You can install Windows 10X on unsupported PCs using this new tool

What you need to know

  • A new tool is available that helps you install Windows 10X onto unsupported devices.
  • The tool can be used to create a Full Flash Update package of Windows 10X.
  • The tool does not provide include the Unified Update Platform files of Windows 10X, which you'll have to find yourself.

The push to get Windows 10X running on unsupported devices continues to march forward. We've already seen the new version of Windows running on a Lumia 950XL, Surface Pro 7, and a MacBook. Our senior editor Zac Bowden even went hands-on with Windows 10X on a Surface Pro 6. Now, a new tool is available that helps people install Windows 10X onto unsupported devices.

Twitter user "Albacore" created a tool named the "Device Image Generator" to make it easier to install Windows 10X on unsupported devices. The tool can be used to create a Full Flash Update (FFU) package.

As explained by XDA-Developers, there is no universal installer for Windows 10X. This is because Microsoft does not plan to let people install Windows 10X on their existing devices. But just because there isn't a universal installer for Windows 10X doesn't mean that there aren't ways to get it on a device it was never meant to grace.

One of the issues preventing Windows 10X from running on unsupported hardware is a lack of available drivers. The Device Image Generator allows you to export the required drivers from an existing Windows 10 device and to inject them into an image.

The tool also creates a set of configuration packages that you need to create a final image for installation.

The Device Image Generator does not download the Unified Update Platform (UUP) files of Windows 10X. We won't link to those files here, but you can find them if you know where to look.

The Device Image Generator is in beta, so there's a risk that it could cause an issue with your device. Of course, flashing an unsupported operating system onto a device can cause issues regardless of what tool you're using to do it.

In addition to any issues you may run into due to the tool being in beta and the fact that you're trying to put unsupported software onto a device, there isn't a final build of Windows 10X available at this time, so anything you put onto a device is unfinished software.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com.