Says its PC Health Check app didn’t provide ‘the level of detail or accuracy you expected from us’
Microsoft on Monday released its first Windows 11 Insider Preview build (22000.51) to its Dev channel. It also took the opportunity to tackle head on the criticism it faced over the operating system’s tough hardware requirements. A Microsoft document [ PDF] released last week details the hardware requirements for Windows 11. It states TPM 2.0 support is required: “All device models, lines or series must implement and be in compliance with the International Standard ISO/IE C 11889:2015 or the Trusted Computing Group TPM 2.0 Library and a component which implements the TPM 2.0 must be present and enabled by default.” At the same time, some hardware makers will be exempt from that requirement though only with Microsoft’s permission. “Upon approval from Microsoft, OEM systems for special purpose commercial systems, custom order, and customer systems with a custom image are not required to ship with a TPM support enabled,” the document stated. The Register asked Microsoft to elaborate on exceptions, and a spokesperson declined to provide more detail than had been published in the Windows giant’s blog post, published earlier today. The TPM 2.0 requirement applies to all x86 and ARM64 hardware apart from Hardware-level Fault Tolerant sets of Windows Server systems, which are incompatible with TPM. Microsoft’s documentation specifies that TPM 2.0 is required in servers introduced to the market from January 1, 2021 onward, which suggests older servers may get a pass if approved by Microsoft. The TPM and Secure Boot requirements are supposed to set a high bar for security, at a time when Microsoft signed off a malicious third-party Windows driver that could snoop on users. Microsoft’s post updates its minimum system requirements for Windows 11 in an effort to clarify its statement last week that Windows Insiders who have already been installing Dev channel builds through June 24, 2021 will be allowed to continue doing so for Windows 11 “even if their PC does not meet the minimum hardware requirements.
