Upgrading to Windows 11 from Win7 will require a clean install

(Image credit: Microsoft)

There are plenty of questions close to how various PCs are going to be healthy to upgrade to Windows 11. Will Windows 7 and Windows 8 users be able to climb? Will information technology comprise free? How come you go about upgrading?

Lenovo has discharged a Windows 11 FAQ (via Windows Latest) that covers this very subject, and on it page is the revelation that Windows 7 users are lone going to be able to kick upstairs to Windows 11 via a fresh install. Which isn't actually an rising slope in the least. Lenovo explains:

"Most devices available for purchase like a sho will be upgradeable to Windows 11. You will suffer the option to acclivity, cleanly install, Beaver State reimage Windows 10 devices to move to Windows 11. For Windows 7 devices that meet ironware requirements, you will need to clean put in or reimage to conk directly to Windows 11."

Lenovo is patently speaking about how you go about upgrading PCs you've bought from Lenovo, but it would be astonishing if this advice wasn't world-wide.

So the machine in question will still need to meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11, which may not be the display case for some machines—Windows 7 was released back in 2009 when Intel's impressive Nehalem architecture was altogether the rage, but TPM 2.0 wasn't finalised until 2014 (and you'll need that for Windows 11). If you're running Windows 7, it's definitely worth running the PC Health Check to see if your machine can run it.

There's plenty of swell stuff to be had in Windows 11 so, if you can, you in all likelihood wishing to promote from Windows 7 to avoid organism left out of all the UI sport it offers. Although, there essential be a fairly serious reason why you haven't upgraded to Windows 10 already and I doubt Windows 11 is going to fundamentally change anything for you.

Installing Windows 11 from fresh is a straightforward procedure, although you're going to need to make sure that you've got everything you need backed upfield, as a fresh install is leaving to wipe your machine. The Windows 11 installation shouldn't change much from the classic manner to install Windows, but we'll have to postponemen and see.

Windows 11 is due to launch before the end of the yr, and then get ready to back your machine.

Alan has been writing just about PC tech since earlier 3D graphics cards existed, and still vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to scram games to load. He fondly remembers the slayer jazz group of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He's very glad hardware has advanced equally much as it has though, and is particularly happy when putting the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a durable-lasting Magic: The Gather compulsion but limits this to MTG Arena these days.