Windows 11 set up error code

Hello,

Since Windows 11 isn't officially supported on any Mac as yet, I'm assuming you used a workaround to try to get it on. One thing for sure: the newer your Mac is, the better chance you have of successfully installing Windows 11.

Some tips that might help:

• If you have a desktop with an obscene amount of memory, you need at least that much or more free space on your hard drive.
• make sure you're running the latest version of macOS that your machine can possibly support. This will ensure that all necessary firmware updates have been applied.
• make sure you have the latest drivers supported by your specific version of Boot Camp. This can be done by going into the Boot Camp assistant and selecting "download Windows support software" from one of the menus. Save the package to a spare USB drive if you must.
• Systems with discrete graphics, like AMD or Nvidia, might require an update of the graphics driver. Google is your friend. I believe it's AMD that maintains a website specific to Boot Camp friendly graphics drivers. Most Windows 10 drivers should work in Windows 11.
• If necessary, run Apple Diagnostics to rule out any problems with the hardware (such as the SSD starting to go bad). To do this, hold the D key or the Command key + D at startup. If the numbers on the exit code return all zeros, your hardware checks out.
• Before installing, disconnect any external hardware, except the installation medium that you use. You should be able to add it back later.
• if you haven't already created one, you'll need to use a modified installer that bypasses the usual checks for security hardware. You can create such an installer with a program called Rufus that works on Windows PCs. It's free, and all it needs is a Windows image to modify. How you get that image may depend on your location and other circumstances.

I had heard early on that the new windows installer may have issues with a specific driver used by older versions of Boot Camp, called a hardware abstraction layer. But, if you have such a driver installed, removing it could crash the system.

One more thing: if your Windows 10 installation is newer than the build of Windows 11 on your modified installer, you will need to allow that installer to get updates. Otherwise, you could find yourself in an endless loop trying to install updates after the OS is running.

If you're still stuck after performing these suggestions, there may be an issue we haven't identified yet and that Apple is very unlikely to fix at this stage, as your hardware is more than seven years old and the macOS that it supports is likely at the end of service life.

Still, I wish you best of luck in your endeavor.

--Nate