Workaround As a test, I created a new Windows 11 guest on my VMware Workstation host with the unsupported TPM (1.2) and was subsequently able to move it to and start it on a second VMware Workstatio...
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Workaround As a test, I created a new Windows 11 guest on my VMware Workstation host with the unsupported TPM (1.2) and was subsequently able to move it to and start it on a second VMware Workstation host, without being prompted for an encryption password. In this case, I again followed the installation instructions in support article 86207 for steps 1 and 2. But, I skipped step 3 and instead used the workflow described in the "In case you do not want to Encrypt the Virtual Machine" section to create the BypassTPMCheck registry value. I am going to rebuild the VM I created yesterday using this workaround. It'll take some time, but it's worth it to me at this early stage, to have the flexibility to move it once it's laden with more customizations. Considerations I get the gist of the Windows 11 TPM requirements and the basics of the blog that @RDPetruska referenced above. But, I'm no expert in TPM/Windows/VMware, so take the following with caution. This workaround allows me to run Windows 11 on an unsupported platform. Obviously, there's the potential for problems - including security vulnerabilities, given that I'm using an older TPM standard. These risks are acceptable in my test environment, but make your own judgement before doing the same. I'm unclear as to whether the BypassTPMCheck method disregards the TPM requirement entirely, or falls back to allowing the older TPM 1.2 standard. I read that there's an official Microsoft workaround (AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU registry value) that allows 1.2 (and, apparently, will fail if you have no TPM at all) but I'm not sure about the specific BypassTPMCheck behavior. This detail doesn't impact my current use case, so I'm just going to proceed as-is. Again, do your own research.
