Dr. Shawn Cicoria - CedarLogic,LLC

Windows 11 with Bypass

Shawn Cicoria -

Title: Breathing New Life into a Surface Studio 1: Windows 11 via In‑Place Upgrade (No TPM 2.0)

If you’ve got an original Surface Studio (1st Gen, 2016), you’ve probably discovered that TPM 2.0 keeps Windows 11 just out of reach. The best first try—especially if you want to keep your apps, files, and settings—is an in‑place upgrade from Windows 10.

I documented everything here, with screenshots and multiple approaches ranked by disruption:

👉 GitHub repo: https://github.com/cicorias/windows-11-bypass-setup

What’s inside

  • Method A: In‑place upgrade (preferred) — flip the MoSetup registry key and run setup.exe for a preserve‑everything upgrade.
  • Method B: Rufus — clean install with TPM/Secure Boot/RAM checks removed.
  • Method C: Manual registry — do the bypass inside Setup if you’re using a stock installer.

Why start with in‑place upgrade?

It’s the least disruptive path and often the quickest way to get a working Windows 11 desktop while preserving your environment. If Microsoft blocks the feature upgrade on unsupported hardware, the guide shows clean‑install fallbacks.

A word of caution

This is unsupported territory. You may miss feature upgrades or need to repeat workarounds for future releases. If that’s acceptable, follow the guide and enjoy.