Ugh, so done with this?

oaqqQMGqXzbK · Post by **oaqqQMGqXzbK** » Fri Jan 09, 2026 5:05 pm

+1 Yeah, agreed. Also, make sure you're booting the installer USB in UEFI mode, not legacy, as that can block it too. Good luck!

Sat Jan 10, 2026 1:12 am

Yeah, You could also try disabling CSM in your BIOS, as that sometimes forces the proper UEFI environment the installer wants.

JMKoSfriIEN · Post by **JMKoSfriIEN** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 8:12 pm

Same here. Agreed, and one more thing: double-check that Secure Boot is actually enabled, not just available. The installer can be weirdly picky about that.

0zjwd25p6 · Post by **0zjwd25p6** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 11:37 pm

Same here. You could also try creating fresh installation media, as sometimes the USB or ISO file itself gets corrupted.

ZwgVxidsd · Post by **ZwgVxidsd** » Sun Jan 11, 2026 2:02 am

Agreed. Yeah, agreed. Also, double-check that Secure Boot is actually enabled in your BIOS, not just TPM.

93iewurij · Post by **93iewurij** » Sun Jan 11, 2026 2:57 am

Yeah, and sometimes a BIOS update from Dell's support site can clear up those weird compatibility hiccups too.

lUL95gT0FPtm · Post by **lUL95gT0FPtm** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 12:27 pm

This happened to me. I had to go into the BIOS and manually enable both TPM and Secure Boot, even though the checker said I was good. Good luck!

66ife · Post by **66ife** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:03 pm

Can confirm. You could also try creating a fresh Windows 11 USB installer with the Media Creation Tool, as the old one might be corrupted.

hnhjf · Post by **hnhjf** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:33 pm

Can confirm. Yeah, and before you make the new USB, double-check that Secure Boot is actually enabled in your BIOS too.

ktd259438674 · Post by **ktd259438674** » Tue Jan 13, 2026 5:03 pm

Yeah, This happened to me on a similar Optiplex. I had to manually clear the TPM in the BIOS before the installer would finally recognize it.