Microsoft has convulsed the PC market by requiring the TPM 2.0 security chip to install Windows 11. How do you know if your PC has it?
The new Windows 11 It will be released this fall, but it will only work on computers with the TPM 2.0 chip. If your PC is less than 3 years old, you have it for sure, but you should still check if it is activated.
If your computer is older, it may have version 1.2, or none at all. Let’s go and explain how can you check if you have the TPM 2.0 chip in just 3 seconds, and without installing anything.
Don’t you know what this hardware is? The TMP chip or Trusted Platform Module It is a chip that modern CPUs have inside, but it can also be installed on the motherboard. It is an indispensable requirement of Windows 11.
Its function is protect encryption keys, user credentials, and other sensitive data behind a hardware barrier so that malware and attackers cannot access or manipulate that data.
In short, it is a security chip that serves to protect us from malicious attacks. Version 1.2 appeared more than a decade ago, but TPM 2.0 is barely 4 years old.
How do you know if your PC has the TPM chip, and what version? It is so simple how to write this in the search engine of the Windows Desktop taskbar: TPM.MSC.
An application will run that it will tell you if the TPM chip is enabled:
In this example we see that the TMP chip is missing. This can be due to two reasons: either your PC does not have the chip, or it does and it is disabled.
What you should do is enter the BIOS of your PC pressing the DEL or Del key or F12 (depending on the PC) while starting the computer.
Access BIOS Security menu, and look for an option called TPM, Trusted Platform Module or Trusted Platform Module. If it is off, turn it on. If you can’t find it, your PC probably doesn’t have a TPM chip.
After activating it, the test comes back to reality, and now it will tell you that it has found it, and the version you have.
What can we do if our PC does not have the chip? Can’t we install Windows 11? Luckily, there is a solution.
The TPM chip can be installed on the motherboard. It is a simple extension, an insert the size of a fingernail that you can see in the opening photo of the news.
It is placed in a specific place on the plate, and that’s it. You just have to be careful to install one compatible with your board. The key is in the number of pins (holes in the connector) that your board requires.
Consult the manual and check the pins that have the TPM connector on the board. You can buy the extension in stores like Amazon, for a price of around 20 euros. Motherboard manufacturers (Asus, MSI, etc.) sell their own TPM chips, so you can buy your brand’s to ensure compatibility.
There are 10-year-old motherboards that accept the chip, so hopefully you’ll be able to install Windows 11 when it comes out.