i wanted to install windows 11 on gnome boxes to have a windows test environment on my linux. then i got that annoying error: "This PC doesn't currently meet Windows 11 system requirements".
the installer complains about missing tpm 2.0 and secure boot. those requirements make sense on physical machines, but a vm simply doesnt have them. microsoft provides specific registry keys for virtualized environments, and thats exactly what were gonna use.
setting up regedit for virtualized environment
when u get to that error screen (or right at the start of the install):
opening regedit
- press Shift + F10 to open the terminal (cmd).
- type
regeditand hit enter.
adding the bypass keys
- navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SYSTEM>Setup. - right-click on the Setup folder > New > Key and name it
LabConfig. - inside
LabConfig, right-click > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- create these two values:
BypassTPMCheckBypassSecureBootCheck
- double-click them and change the value from 0 to 1.
after that just close regedit and cmd, go back one screen in the installer and try again. the installer reads the keys and allows the install on the virtualized environment.
those keys (LabConfig, BypassTPMCheck, BypassSecureBootCheck) are documented by microsoft themselves for lab and virtualization use. its not some shady hack, its the official path for anyone who needs to run windows 11 in a vm without compatible hardware.
