Windows 11: What is TPM, how to check if your computer will make the cut!

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Microsoft has upped the system requirements for Windows 11 by quite a bit, compared to the requirements for Windows 10 and previous iterations of the operating system. The new OS update will require hardware specifications like a 1GHz processor and at least 4GB RAM, but that’s not it. Windows 11 will also certain require TPM requirements.

What is TPM?

TPM (Trust Platform Module)is an international standard for a secure crypto processor. This is done via a physical hardware chip used to store encrypted information on the device, while also ensuring a secured boot environment.

This allows for features like BitLocker Drive Encryption, Windows Hello PINs and biometrics and PC hardware tamper protection.

Microsoft has said that PCs to run Windows 11 will be required to feature at least TPM 1.2. However, TPM 2.0 is the recommended minimum. While TPM 2.0 was introduced back in 2015, most modern machines are supposed to come with it enabled.

How to check your TPM version

Checking your TPM is really easy. Users can press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run dialogue box. They can then type in ‘tpm.msc’ without the inverted commas and hit enter. A subsequent screen, the TPM Management screen, will pop up if the feature is enabled and will show you other details. If there is no TPM present or enabled, you will see the same in a message.

Here is an example from my personal computer that shows I am running a TPM version 2.0

If there is no TPM present or enabled, you will see the same in a message. If you have a fairly recent machine that doesn’t show the TPM management screen, chances are your machine supports TPM but it just is not enabled yet. This is even more likely if you have a PC that you have assembled yourself. To enable this, you will need to go into your BIOS settings, however, this will be covered in a later post and should only be attempted if you are comfortable entering the BIOS.