Windows 11 won’t shut down older PCs, but it might get you to sign this waiver

Today, Microsoft officially reinstated its PC Health Check app for anyone to download, making it easy to see if your PC is ready for Windows 11 ahead of its October 5 debut. (The company previously removed the app because it was somewhat misleading, and when a more robust version came back in late August, it was only available to Windows insiders.) You can find the app at the very bottom. of this page if you scroll down, or click here if you don’t mind direct downloads.

But in some ways, the new PC Health Check app is always misleading because it suggests that my perfectly good 7th Gen Core i7 Desktop Gaming PC is not Windows 11 ready, despite having already installed Windows 11 and running it without major issues. I actually took this screenshot of my system which “does not currently meet Windows 11 system requirements” from inside Windows 11 – a beta version close to the final version.

That’s a long way of saying what Microsoft revealed to us in August: Windows 11 won’t prevent PCs with older processors from installing Windows 11 just because those processors aren’t on its whitelist.

Instead, Microsoft reserves the right to deny you Windows updates, up to and including security updates, if those processors become an issue down the line. This brings me to the waiver.

When I recently tried to upgrade my system to Windows 11 beta, the installer displayed an unusual message: guaranteed if I had to continue.

I have asked Microsoft for more information on the waiver but have yet to receive a response. I’ll let you know what we hear.

PC Health Check app is handy if you’re not sure about some of the other Windows 11 requirements, especially those that might require you to dig into your BIOS to enable your TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot – things your system might already have and are enough easy to turn on but are often turned off by default.

Microsoft will host a Surface event tomorrow, September 22. We’ll be live, and here’s what to expect.