How to Upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 on Unsupported Hardware – MUO – MakeUseOf

If you installed Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, the upgrade process will be a difficult task. When trying to check for an update, Windows 11 shows everything as up-to-date and has no option to install 22H2.

Although you can use the ISO-based clean install method, the upgrade process allows you to install the latest version without deleting your apps and other data. Here’s how to upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 on unsupported hardware using the Windows 11 installer file.

How to Upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 on Unsupported Hardware

Windows 11 runs a hardware compatibility check during the upgrade process. To perform a successful upgrade, you will need to bypass this hardware compatibility assessment. To do this, we will replace the appraiserress.dll file in Windows 11 ISO with appraiserress.dll from Windows 10 ISO.

If you have Windows 11 22H2 and Windows 10 ISO, skip to step three below. If not, follow all the steps to download the necessary ISOs and then upgrade.

While these steps shouldn’t cause any problems, it’s best to create a backup of all important Windows 11 data on your system drive in case something goes wrong and you need to perform a clean install.

1. Download Windows 11 22H2 ISO

You can legally download Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft server directly or using Media Creation Tool. For this guide, we will use Media Creation Tool to download the ISO image file.

1. Go to the Microsoft software download page.
2. Click on Download now below Create Windows 11 installation media.
3. Run it mediacreationtool.exe file and accept the terms of the license.
4. Check the selected language and edition. To change language, uncheck Use the recommended options for this PC and select your preferred language.
5. Click on Following.
6. Select the ISO file possibility in the Choose the media to use dialogue.
7. Select the download location and click To safeguard. Make sure the selected partition has enough free space.
8. Media Creation Tool will start downloading the ISO to your local drive. This process may take some time, depending on your internet connection. So wait for the download to complete.
9. Once the download is complete, click Finish and follow the next step to download Windows 10 ISO.

2. Download an ISO image of Windows 10

You will need to modify the Windows 11 ISO by replacing the appraiserress.dll file with a version available in the Windows 10 ISO. This DLL file is responsible for performing a hardware check during an upgrade.

To download Windows 10 ISO:

1. Go to the Windows 10 download page.
2. Click it Download now button under Create Windows 10 installation media.
3. Run it mediacreationtool.exe file to open the Windows 10 configuration dialog.
4. Click on Accept.
5. In the what do you want to do screen, select Create installation media and click Following.
6. Check if the language, edition, and architecture preferences are set correctly. Otherwise, click Use the recommended options for this device and set your preferences.
7. Then select the ISO file option and click Following.
8. Select the download location and click To safeguard.
9. The download process may take several minutes. So wait for the process to complete and click on Finish once done.

Once you have saved both ISO files, follow the next step to extract and edit the Windows 11 ISO.

3. Modify Windows 11 ISO to Bypass Hardware Check During Upgrade

The next steps involve extracting the Windows 10 ISO and copying the appraiserress.dll file. Then move the copied DLL file to the sources folder of Windows 11 ISO. Here’s how.

1. Right click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select To go up. This will create a new virtual DVD drive and open the ISO folder.

   

2. Open the Sources folder and locate the appraiserres.dll to file. Copy it DLLs file and move it to another folder.

   

3. Next, extract the Windows 11 ISO to a different folder. You can use WinRAR to extract Windows 11 ISO file.

   

4. Open the extracted Windows 11 ISO folder, then the Source case.
5. Then copy and paste the appraiserres.dll file copied from Windows 10 ISO to Windows 11 ISO Sources case.
6. Select Replace file in destination to confirm the action.

   

7. Next, disconnect your PC from the Internet. This prevents the installer from downloading updated files during installation and overwriting the modified dll file.
8. Once the Internet is disabled, open the extracted Windows 11 ISO folder and double-click the Installation file. Click on Yes if requested by UAC.
9. In the Windows 11 Setup dialog box, click Change how the installer downloads updates.

   

10. Then select Notice right away. This will prevent Windows setup from finding and installing newer updates, which will cause the upgrade process to fail on unsupported hardware.

    

11. In the Choose what to keep screen, select Keep your personal files and apps.
12. Click on Following then click Accept.

    

13. Then click on Install to install Windows 11 version 22H2 while keeping your personal files and applications.
14. Leave your computer idle until the installation process is complete. After restarting, you will have the latest version of Windows 11 22H2 running on your computer.

To check your Windows specification:

1. Press Win + I open Settings.
2. In the System tab, scroll down and click In regards to.
3. Under Windows Specifications you will see Variant 22H2 if the upgrade was successful.

4. Go back to the previous version

If you have any problem after upgrading, you can use the Flip option to roll back the update and restore the previous version of Windows 11. However, the “Roll Back” option is only available for seven days since the upgrade. After that, the option will be greyed out.

To return to the previous version:

1. Press Win + I open Settings.
2. In the System tab, scroll down and click Recovery.
3. Click on Flip below Recovery options. Then follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Windows 22H2 update.

Installing Windows 11 22H2 on unsupported hardware

It is easy to bypass Windows 11 system hardware requirements when you want to do a clean install. However, to upgrade, you will need to modify the appraiserress.dll file and then run the installer.

Although upgrading is possible at the moment, the absence of future automatic Windows updates makes PC maintenance complicated. If upgrading to Windows 11 isn’t essential, you can stick with Windows 10 on older hardware, which will continue to be supported until the end of 2025.