Someone managed to install Windows 11 on a 10-years old laptop, and it could mean a lot for sustainability

Did you know that you can install Windows 11 on a 10-year-old Celeron laptop? I know what you’re thinking. That couldn’t be possible, considering Microsoft updated the OS to ask for TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module).

The Trusted Platform Module 2.0 console has only been around since 2016-2017, and older PCs are usually not equipped with them, which automatically and officially renders them unable to support Windows 11.

However, unofficially, there are ways to install Windows 11 on those devices that are not equipped with TPM 2.0. And those devices are usually quite old. As this Reddit user said, Windows 11 even runs great on them.

The user installed Windows 11 on a laptop from 2014, Acer E5-411, equipped with an Intel N2940. How? Bypassing the TPM 2.0 using a Windows installation with Rufus.

The result? A fully functional Windows 11 device that runs even better than Windows 10; according to the user, they can play games on it, it boots up in 7 seconds, and it can even render a 25-second video in 17 minutes—which is quite impressive if you ask us.

Everything loads approximately 50% faster than on Windows 10, including the notification center, Wi-Fi, or the Settings panel.

The user made some modifications to the device, though: they updated the Celeron Laptop with 4 GB of RAM instead of the native 2 GB, and added an SSD. But that was all.

ive been using my moms laptop from 2014. its an acer aspire e5-411 running intel celeron n2940. been playing a few games on it and it still runs great. doesnt heat up at all even a bit of warmth. i installed windows 11 last month and i did not even need to optimize it at all (performance balanced, just fixed svchost with regedit for 4gbs ram) and it just runs absolutely great. i upgraded it from 2gbs of ram to 4 since i only had that and installed a 128gb skhynix ssd. this laptop boots up with fast startup on by default at 7secs and 14 from a whole reboot. this is the only laptop i have rn and i gotta say… this is definitely beyond usable.

The other Reddit users quickly pointed out that Microsoft should somehow enhance Windows 11 to be officially supported on older devices, citing sustainability as the main reason behind this, and frankly, they’re not wrong.

In an era where there manufacturers have troubles due to chips shortages, sustainability is a big concern of not only the tech industry, but the world. Rendering laptops obsolete in a few years, doesn’t help the cause. Sure, there is the Right to Repair movement, and Microsoft has proudly stated that its newest Surface laptops are the most serviceable devices in the world right now: you can easily replace broken parts and repair them.

So why not making Windows 11, or any future version of Windows a bit less demanding, and a bit more open to devices, whether we’re talking about new or old ones?