- Microsoft recently produced some new support documents
- These contain some useful advice to upgrade to Windows 11 that runs into trouble
- Some of this is very convenient to know – including why you may not be offered Windows 11 after upgrading your CPU
Microsoft recently delivered some fresh troubleshooting advice to those who looked at upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, which may be confused in some respects.
Neowin noted a few relatively new support documents that have been published by Microsoft at some point earlier in the year. They deal with problems that may arise after upgrading hardware on your PC to get Windows 11, or meet a particular message telling you that an aspect of the ‘needs attention’ upgrade.
Let’s start with the previous scenario covered by a support article on ‘Checking if a device meets Windows 11’s requirements after changing hardware’ and providing advice to those who have just made an upgrade to ensure their Windows 10 -PC can meet the more stringent Windows 11 requirements.
This upgrade is probably a new CPU – as older processors are often a large sticky point – or possibly the addition of a TPM 2.0 module (a security feature).
In any case, no matter what hardware change you have made to your PC, so it is eligible for Windows 11, you may find that when you fire Windows update to trigger the upgrade it is not there. In other words, the system will tell you that your PC is still not compatible with Windows 11, even if you have just installed the shiny new component to make the rush.
As Microsoft explains, however, there is no need to panic here. In fact, it is the case that it “can take up to 24 hours for Windows Update to update eligibility info”, which means you may have to wait some time before hardware change filters through and register with Windows Update – and you are then offered Windows 11.
If you can’t wait, there is a trick to manually update the eligibility assessment of your PC (using Task Sched, as recommended here), or the easier route is to use the PC Health Check app instead of entering the Windows Update (as the app will immediately recognize your upgraded hardware, Microsoft informs us).
As for the second support document that has been brought forward, this addresses what you need to do if you see a ‘what needs your attention’ message during the Windows 11 upgrade process, which is a particular thing of a vague wrench in the works.
Microsoft explains in detail what it is all about, and outlines the reasons why a Windows 11 upgrade can see that this review is emerging -including an explanation of the rather cryptic ‘no action needed’ message that can accompany it. In this case, the user can’t do anything – which you might guess – but what you might not guess is that the known problem causing the message can be solved by Microsoft in time. And if this happens, you are automatically offered Windows 11 upgrade – so there is still hope in this scenario.
Microsoft also describes what you can do about ‘incompatible privacy settings’, if that is the reason for the message and gives more info on what to do if incompatible software is the problem.
Analysis: Better late than never
These are practical clarifications to be furnished with, especially info on the delay with an upgrade to Windows 11 that will be cleared on your PC if you continue via Windows update after installing new hardware.
Those who were not aware of this (and I wasn’t) could potentially upgrade their CPU (say), and then spend hours searching the web in vain trying to find out why they still can’t get Windows 11 if they didn’t try the PC Health Check app as well as Windows Update (which is quite possible). So this app is definitely your best effort for a simple, immediate upgrade to Windows 11 after you have installed the necessary new hardware to meet us requirements.
Ideally, mind, all these details should have been in place long ago. Better late than never, of course, but Microsoft should really have been more on the ball with some of this info instead of adding it recently, at this late time in the game – undoubtedly asked that Windows 10’s end end will be considered quickly.
