Ugh, so over this. My workhorse Dell Optiplex 7040 has been a tank for years, bu

F2foVsPTxs · Post by **F2foVsPTxs** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 11:48 am

+1 Yeah, that TPM trick usually does it. Also, try temporarily disconnecting any non-essential USB devices before you run the installer again.

noTnJhNpyaN · Post by **noTnJhNpyaN** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 1:13 pm

Can confirm. And just to be sure, is your BIOS fully up to date? That's another common blocker.

uCmfdbgVO · Post by **uCmfdbgVO** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 10:55 pm

Agreed. Yeah, and if you're still stuck after that, try temporarily disabling any third-party antivirus software during the install.

UDdQm · Post by **UDdQm** » Sat Jan 10, 2026 11:32 pm

Same here. Yeah, that's solid advice. Also, make sure you're plugged into power and have a stable internet connection throughout the whole process.

INDYBiAIyoDT · Post by **INDYBiAIyoDT** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:15 pm

I had the same problem. For me, it was a specific Intel driver that the checker missed, but the installer hated.

11q6862zn · Post by **11q6862zn** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 8:33 pm

Yeah, You could also try creating a Windows 11 installation USB from Microsoft's media tool and doing a clean install from that. Hope that helps.

33AvS5M · Post by **33AvS5M** » Mon Jan 12, 2026 11:48 pm

This. Agreed, the media creation tool is a solid next step. One extra tip: make sure to disable any third-party antivirus software before you run the installer, as it can sometimes block the upgrade process.

fsn9983 · Post by **fsn9983** » Thu Jan 15, 2026 7:17 pm

You could also try using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant directly from Microsoft's website, as it sometimes handles upgrades differently. Hope that helps.

wEgkrs · Post by **wEgkrs** » Tue Jan 20, 2026 12:39 am

I had the same problem. My Optiplex passed the check but the installer kept failing until I turned off TPM in the BIOS and then turned it back on. Let me know if that works.