Windows 11 updates have recently been offered to some Windows 10 users with computers that do not meet the requirements of the newer operating system.
The main issue Microsoft has abandoned has been exacerbated by the fact that this is the second time such an update has been pushed to devices that do not actually meet the system specifications required for Windows 11.
PhantomOfEarth first highlighted this happening on Twitter when a Windows leaker was offered Windows 11 on a computer with only 2GB of RAM (when the OS needs at least 4GB).
Free Windows 11 upgrade offered to unsupported Windows 10 devices/VMs? Screenshots of a Windows 10 22H2 virtual machine that does not meet the Windows 11 system requirements, the big ones being TPM (missing) and RAM (2GB) pic.twitter.com/VNNswgMLiCFebruary 23, 2023
However, the installation failed when PhantomOfEarth tried to update to see what happened.
Microsoft explained further in supporting document (opens in a new tab) (noted by Edge (opens in a new tab)).
Analysis: quick fix – but how did it happen again?
So the good news, if you can call it that, is that at least if the user tried to speed up the update, the installer wouldn’t allow it (probably leaving the computer in a pipe mishap if it did). The user can even download the installer and run it.
Moreover, only some users were affected, and Microsoft notes that the issue was fixed the same day it was discovered, which is a gloriously quick fix.
The main problem is that as mentioned, this is not the first time this happens, which certainly gives you more than a brief pause to wonder why the update system has failed yet again. However, last time, unsupported PCs may have been updated, which undoubtedly had unpredictable results in some cases.
Hopefully, Microsoft will look closely at what could be causing these kinds of issues, and we won’t see a third episode of buggy Windows 11 updates on monitors around us any time soon.
Meanwhile, Windows 11’s relatively stringent upgrade requirements remain a source of controversy as people with relatively modern CPUs are left out in the cold (and of course computers without TPM functionality).
