There are different requirements that Microsoft has put in place while installing Windows 11. Some of them do not really affect the performance of the operating system when installed. What if you have a 2017 or 2018 computer model with features that do not meet the minimum requirements for the Windows 11 operating system? You can actually install Windows 11 on Unsupported hardware easily with the help of Ventoy.
Ventoy is a free and open-source tool used to create a bootable USB Flash drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. You just have to format the drive with ventoy and copy the iso files to the flash drive and boot from them directly. This makes it applicable for creating multiboot devices with ventoy as it provides a menu with the list of images on the flash drive and allows you to select from it. It supports most operating systems including Windows, Linux, VMWare, ChromeOS, etc.
Features of Ventoy
- Directly boot from ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files, no extraction is needed.
- Simple and easy to use.
- Support for ISO files larger than 4GB.
- Support auto installation for Windows, RHEL, CentOS, SUSE, and Ubuntu Server.
- Customizable theme and menu style.
- Plugin Framework and GUI plugin configurator.
- Native boot menu style for Legacy & UEFI.
This guide will show you how to install Windows 11 on Unsupported Hardware using Ventoy.
Check PC Features
Use PC Health Check to check if your PC meets the Windows 11 Requirements.
Click on Check Now. You will get a prompt response similar to the one shown below.
My Processor is not supported, Hence I will use ventoy to configure the Bypass Checks While Installing Windows 11.
Download Windows 11 ISO
Download Windows 11 Official ISO from the Microsoft Downloads Page. Click on Windows 11.
Scroll down the page to the ISO part and select the Image.
Select the Language and click on 64-bit Download to start the process.
Download Ventoy
Download the latest Ventoy installation package from Github.
Extract the file and you will get a list of files as shown.
At this point Plugin your USB flash drive if you haven’t. Click Ventoy2Disk to open the application. The program automatically picks your USB Flash Drive but make a point of counterchecking to just ensure its the correct disk.
Once you have ascertained the Disk to use, Click on Install. Click OK twice to accept to Format the Disk.
The installation begins.
Once the installation is done, The ventoy folder will open.
Configure Ventoy to Install Windows 11 on Unsupported Hardware
The configurations include setting up a JSON file called ventoy.json in the directory. The file includes content that defines the checks to bypass while installing the operating system.
Create a folder and name it ventoy in the directory. Then inside that directory create a new file and name it ventoy.json. Append the following comments to the file and save it.
{
"control": [
{ "VTOY_DEFAULT_MENU_MODE": "0" },
{ "VTOY_TREE_VIEW_MENU_STYLE": "0" },
{ "VTOY_FILT_DOT_UNDERSCORE_FILE": "1" },
{ "VTOY_SORT_CASE_SENSITIVE": "0" },
{ "VTOY_MAX_SEARCH_LEVEL": "max" },
{ "VTOY_DEFAULT_SEARCH_ROOT": "/ISO" },
{ "VTOY_MENU_TIMEOUT": "10" },
{ "VTOY_DEFAULT_IMAGE": "/ISO/debian_netinstall.iso" },
{ "VTOY_FILE_FLT_EFI": "1" },
{ "VTOY_DEFAULT_KBD_LAYOUT": "QWERTY_USA" },
{ "VTOY_WIN11_BYPASS_CHECK": "1" },
{ "VTOY_HELP_TXT_LANGUAGE": "en_US" },
{ "VTOY_LINUX_REMOUNT": "0" }
]
}We have set the “VTOY_WIN11_BYPASS_CHECK”: “1” attribute to 1 to enable Bypass Checks for Windows 11. When set to 1, Ventoy will create registries to bypass Windows 11 hardware checks when installing. For more information about the plugin, visit Ventoy Global Control Plugin.
The file should be saved as shown.
Next is to copy the Windows 11 ISO file to the Ventoy Disk. You should have something similar to this:
Eject the Disk safely and it can then be used to boot Windows 11 on unsupported Hardware.
Boot from Ventoy on Unsupported Hardware
Enter the Bios system of your computer and select Boot from the USB option. From Ventoy Menu, select Windows 11 and continue. Select Language and click Next.
Click on Install Now to install Windows.
You can input the Product key or ad it later after installation.
Select the Operating System you want to install.
Next will be to agree to the terms and policies and then continue with the installation.
Conclusion
From this guide, we have seen how to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware using Ventoy. Ventoy creates a virtual disk from the iso file and boots it. Now you can easily use Windows 11 on unsupported Hardware without any problem.
