New BIOS updates will make Windows 11 support less annoying on custom-built PCs

If you're using a pre-built desktop or laptop PC made within the last three or four years, Windows 11's sometimes confusing, sometimes contentious security-oriented new system requirements won't be a problem for you—all of the security features Microsoft is requiring for the new operating system should be turned on by default. The change presents a bigger problem for people who build their own computers (or who have had computers built for them), since features like the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) are often disabled by default.

Most motherboard manufacturers have already posted lists of boards they expect to meet Windows 11's requirements, and some are going a step further by releasing new BIOS updates that enable the integrated TPMs in Intel and AMD processors by default. While it usually isn't too difficult to switch the TPM on manually, each motherboard manufacturer keeps this setting in a different place, and the way the setting is labeled differs depending on whether you're using an Intel or AMD chip or what motherboard you're configuring.

Asus is taking the most comprehensive approach, with BIOS updates either available or "under testing" for the vast majority of Intel and AMD motherboards made within the last three or four years (300-, 400-, and 500-series chipsets from both Intel and AMD are broadly supported, covering most 8th-generation and newer Intel CPUs and all of AMD's Ryzen processors). But ASRock has released TPM-enabling BIOS updates for a handful of its newer motherboards as well, and we'd expect other motherboard-makers to follow suit in the next few months. We've contacted ASRock, Gigabyte, and MSI to see if they have any information to share and will update if they do.

Of course, you don't need a BIOS update to enable your processor's TPM module. But it's nice to know that new motherboards that ship with the latest BIOS version installed will support Windows 11 without requiring extra work, and these settings are important when a power outage or configuration change resets your BIOS settings to the default.