people, and why aren't they in treatment?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cant save the environment due to Microsoft.

    Still refuse to put my 13 yo desktop running W10 and ubuntu 24.04 to develop SW for lots of purposes., in the garbage can. It getting harder and harder to save the environment.

    I now changed to build headless servers w/o guzzling power gpu cards and remote desktop into them. No need AI.

    Why desktops and server software and hardware lack important power saving, like shutting down pci cards., DDR when not in use..has not been invented after centuries of tech, is amazing. Yes disks can, but thats it. No green innovation at tech companies... Money tech, no innovation tech for the benefit of humans and the emvironment.

  10. navarac Silver badge

    Send all the junk to SatNad

    Perhaps everyone should send all of their non-W11 capable machines to Satya Nadella's home address. I bet his neighbours would be pleased with the acres of junk (NOT).

  11. 0laf Silver badge
    Linux

    Time Gentlemen

    My desktop PC is running an AMD Ryzen 7 1st gen and apparently is unworthy of W11. This box might be 6yr old but it is 100% capable of everything I need it to do and still 100% functional.

    So at some point in teh next 14 months this machine will become my new Linux rig and we'll start to see if I can live away from MS world.

    I'm not really looking forward to having to learn and tweak to get Steam etc running on it but I'll do that before I junk perfectly usable hardware.

    Plus W11 being an information gathering and advertising tool first and an OS second hardly makes it an appealing prospect.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: Time Gentlemen

      Steam "just works", and most (but not all) games run well.

      Valve have done some pretty good work.

      1. RAMChYLD Bronze badge

        Re: Time Gentlemen

        And Valve may be opening up SteamOS to machines other than the Steam Deck soon, given how the ROG Ally will become the next supported machine.

        Failing that, there's Bazzite and Nobara, Linux distros optimized for Gaming.

        1. cdegroot

          Re: Time Gentlemen

          Frankly, just installing Steam seems enough these days. The only game with a work around in my library is ffxiv where I just installed the custom launcher (the square enix one is shit anyway), imported it into my steam lib, now I can remote play that as well.

          Assuming of course you have am AMD card. Nvidia still is intent on making Linux users' lives hard,but that goes for windows as well with their stupid geforce all.

          1. Yankee Doodle Doofus Bronze badge

            Re: Time Gentlemen

            < "Frankly, just installing Steam seems enough these days"

            Agreed. Bazzite is very impressive though and is an excellent selection for someone who wants to have the console-like experience of the Steam Deck on a custom gaming rig. A few weeks ago, I test drove Bazzite on an AMD powered mini-pc, and was inspired to do just this. I am only waiting on the processor to complete the build (Ryzen 5600x with 32GB of DDR4 3600Mhz and Radeon RX 6800). The box will live in my living room entertainment center, hooked up to my 55" TV. I eagerly look forward to wasting hundreds (thousands?) of hours of my life.

  12. Ovalwingnut

    MS BLOWS CHUNKS

    MicroKrap can go POUND SAND. Who is the "customer here"? They can byte me. The direction MS keeps going is alone.. a single reason to switch to [any other] OS. I prefer *inux. But to each their own. I've used Windows since before there was Windows and one thing that has been clear to me, MicroKrap does not give a Chit about their customers. They make me PUKE (no disrespect). Other than that, Cheers!

    1. Snake Silver badge

      Re: MS BLOWS CHUNKS

      The people who have the power here, in regards to leveraging MS, is business; individual users don't have a loud enough voice to be heard through the chatter strong enough for MS to care, but large business users certainly can get MS's ear. It is up to *them* to complain about Win11...or, maybe, simply to skip it altogether (hello, Win8!?) and await the next iteration (my belief, actually).

      So don't get your knickers in a knot. IMHO Win11's day will never really come (again, et tu Win8, et tu?) and Win12's release will be awaited strongly.

      1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

        Re: MS BLOWS CHUNKS

        Once Win10 goes out of support, every Patch Tuesday basically becomes an exercise in publishing "probable Win10 holes".

        Big business ain't gonna want to just sit and wait for Win12 and Win12 isn't going to have lesser hardware requirements than Win11. At the end of next year, businesses have a choice between Win11 or switching away from Windows.

        (Unless, perhaps, someone knows of a VM host that is able to emulate the Win11 hardware requirements with acceptable performance. You'd still need to pay for a Win11 licence though, assuming businesses want to be legal, which I think is a fair assumption.)

        1. 0laf Silver badge

          Re: MS BLOWS CHUNKS

          When W10 becomes out of support it immeditely hits a CVSS 10 critical and all your compliance activities get a lot more complex.

          Even if the score doesn't matter to you lots of compliance and contractual requirements will stipulate "no unsupported software".

          Makes a move inevitable for any windows based organisation.

      2. Someone Else Silver badge

        Re: MS BLOWS CHUNKS

        So don't get your knickers in a knot. IMHO Win11's day will never really come (again, et tu Win8, et tu?) and Win12's release will be awaited strongly with the same sense of dread and hope that accompanies all Micros~1 releases.

        There, FTFY.

        1. 0laf Silver badge
          Holmes

          Re: MS BLOWS CHUNKS

          I think MS is going to do very well from W10 extended service contracts.

          In fact maybe W11 is a deliberate ploy to pump extended service contract income. I never thought if that until now.

  13. dmesg

    It's no wonder people want to stick with w10

    The design process for Windows 11 seems to have included compiling lists of features users wanted, and features that they didn't. And then mixing up the lists when handing them to the dev team.

    I can't see how anyone can get any real work done with that POS.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's no wonder people want to stick with w10

      At work we're about to have a forced switch to W11. Not looking forward to it.

      In fairness I'd still be using W2000 if I could.

      1. Snake Silver badge

        Re: forced to switch to Win11

        How are they dealing with the telemetry? Is it even a concern or simply passed over as a factor of Win11's existence?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: forced to switch to Win11

          That's a good question and I don't know the answer. I suspect it's along the lines of "fingers in ears and lalalalala". Or we'll use some sort of MS partner BS to justify it or just point at MS's paperwork which says they're ok when everyone knows they are not.

          MS is the only game in town for most so everyone plays the Emperors new clothes game. We know it's not right, you know it's not right, we know you know but still no one says a thing.

      2. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

        Re: It's no wonder people want to stick with w10

        My company just started this as well. The first victim, I mean fellow getting the update, has not been able to work since the downgrade began.

  14. PeterM42
    WTF?

    Surely the answer should be simple.......

    Android on the desktop.

    Millions (if not billions) of people have it in their pockets, so why not on the desktop?

    1. Jeroen Braamhaar
      Holmes

      Re: Surely the answer should be simple.......

      Because if you thought Microsoft is thirsty for your data, then you haven't quite understood just how ravenous Google is for it ...

    2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: Surely the answer should be simple.......

      Because running your legacy Windows apps on Android is even less fun than running them on WINE?

    3. RAMChYLD Bronze badge

      Re: Surely the answer should be simple.......

      Try installing Android X86 and actually using it for a month. See how that goes for you.

      I couldn't even last an hour and quickly retreated to the familiarity of XFCE.

  15. Missing Semicolon Silver badge

    So,

    who will blink first? The Big Corporate Users or Microsoft?

    1. Spanners
      Devil

      Re: So,

      The big corporates will submit as usual. Just, not quite so many as last time.

      Linux will remain a fully functional alternative for 99% of uses but the pressure to be an obedient serf will keep up

  16. Kev99 Silver badge

    I guess mictosoft's sycophants complained too much that they weren't dropping as much hardware as mictosoft said they would with the requirements.

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