This appears when you run Windows 11 setup and it decides the machine fails the hardware baseline. Enabling TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot fixes most eligible PCs; truly unsupported ones need the documented bypass. Jump to your situation below or work through the methods in order.
The setup message this PC can't run Windows 11 means the installer checked the hardware baseline and one or more of TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and the supported CPU requirement failed. On the great majority of recent PCs the hardware is capable and the block is simply that TPM or Secure Boot is turned off in the firmware, so enabling them lets setup continue. If the processor is genuinely off Microsoft's supported list, the only way forward is the documented registry bypass (the LabConfig keys during a clean install, or the MoSetup value for an upgrade), which Microsoft permits but warns may leave the PC without an entitlement to updates. The fix is therefore to enable TPM and Secure Boot first, confirm the CPU, and use the bypass only knowingly on unsupported hardware.
When you launch Windows 11 setup, it enforces a hardware baseline: a supported 64-bit CPU with two or more cores, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot capability, 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. If any of the security or CPU checks fail, it shows this message and will not proceed.
The key distinction is fixable versus not. TPM and Secure Boot being off is fixable in the firmware. A CPU that is simply not on Microsoft's list is not, short of the documented bypass, which installs anyway at the cost of guaranteed updates. Knowing which case you are in decides the path.
“This is the clean-install version of the requirements wall. First thing, is TPM and Secure Boot actually on? Flip them on in the UEFI and most so-called incapable PCs install fine. If the CPU is the holdout and genuinely not on the list, then it is decision time: the LabConfig registry keys during setup will bypass the checks and install Windows 11 anyway, but you are doing it with eyes open, Microsoft says unsupported machines might not get updates. I always make people aware of that trade before they bypass.”
regedit, and create a key HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\LabConfig.BypassTPMCheck=1, BypassSecureBootCheck=1 (and BypassRAMCheck=1 if needed), then close regedit and go Back, Next.HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU = 1 (DWORD)
This PC can't run Windows 11 is the hardware baseline failing, and on most machines it is just TPM or Secure Boot switched off, so enable those first. The registry bypass (LabConfig for a clean install, MoSetup for an upgrade) installs on unsupported hardware but carries Microsoft's caveat that such PCs may not be entitled to updates.
If TPM and Secure Boot are on but setup still blocks an eligible PC, the firmware may not have saved the change or the disk may be MBR in a UEFI setup. Confirm the saved firmware state and the GPT/UEFI pairing. You can also submit your error to us for a tailored fix.