Get to Experience (Install) Windows 11 on your Mac
On the 24th Jun 2021, Microsoft has just announced Windows 11, the next Major version of Windows. With the UI overhaul (that probably brought from the Windows 10x), running Android apps on Windows 11 and some other exciting stuffs, many are looking forward to get their hands on it.
According to Microsoft, Windows 11 general release version will be only available later this year, I have no idea about exact date too, unfortunately. But we can get our earlier hands on by joining Windows insider Program, so why not give it an early try?
However, there is a known problem, especially those with older PCs, why?
Windows 11’s stringent minimum requirements for hardware
Due to the increasing concerns in security, Microsoft has made one specific requirement — Trusted Platform Module. While most of the modern devices or processors has it to support Windows 11, at least minimally, but, there are still lots of devices can’t get to run Windows 11 due to none other than one specific reason: TPM 2.0.
Here is the minimum system requirement for Windows 11:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
- RAM: 4 gigabyte (GB)
- Storage: 64 GB or larger storage device
- System firmware: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
- Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
- S mode is only supported on Home edition of Windows 11. If you are running a different edition of Windows in S mode, you will need to first switch out of S mode prior to upgrading.
Does this also mean the latest Intel-based Macintosh machines won’t be able to run Windows 11 with Bootcamp? The answer is yes or no.
Yes, the latest Intel-based Macintosh machines, like Macbook Pro 2020 that runs Intel 10th generation processor, won’t be able to run Windows 11 with Bootcamp, until Apple supports it. Although the Intel based chipset has been shipped with TPM2.0 inside, but Apple don’t officially support TPM2.0 on these machines. And of course, you might be wondering about M1-based Macintosh machines, the answer is, unfortunately, not able to run Windows 11 at the moment.
As a result, running Windows 11 on Bootcamp without any modification or workaround won’t be possible at the moment, at least at the point of writing this article.
But wait a minute, I did say “No” too. Actually we can run Windows 11 on Intel-based Macintosh machines too, but not via Bootcamp. What we can do is, install a Virtual Machine software like Parallels or VMware Fusion, makes it possible to run Windows 11 alongside MacOS.
Let me guide you through how I install it on VMware Fusion and get the latest copy of the Windows 11 through Windows Insider Program.
Only 9 Steps to Get Windows 11 running on your beloved Intel-based Macintosh
- Download and install latest VMware Fusion from the VMware’s official website. (Fusion Player version do support too)
2. Create a custom virtual machine with Windows 10 x64.
3. Install the Windows 10 x64 image, as we don’t have the Windows 11 ISO at the moment. The only way to get Windows 11 officially is through Windows Insider Program.
4. Shut down the virtual machine.
5. Go to the virtual machine’s Settings > Add Device > Add Trusted Platform Module (TPM). (Yes, we need this to emulate the TPM virtually in order to meet Windows 11 minimum requirements).
5. Now, your virtual machine meets the TPM requirement and proceed to boot it up.
6. After logon to Windows, go to Windows’s Settings > Update & Security > Windows Insider Program > click “Get Started” and follow the steps to register your account to Windows Insider Program
7. Once you completed the Windows Insider Program registration, you should be able to select Insider Channel, default should be Release Channel. But, for now, Windows 11 is available to Dev Ring (or might be Beta ring soon) only. Therefore, you need to ensure that you subscribe to Dev Channel.
8. Lastly, restart the machine and come back to click on Windows Update at the side panel/blade, you should give it a couple minutes before seeing Windows 11 available for download. Hit that “Download” once it is available.
9. After it is downloaded and installed successfully, you can officially kickstarts your Windows 11 experience journey! Enjoy!
