The new Windows 11 is coming, and if you subscribe to the Windows Insider program you will already have access to its early version. But not all computers can use it,
because one of the minimum requirements is to have an active TPM chip in your computer. And I say activate because Windows may not be able to detect it, but it is on your motherboard, even though it is not activated.
So, we are going to tell you how to activate the TPM chip from your computer’s BIOS. Well, not really from the BIOS, but from UEFI, which is an alternative to the old BIOS. But we all still say that.
There are times when the TPM chip may be installed in the computer, but not activated, and with UEFI you will be able to activate it manually.
Here, we will try to be brief, starting with a general explanation of what you need to do, and then tell you where to go to enable TPM within the UEFI of different motherboard manufacturers.
Here, remember that you can only activate TPM if you have physically installed it on the computer. In addition, you will need to enable Secure Boot, because if you do not have it, you will not be able to use TPM.
Table of Contents
Enable TPM from PC UEFI.
The first step is to enter your computer’s BIOS or UEFI. To do this you need to restart the computer and press the appropriate key before Windows loads.
This combination depends on your computer’s motherboard, and can be the Escape key, Delete key, Dell key, or any key from F1 to F12.
Normally, as soon as you turn on the computer, and before Windows loads, a hint appears on your screen. You will have to press this key before starting the operating system, since
once Windows starts loading you cannot log in. Another way is to use Windows 10 Advanced Startup, which takes you to a menu where you can choose to start the computer by inserting UEFI.
Once inside the UEFI, you’ll need to move through the tabs with the directional arrows on the keyboard to access the relevant options section, where you can enable TPM.
Some UEFIs will be in Spanish, but most are in English. Here we instruct you to comply with UEFI in terms of motherboard manufacturer, as set out in Genbeta.
Here, it is important to note that some UEFI phases may be quite different, but it is advisable to search the various UEFI tabs until you find a place where you can see the term TPM.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to activate SecureBoot to activate this chip.
How to identify the TPM version on our devices.
Windows 11 will not function correctly unless TPM 2.0 is updated. It is common in laptops for the TPM chip to be activated, so before going any further, we’ll make sure that the version is compatible with the current version of Windows.
To access the Trusted Platform Module Manager, we just click on the first search result that pops up in the results page.
There’s a “version of details” section at the bottom of the page. We should concentrate our efforts here. If we take a look at version 2.0, we can see that our gadgets must be compatible with Windows 11.
It is conceivable that the graphics driver provided by the device manufacturer may be preventing us from updating the operating system.
How to turn on the TPM in BIOS
On a desktop PC, to enable TPM 2.0 using firmware, we must first get into the device’s BIOS. We must press the correct key during the computer’s startup procedure in order to do this.
Normally, the default keys to press are F2, F8, F12, or Esc, but we can double-check this in the manufacturer’s or motherboard guide to be sure.
We may access the BIOS through the Settings app in the Start menu if we have Windows 10 installed via UEFI. Updates and Security> Recovery is where we need to go to be more precise about what we’re doing.
After clicking on “Advanced Startup,” pick “Restart Now” from the drop-down menu.
A menu with a blue backdrop will show when the computer is restarted. Choosing “Troubleshoot” and then “Advanced Options” from the drop-down menu will take you to the first screen.
Select “UEFI Firmware Configuration” from the drop-down option. The computer will boot directly into the BIOS menu system when we validate restarting it.
The next stages will vary depending on the manufacturer on each motherboard, but they are basically the same on all of them. We’ll see how ClickBIOS-equipped MSI boards work in this case.
Conclusion
As Windows 11 requires UEFI, it’s imperative that you review the information you entered in Step 3 a second time. As soon as we see the phrases “Legacy” or “CSM,”
we should know that the software needs to be updated and reinstalled from scratch. Copying Windows 10 or installing Windows 11 Clean is now possible since the release of the ISO image for Windows 10.
The final step is to select the “Save Changes and Reboot” option from the drop-down menu to save the changes made in the “Save and Exit” section. During the PC Health Check, we will see that the computer is capable of running Windows 11.
