Windows 11 is officially here and will be rolling out to millions of users worldwide. However, as with all new OS rollouts, it doesn’t happen overnight. What if you don’t want to wait for that magic upgrade notice to appear? Well, you don’t have to. You can download and install the latest version of Windows right now.
Before you scroll down to the how to part of this article, keep in mind that if your machine doesn’t meet the minimum standards, you will still be able to download Windows 11 but will have to go through an additional step of downloading an ISO file of Windows 11 and install the OS manually.
To check if your machine meets the minimum requirements, check out the below.
Windows 11 Minimum Requirements
The system requirements for Windows 11 are as follows:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
RAM: 4 gigabyte (GB)
Storage: 64 GB or larger storage device
System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Display: High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9-inches diagonally, 8 bits per color channel
A fast way to find out if your system can handle Windows 11 is to check via Microsoft’s PC Health App.
How To Upgrade to Windows 11
With the update officially rolling out, you can see if the new OS has arrived at your machine by navigating to “Settings” > “Windows Update”.
If you have not yet received the update, and your machine is considered legible for the upgrade, here’s how you can install Windows 11 without having to wait:
- Go to the Windows 11 software download page.
- If you fancy doing it the easy way, select to use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant; click “Download Now” and follow the instructions.
Alternatively, you can create a bootable USB or DVD by selecting ” Create Windows 11 installation Media”, or you can Download a Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO).
