Microsoft doesn’t plan on rolling out Windows 11 until late in 2021, but it’ll probably take you that long to be ready.
When Microsoft announced its plans for Windows 11, it was clear that it wasn’t just another Windows Update exercise. The new version of Windows will require levels of hardware security support beyond anything that’s been required until now. For many companies, meeting those security requirements will be painful. But in the long run, they’re necessary. The original announcement has already run into some headwinds. On June 28, 2021, Microsoft’s Windows team issued an update regarding the minimum system requirements for Windows and explaining in more detail what those requirements mean. In addition, the team announced that it has withdrawn the PC Health Check app that was supposed to tell you whether your systems could run Windows 11. In addition, Microsoft has r eleased a preview version of Windows 11 so that you can start getting ready for the new OS. The preview edition does NOT include the mandatory security features including requirements for Secure Boot or the requirement for Trusted Platform Module v.2.0. According to Microsoft, you can run the preview version of Windows 11 on any seventh generation Intel processor. However, when Windows 11 is released, it will require both the TPM and Secure Boot, so the first thing you should do is conduct an inventory of your Windows machines and see which meet the Windows minimum requirements and which don’t. An easy way to check for the TPM is to right-click on the Windows start button, then click on Device Manager.
