Rufus breaks Microsoft restrictions to install 24H2 update on non-compatible PCs

To be able to install Windows 11 on a PC, Microsoft has imposed relatively strict specifications from the start. The operating system thus requires the presence of a TPM 2.0 security chip, but above all an Intel or AMD processor meeting its requirements.

Over the course of updates to its operating system, the Redmond firm has put in place new restrictions, to try to dissuade users from installing Windows 11 on a non-compatible PC.

The latest concerns very old machines. If there were many hacks to install Windows 11 on a machine that did not meet the criteria imposed by Microsoft, the American company tried to put an end to it by deploying the 24H2 update. Because to be able to install the major update of its operating system, Microsoft now requires that each machine support PopCnt, otherwise the installation of the OS is simply blocked. Thus, machines whose processor does not support the SSE4.2 and SSE4A instruction sets, of which PopCnt is a part, cannot install 24H2. And there is no workaround for installing 24H2 on these machines because this major Windows update was compiled with the instructions for these processors. For these, Windows 11 24H2 will therefore not be able to start.

This is probably why Microsoft now officially recommends changing your PC if you want to be able to take advantage of Windows 11 while you are still using an old PC.

24H2 update blocked on some PCs without the minimum system requirements

Microsoft is still trying to dissuade users of non-compatible machines from installing its OS. A number of users using their non-compliant PCs running Windows 11 23H2 were unable to install the 24H2 update as Microsoft’s installation utility blocked the process due to lack of configuration. adequate.

For our part, we had no problem installing the 24H2 update on our two machines which were in principle not compatible according to Microsoft criteria.

Fortunately, the hacking community has more than one trick up its sleeve to get around these restrictions imposed by Microsoft. The Rufus utility, which has already stood out brilliantly by allowing users to install Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, has just been updated. Its developer has published a new version of its tool to allow the installation of the Windows 11 24H2 update on PCs that do not meet Microsoft’s specifications.

Rufus 4.6, the best friend of non-compatible PCs for 24H2 updating

When Microsoft started rolling out Windows 11 24H2 update, Pete Batardthe developer of Rufus, had published on Github, in response to a user unable to install 24H2 on his old PC, a solution to circumvent Microsoft’s restrictions. He also added that this workaround would be integrated directly into the next update of his utility.

Something promised, something due. It has just released Rufus 4.6 beta, the first version of its utility capable of bypassing the minimum system requirements to install Windows 11 24H2.

« Added a new setup.exe wrapper to bypass Windows 22 24H2 update restrictions » indicates the developer of Rufus in the release notes of his tool.

PCs without PopCount/SSE4.2 will remain stuck at 23H2

For users of very old machines, whose processor does not support PopCnt/SSE4.2, the developer of Rufus is clear. He indicates that his utility will never bypass these restrictions.

« […] Rufus only uses official workarounds that Microsoft itself has included, not an overkill approach of disabling all hardware checks. This is why I don’t plan to do anything about the PopCount/SSE4.2 requirements for the CPU, which Rufus doesn’t bypass » he indicates in response to a user mentioning the fact that circumventing these restrictions could “ break system installation “. To this same user, who asks him if he plans to display an alert in his tool to explain to users that Rufus cannot bypass these restrictions, Pete Batard adds: “ I don’t intend to. If the official workarounds authorized by Microsoft don’t work, that’s Microsoft’s problem, not mine. Rufus works within the framework of Microsoft, with workarounds that Microsoft has included in the installer and therefore, as has been the case since the release of Windows 11, I expect that workarounds authorized by Microsoft will not won’t render a machine inoperable, and I also expect Microsoft to filter out workarounds that will, like PopCount/SSE4.2. »

Users of very old PCs will therefore have to stay on Windows 11 23H2, with the risks that this entails once Microsoft ends its support on November 10, 2025. They can otherwise adopt another operating system. This is undoubtedly the best option. A Linux distribution, like Linux Mint, or even Chrome OS Flex, much lighter than Windows 11, will continue to be updated, and will offer a second life to the oldest machines.