3 tools to check Windows 11 update compatibility

Key Windows 11 hardware requirements

All the details concerning Windows 11 specifications and requirements are available from Microsoft. A select few are likely to pose compatibility issues for older PCs. Older PCs must support the following features or capabilities:

• System firmware. Requires Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and must be Secure Boot capable.
• Trusted Platform Module. Must run TPM version 2.0 or better.
  • This does not require discrete TPM circuitry. Newer Intel, AMD and Azure Resource Manager (ARM)/Qualcomm CPUs support TPM 2.0 via firmware emulation.
• CPU requirements.
  • Intel. Must be eighth-generation CPU or newer, with minor seventh-generation exceptions for certain Microsoft Surface PCs.
  • AMD. Must be Epyc 72xx or better, or Ryzen 2300X CPU or better -- including most Ryzen 3 and 5 models.
  • ARM/Qualcomm. Must be Snapdragon 7c or 8xx, or MS SQ1 or SQ2 model.

Tools to assess Windows 11 update readiness

Microsoft continues to offer the PC Health Check app, available through the Microsoft Store, that works on individual PCs, one at a time. To find the app, type "PC Health Check" into the Start Menu search box (Figure 1).

If the version of PC Health Check on a target PC is outdated, Microsoft will update the app before it runs. When the PC Health Check app opens, click Check now to run the Windows 11 system requirements assessment (Figure 2).

Click See all results in the resulting pop-up to get to the PC Health Check window and find out whether the target PC meets Windows 11 requirements (Figure 3).

IT organizations might use third-party Windows 11 compatibility assessment tools on corporate PCs because the PC Health Check doesn't work with policy-based PC management. On such PCs, the native Microsoft tool's check produces only an error result (Figure 4).

For PCs that can't properly run the PC Health Check tool, there are a few third-party tools that IT admins can try. WhyNotWin11 is a project available on GitHub that runs as a standalone Windows application. It reports on a series of checks that it runs on target PCs, such as CPU compatibility and storage availability. The application lists the requirements for Windows 11 and identifies which ones the target PC does and does not meet (Figure 5).

The Windows 11 Compatibility Check is another project available on GitHub that takes the form of a batch file and runs inside an administrative command prompt or PowerShell window on target PCs. It also works on centrally managed PCs to produce a list of which Windows 11 requirements a target PC does and does not meet (Figure 6). To perform the check, start CMD.exe at the directory where Win11CompChk.bat resides and run the file, or do likewise in a PowerShell session.

Automating compatibility checks

Both WhyNotWin11 and Windows 11 Compatibility Check can run remotely via PowerShell scripts or batch files. They each support an export facility to save results and send them to a central collection point. IT administrators must embed those scripts with data to identify the PCs that the results address -- machine name or some other unique identifier such as asset ID or vendor ID -- so they can distinguish one computer from another after the compatibility data's collection. The results from these tools help IT teams identify which portions of their PC fleet remain eligible for Windows 11 and which devices require replacement. With Windows 10 now out of support, compatibility data plays a critical role in identifying upgrade-eligible devices and prioritizing hardware refresh decisions.

Windows 11 compatibility checks are less about whether to upgrade and more about understanding the current state of the device fleet. Results from these tools help inform replacement priorities, risk exposure and near-term endpoint decisions.

Ed Tittel is a 30-plus-year IT veteran who has worked as a developer, networking consultant, technical trainer and writer.