"This PC doesn't currently meet Windows 11 system requirements"

Thanks for your latest suggestion.

The Registry setting you've suggested is already in place and, as I mentioned in my original post, I do have Windows 11 installed. The problem comes when trying to install the Windows 11 Insider Preview 10.0.26120.3291 (ge_release_upr) (repair version) update, at which point I'm advised that "The PC must support Secure Boot". My attempts to enable Secure Boot have always failed, and it has been suggested that this is because my laptop has a legacy BIOS.

I think that the only option open to me now is to perform a clean install.

Thank you for your reply. Can you tell me where to go to in order to download the Windows 11 ISO file please?

Many thanks.

Thanks for the reply. Lenovo has a downloadable BIOS update tool which, when run, tells me I have the latest BIOS version installed.

Hello,

Windows 11 needs Secure Boot to successfully install.

I recommend that you update your BIOS to the latest version and then try to turn on Secure Boot from your BIOS to see if that allows you to upgrade your PC.

Let me know how this goes.

Hello，Brian Mottershead

Welcome to posting in the Microsoft Community.

I understand seeing the problem you're experiencing, and it's true that this situation can be a bit tricky. Don't worry, your situation is actually not that uncommon, especially if you are running Windows 11 with a secure boot or hardware validation restriction. Next, let me provide you with some ways to do so.

First of all, regarding the issue of Secure Boot not being enabled, this is usually related to hardware settings or current BIOS configuration. A reliable device like your ThinkPad T480, sometimes because it was purchased as a refurbished machine, may have BIOS or hard disk partition settings that are not fully adapted to the Secure Boot feature. You mentioned that it won't boot properly after enabling Secure Boot, the possible reason is that the hard disk partition format is not compatible with the current boot mode. Typically, secure boot requires UEFI mode and GPT partition table, but if your device is in Legacy mode or the hard disk is partitioned with MBR, it can cause boot failure.

If you don't intend to make any in-depth modifications to your hardware configuration, you don't need to worry too much as secure boot is not a requirement, and there are other ways to bypass these hardware limitations to upgrade to Windows 11. To bypass them, we can do the following:

1. Go to , and download the Windows 11 ISO file for your system version.
2. If you are using Windows, you can right-click on the downloaded ISO file and select “Mount”. The system will automatically mount it as a virtual drive.
3. Open the path where the ISO was mounted or the folder where it was unzipped, and go to the sources subfolder.
4. In the sources folder, right-click and select “Open in Terminal” or “Open Command Prompt”.
5. Type the following command in the terminal and press Enter: bashsetupprep.exe /product server  

This command will start the installer and skip the verification of TPM 2.0 and CPU.

6. The system will guide you through the installation process. Follow the prompts and you will be able to upgrade or install Windows 11 smoothly without worrying about hardware non-compliance.

After the above steps, you can share more details and updates with me and I will answer you further. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

Best Regards，

Rota|Microsoft Community Support Specialist