[Blue Spirit]

Windows 11 to Ship Without TPM Requirement for 'Special Purpose' Systems

Not all Windows 11 installs are created equal.

Microsoft will allow some systems to ship without TPM 2.0 enabled, meaning that it will obviously have either a special ISO for those installs or a method to bypass the TPM restriction during installation.

Installing Windows 11 on a system without TPM enabled will require special approval from Microsoft. The company allows "OEMs for special purpose commercial systems, custom order, and customer systems with a custom image" to ship systems without TPM support enabled.

Microsoft's uneven application of the TPM requirement is probably designed to cater to countries that either forbid or don't use the TPM cryptoprocessor security functionality, like China (which receives its own special Windows builds already) and Russia, both of which don't use the technology for security reasons. (Both countries have their own alternative encryption algorithms/technologies.) It's also conceivable that some systems without the TPM requirement could ship into other areas of the globe for other uses, so we're following up with Microsoft for more details.

Microsoft's TPM requirement isn't popular, particularly because it doesn't enable any new functionality — all of the tech it enables already exists on Windows 10 systems that don't require TPM for installation. The primary difference is that Windows 10 users can opt to use those features by enabling TPM, or simply choose not to use them. Enterprising enthusiasts are already finding workarounds to install Windows 11 on systems without TPM support (we're aware of a few already). Still, it is unclear if those techniques will work on shipping versions of the ISO.

Unfortunately, it appears Microsoft is sticking to its guns on the Windows 11 CPU support matrix, too. The updated Windows 11 minimum requirements document doesn't outline any expansion of the current list of supported Intel and AMD CPUs. That means Windows 11 will not install on all CPUs before second-gen AMD Ryzen and eighth-gen Intel models. Curiously, many unsupported CPUs, like Skylake-X, support TPM functionality but aren't on the supported CPU list.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/wi...urpose-systems