In another episode of Redmond will never tell me when I must buy a PC, the 22H2 edition of Windows 11 is surprising some users with a watermark that warns about the lack of “official support” for their computers. Fortunately, this Microsoft invention can be disabled with a Registry modification, and today we explain the exact process.
Microsoft is like the scorpion on the frog's back: it cannot help its nature. For every good, useful, and practical thing the company does, an absurd, incomprehensible, and directly hostile decision emerges for users. Windows 11 only exposes that nature, combining successes and optimizations with restrictions and regressions.
The “requirements” of Windows 11 are a good example. The demand for TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot didn't surprise us too much, but wiping out support for dozens of perfectly functional processors makes no sense. Instead of reviewing its position, Microsoft responded with desktop watermarks, “warning” users about the lack of support.
Remove the watermark for Windows 11 requirements
One of the most recent cases was that of Devin Chaboyer, who shared the news on his Twitter account. His laptop is from 2008, and Windows 11 seems to run quite well... except for the watermark. The warning also appears in the System section, but if you come across this and want to remove it, there is a path in the Registry.
- Open the Registry Editor.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel.
- Enter the folder named UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache.
- Inside you will see an entry identified as SV2.
- Change its value from 1 to 0 and restart.
With that, the watermark should disappear (I say “should” because we know Microsoft well, everything can change in the future). Devin explains that its presence is limited to the desktop, and it is not an “overlay” like the watermark requesting Windows activation. Finally, it's worth remembering that Rufus can create Windows 11 installation USB drives with all its restrictions disabled. If you are thinking of using Windows 11 22H2 on an unsupported computer, you should try that before starting.
