This week, Microsoft revealed that Windows 11, initially dismissed as incompatible, has been tested on several more CPUs and deemed ready. But now it appears that the company's earlier rigid assertion that only certain hardware will be allowed to run the new OS was not as clear-cut as it appeared.

According to The Verge, Microsoft's block only applies to those seeking to upgrade their systems from Windows 10 to 11; those who download the ISO file and install Windows 11 manually have no such barrier, They are free to see for themselves whether Microsoft's warning was simply over-cautious.

In theory, this means that your computer no longer needs to meet the PC Health Check requirements. As long as it has at least a 1 GHz 64-bit processor, at least two cores, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage, it should be fine.

But there is a trick, and it's a pretty big one. Computers that are not officially supported will not be able to receive Windows Update. This could include everything from critical security fixes to automatic driver updates, and Microsoft was surprisingly vague about how extensive this block is.

Given that critical security updates will be made available from time to time, even for operating systems that are not officially supported, it seems unlikely that those using Windows 11 on older PCs will be completely out in the cold, but the impression Microsoft is giving here is Certainly.

This may be intentional; The Verge speculates that this may be a way to appease power users while ensuring that people do not have to take on the responsibility for what happens when they use unsupported hardware. As the site puts it, "Underpromise and overdeliver."

"It's obviously a big gamble to install Windows 11 and expect the company to provide updates, because it's a big gamble.

If you want to check the official compatibility status of your PC, Microsoft has just released an updated version of its PC Health Check tool, but it is currently limited to Windows Insiders. If you are not in the Insider program and don't want to go through the hassle of becoming a member, there are third-party tools available, but they may not yet include the recently approved 7th generation Intel chips.