How to upgrade to Windows 11 — and skip the wait
Microsoft has released installation media creation tools and the official disk image (ISO) for Windows 11, allowing anyone with a supported PC to get the new operating system now.
The company officially started the rollout of Windows 11 globally to eligible PCs on Tuesday, 5 October 2021.
Windows 11 offers a new, cleaner design and Microsoft promises improved performance and better multitasking capabilities, among other features.
Those who don’t want to wait for the upgrade option to appear in the Windows Update menu on their machine have three ways to get the new operating system (OS) right now.
The first is to use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant, an executable that downloads and runs the update on your system. This method is the best option if you want to keep your files and apps.
It requires a valid Windows 10 licence and that you are running Windows 10 version 2004 or higher with the latest available updates.
Alternatively, you can create Windows 11 Installation Media to perform a clean install of Windows 11 on a new or used PC.
This option will download a media creation tool to make a bootable USB or DVD with the Windows 11 installation files.
You will require a blank DVD or USB with at least 8GB of space to use this method.
Lastly, the ISO download option lets users create bootable installation media such as a USB flash drive or DVD or create a virtual machine to install Windows 11.
The download is a multi-edition ISO that reads your Windows 10 product key to unlock the correct edition.
Microsoft recommends that your PC meet Windows 11’s minimum system requirements to install the OS.
These are as follows:
- 64-bit processor with 1GHz or faster clock speed and two or more cores (Intel 8th gen or AMD Ryzen 2000 series or later)
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB storage space
- DirectX 12 graphics card with WDDM 2.0 driver
- UEFI, Secure Boot capable
- Trusted Platform Module (TMP) version 2.0
- 9-inch or larger display with 720p resolution, 8 bits per colour channel
- Internet Connection for Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Home in S mode
Microsoft has said it will allow users with unsupported PCs to install Windows 11 using an ISO despite these requirements. However, it does not guarantee they will receive feature or security updates.
One GitHub developer has already created an open-source script that unblocks unsupported hardware using the media creation tool installation, allowing you to keep your files.
It also unblocks updates, for now, allowing users to receive the updates for Windows 11 that Microsoft says it will block.
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