Windows 11 compatibility check with WhyNotWin11

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Windows 11 compatibility can be checked anytime using the Microsoft PC Health Check App. However, it is possible that you may be looking for an alternate way to check your PC compatibility. The good thing is that you could use a third party application to check your PC’s compatibility in no time.

What is the WhyNotWin11 app?

WhyNotWin11 is a third party app that helps you identify your PC’s compatibility with Windows 11. It actually checks your PC against the eligibility requirements and confirms the exact cause of unsupported configuration for Windows 11. Do remember though that this app is not available on the Microsoft store. You will need to download it from GitHub repository. The file can be downloaded for free from GitHub. It is an executable file or a file with .exe extension.

Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to execute the file named – WhyNotWin11.exe. In less than 2 minutes, you will see a list of all the criteria for which your PC’s Windows 11 compatibility will be checked and validated. You will also get a point wise list of the results of compatibility checks. The compatibility checks will also help you identify the exact cause of unsupported configuration for the Windows 11 operating system.

WhyNotWin11 will check your PC for the following criteria:

  • Architecture of the computer – whether is has a 64 bit processor chip and 64 bit operating system
  • Boot method – whether your computer has UEFI enabled boot sequence
  • CPU compatibility – whether your computer’s processor is compatible with Microsoft’s list of supported processors for Windows 11
  • CPU core count – whether the processor has desired number of cores.
  • Clock speed or frequency – whether the frequency of the processor meets the minimum standards.
  • DirectX + WDDM2 support – whether the computer’s display card is compliant with DirectX + WDDM 2 support.
  • Disk Partition – whether the drive partition supports GPT partition
  • RAM Installed – whether the PC’s RAM is sufficient for running Windows 11.
  • Secure Boot – whether secure boot is enabled or supported on the computer.
  • Hard drive storage availability – whether the computer’s hard drive has the required storage capacity.
  • TPM Version – what version of TPM is running on the computer.
WhyNotWin11 app

The best part about WhyNotWin11 is that this app breaks down the compatibility checks to a granular level. Many people have been able to implement workarounds to make the PC compatible with Windows 11. For instance, one of the easiest fixes would be making the partitions of the hard drive compatible with GPT partition requirements.

How can I download the WhyNotWin11 app?

WhyNotWin11 app can be downloaded by visiting the website – https://whynotwin11.org. The domain redirects to the GitHub page that hosts the application. The full URL of the GitHub page is https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11/.

On this page, there is an option to download the file. The screenshot below shows you the exact link that you need to click on. The link states – Download latest stable release. You will find the link under the ‘Download’ section on the page.

Once the file is downloaded on to your computer, double click on the file to launch the executable. Allow it to run for a couple of minutes to present all the results of the compatibility checks for Windows 11. The results may look like the screen capture below. If your PC is compatible with Windows 11, the test results will yield all green ticks.

If there is a non-compatibility for some reason, you will see a red mark against the non-compatible item. The image below reports from a computer that has non-compatible items on the computer.

Given this granular detail, the task to make your PC compatible rests in your hands. You could take action to resolve some of these non-compatibilities on your own. Incompatibilities like GPT partition, UEFI boot and TPM should be investigated in depth. In many instances, you should be able to workaround these limitations and make your computer compatible with Windows 11.

What are the eligibility to run WhyNotWin11 on my computer?

WhyNotWin11 is a free and open source application that is available from its GitHub page. WhyNotWin11 requires at least Windows 8.1 and a 32 bit operating system. It needs minimum 40 MB RAM to run on a computer and 5 MB available disk space. Noticeably, the eligibility requirements are pretty simplistic for anyone to comply with each of these.

Also, it may be a good idea to understand that the DirectX 12 check on the WhyNotWin11 app is inaccurate and the developers have acknowledged the issue on the GitHub page of the application.

Conclusion

WhyNotWin11 is a third party app that offers you comprehensive insights into the causes of compatibility or non-compatibility with Windows 11. Aside from the PC Health Check, WhyNotWin11 is another method to find compatibility of your computer at a much finer or granular level. It becomes easier to target non-compatible causes of the computer with the WhyNotWin11 app.

You may also like to read the related Windows 11 content:

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Rajesh Dhawan

Rajesh Dhawan is a technology professional who loves to blog about smart wearables, Cloud computing and Microsoft technologies. He loves to break complex problems into manageable chunks of meaningful information.