Windows 11 comes with more restrictive install requirements than its predecessor, requiring an Internet connection and Microsoft account, along with restrictions on older processors. Fortunately, there are workarounds that allow upgrades to Windows 11 on unsupported CPUs, and the company isn’t stopping those circumvents. But, if you want to do a clean Windows 11 install and configure the system with just a local account, you can now do it easily with a tool called Rufus.
The app has long been used by IT departments to create bootable Windows installers. Latest beta release, as reported Ars Technica, now has the ability to remove the need for an online Microsoft account, as well as perform other gimmicks. It can bypass computers that have TPM 2.0 (including Intel Macs), computers with less than 4GB of RAM or 64GB of storage, and you can even disable data collection automatically.
As with previous methods, you’ll still need to take your computer completely offline during setup to skip the Microsoft account requirement. But the Rufus method makes it a lot easier by bypassing manual registry editing, plus the software is free and open source.
Microsoft upset some users as they upgraded to Windows 11 Home last year due to the need for an internet connection and Microsoft account, and now with the latest 22H2 update, the restrictions have extended to Windows 11 Pro as well. And for those who bypass the restrictions, Microsoft may start using watermarks on those machines, just like it treats non-programmed installations of Windows. Microsoft may block software updates on unsupported machines whenever it deems it necessary.