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BrainSuperGlue

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BrainSuperGlue

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June 24th, 2021 12:00

Windows 11 & Latitude E7440

This E7440 is a workhorse. It still works fine and has all the requirements for Windows 11 especially UEFI and Secure Boot. It does not have TPM 2.0, only TPM 1.2

Other Dell machines that shipped with TPM 1.2 can be upgraded to TPM 2.0

There is currently no upgrade firnware for the E7440 from TPM 1.2 to 2.0

I resent having to trash this PC when it works fine, to keep up to date.

Please can someone from Dell explain why there isn't a TPM 2.0 firmware upgrade for the E7440.

Thanks

BSG

  • ejn63

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 13:00

    This is already an 8 year old system, and by the time Windows 10 goes end of life in 2025, it'll be 12 -- there's no need to trash anything.

    TPM 1.2 to 2.0 upgrades are not always just firmware -- it depends on the silicon.

     

  • jphughan

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 13:00

    @BrainSuperGlue First you said, "It still works fine and has all the requirements for Windows 11" then immediately after you said, "It does not have TPM 2.0."  The first sentence is contradicted by the second, at least according to Microsoft's current published system requirements.  It looks like the earliest Latitude 7000 Series systems that have a TPM firmware upgrade from 1.2 to 2.0 available according to this page is the E7x70 line, which was two generations newer than yours (there was no E7x60).  I'm not sure what you're expecting anyone here to provide in terms of a reason the E7440's TPM firmware can't be updated.  The TPM spec and requirements changed pretty significantly for 2.0, so maybe the spec was far enough along when the E7470 was being designed that the TPM firmware vendor was able to incorporate the necessary hardware to support 2.0 later, but that wasn't true for the E7440.

  • BrainSuperGlue

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 13:00

    Indeed, I should have said :-

    This E7440 is a workhorse. It still works fine and has all the requirements for Windows 11 especially UEFI and Secure Boot EXCEPT it does not have TPM 2.0, only TPM 1.2

    Of the research I've done previously on 1.2 and 2.0, I haven't found a reason why the E7440 can't be upgraded. Yes, it could be that supplimental hardware that needs to be part of the TPM 2.0 chipset, that the E7440 doesn't have, and that is the reason. All I'm saying is that I can't find specifically why that reason is.

    This is a Dell Community, there may be people out there who do know.

    If you don't ask and all,

  • BrainSuperGlue

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 13:00

    This is true. I've had systems that died in a few years, which if this workhorse is still going strong and runs currently supported software, I'll go with that for as long as I can.

    It's if there is something requires Windows 11.

  • ejn63

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 14:00

    I can tell you the most likely reason:  as features were added to the TPM, the size of the code required likely increased markedly.  It's been happening to firmware for quite some time -- and the older chip used for 1.2 likely can't accommodate the larger code block required for 2.0.

    Just as many older systems have fewer firmware features than newer ones -- and can't be upgraded, the same thing probably happened with the TPM firmware (or for that matter, to the support code required by the BIOS/UEFI chip), which itself could play a role.

     

  • U2CAMEB4ME

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 16:00

    Welcome to the Dell Community @BrainSuperGlue 

    Your model is not listed.

    Dell systems that can upgrade from TPM version 1.2 to 2.0 ( Apr 10, 2021 )

    https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132583/dell-systems-that-can-upgrade-from-tpm-version-1-2-to-2-0

    I know this will not help you but it may help others.

    Best regards,

    U2

  • BrainSuperGlue

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    Posted June 24th, 2021 18:00

    So, Windows 11 SHOULD install on this E7440.

    Reading through WindowsCentral, they have published the MS specs of Windows 11 'hard floor' and 'soft floor'. If the hardware doesn't reach the hard floor then Windows 11 won't install. The soft floor is an advisory that Windows 11 may have issues if the hardware isn't on the supported list.

    Looking through the Windows 11 Intel processor list, it appears that anything older than a sixth gen CPU isn't supported.

    However, if the hard floor recognises TPM 1.2 and allows the dual core i7-4600U @2.1GHz in this E7440.

    I wish the Windows PC Health Check app used the Hard Floor specs instead...

    --

    Hard Floor

    • CPU: Core >= 2 and Speed >= 1 GHz
    • System Memory: TotalPhysicalRam >= 4 GB
    • Storage: 64 GB
    • Security: TPM Version >= 1.2 and SecureBootCapable = True
    • Smode: Smode is false, or Smode is true and C_ossku in (0x65, 0x64, 0x63, 0x6D, 0x6F, 0x73, 0x74, 0x71)

    Soft Floor

    • Security: TPMVersion >= 2.0
    • CPU Generation


  • alozzy

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    Posted June 25th, 2021 16:00

    If Microsoft stays true to form, Windows 11 is going to be garbage anyways. I still miss Windows 7, Microsoft's best effort AFAIK.

  • Philip_Yip

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    Posted June 26th, 2021 08:00

    This system has a 4th Generation Intel Processor. The hardware TPM version 2.0 was made standard with 6th Generation Intel Processors and later. Moreover Secure Boot in that model is obsolete. There was a GRUB2 Security Exploit in 2020 and only 6th generation Processors and newer got UEFI BIOS Updates to address this Security Exploit. The system therefore fails in 3 of Windows 11 elevated system requirements.

    You should be able to run Windows 10 on the Device until 2025... In addition Linux support is getting better. Zorin 16 Beta (based upon Ubuntu 20.04) in particular is being refreshed to give a very similar user experience to Windows and is substantially more lightweight when it comes to older hardware. 

  • BrainSuperGlue

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    Posted June 26th, 2021 17:00

    With the Microsoft requirement update that the hard floor of TPM 1.2 has been revoked, even though the Haswell CPU would have been permitted but not supported, it's fine, I'll leave it on Windows 10 given the 2025 support and by then I'd have updated to a newer laptop.