Want to upgrade your device to Windows 11 but are not sure about compatibility? Microsoft has finally re-released the Windows 11 Compatibility Checker, and now it's easy to see if the latest version of the operating system is compatible with your device.
Windows 11 were announced in June 2021 with the new design features that make the upcoming operating system a very attractive upgrade for some users. The company announced later stricter hardware requirements for its next operating system and many users could not upgrade as their computer does not meet the specific requirements (Intel 8th generation CPU, or Ryzen 2000 and above).
But based on telemetry data collected by Windows Insiders, Microsoft has now added support for some selected Intel 7th generation chips.
According to the updated list, Windows 11 will now work with the following 7th generation chips:
- Core X-series chips.
- Xeon W-series processors.
- Core i7-7820HQ (available on devices such as Surface Studio 2).
In other words, Microsoft is discontinuing support for older and more widely used 7th generation Core processors. 6th generation processors and others older will not be supported either.
Check Windows 11 compatibility
To ensure that your system can run Windows 11, Microsoft has developed a new tool called "PC Health Check". Using this tool, you can check if the hardware and software you are using will work with the upcoming version of Windows.
The PC Health Check tool is available for download as part of Windows Insider and you can install it directly to test your system.
To find out if your device supports Windows 11, follow these steps:
In Settings - System - Information verify the architecture of your computer.
Open it Microsoft download page and select the correct version of PC Health Check.
When the file is downloaded, double-click WindowsPCHealthCheckSetup.msi to install the tool.
Run the PC Health Check tool, and click on "Check Now" to check the compatibility of your system.
In the test I performed on my PC in a running partition Windows 11, PC Health Check told me I could not run Windows 11 because of a processor:
When I did not click on Device specifications I was taken to the Microsoft page which stated that:
I say do a reboot in Debian…
