How to enable TPM, Secure Boot, HVCI, and VBS for Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7

You may have noticed some curious extras in the Battlefield 6 system requirements that go well beyond the usual CPU and GPU specs, with several acronyms that don't look particularly friendly if you're not up on your security tech. Along with Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6 has a hardcore anti-cheat system, and it requires your PC to pass several security tests before it will let you into the game. In this guide, I'll show you how to make sure your PC has TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, HVCI, and VBS enabled, so you can get on with playing the latest shooters.

You may well have seen these requirements before, of course, as TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are also needed to install Windows 11. As such, if you already have a full official version of Windows 11 installed, there's a good chance your PC will already run Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 without any trouble. If you have Windows 10, however, you may not be so lucky.

Let's start with TPM 2.0, where TPM stands for Trusted Platform Module. This is a hardware-based security device in your PC, and it comes with most modern motherboards as standard. If yours doesn't, it may well have a slot where you can install a TPM 2.0 card, so it's worth Googling your motherboard's full name and "TPM 2.0" to see if you can upgrade it. If you need a new board, then make sure you check out our full guide on how to buy the best gaming motherboard first, so you can find the best one for your needs.

Your first step is to see whether your PC has Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 enabled already, in which case you don't need to worry. Handily, you can now check for these features using the latest beta Steam client. If you don't have this installed already, open your Steam client, click on the Steam menu in the top left, and select Settings. Then go to the Interface tab, scroll down to Client Beta Participation, and select Steam Beta Update - you'll then be opted into the Steam beta program.

Once the beta has been installed and the Steam client has restarted, go to the Help menu at the top and select System Information. If you scroll down to the Operating System section, you'll then be able to see if Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are enabled already, as shown in the screenshot below.

There are a couple of other ways you can check for these features as well. As TPM 2.0 is a hardware feature, you can also check for it in your Device Manager (just type "device manager" into the search bar when you click on the Windows button). Scroll down to Security devices, and it will tell you if you have a TPM 2.0 device installed.

You can also check for Secure Boot in Windows in the System Information panel. Type "system information" into the search bar when you click on the Windows button, and if it says On next to Secure Boot State on the right, then you're good to go.

If you want even more information, you can also type "Device security" into the Windows search bar. This will simply give you a green tick next to Secure Boot if it's on, with the option to click on the "Learn more" text. Meanwhile, you can find information about your TPM 2.0 module in the Security Processor section - again, it will have a green tick if it's all working and behaving itself.

If either of these features are disabled, then, assuming you have a relatively modern motherboard, you should be able to enable them in your motherboard's BIOS/EFI system. You can enter this system by continually pressing the Del key when you turn on your PC (before it starts the process of booting Windows). You then need to track down the Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 controls to make sure they're enabled at their standard settings.

On our Asus motherboard, Secure Boot is in the Boot menu, while TPM 2.0 is in the Advanced\Trusted Computing menu, as shown in the screenshots above and below. However, you may need to look around the boot and security menus in your motherboard's particular BIOS to find these controls.

On our MSI motherboard, for example, they were both in the Security section, under the Secure Boot and Trusted Computing sections. In both cases, you just need to make sure Secure Boot and the TPM 2.0 device are enabled.

UEFI

In order for these security features to work, Windows also needs to be running in UEFI mode with the latest GUID partition table (GPT), and you can't assume that this will always be the case. Even if your PC has a UEFI motherboard, Windows can still be installed in a legacy mode (using a master boot record partitioning scheme) using a compatibility support module.

If your motherboard has CSM enabled (it was in the Boot section of our Asus motherboard), then it needs to be disabled. If you are running a non-UEFI version of Windows, then you may need to reinstall it in UEFI mode.

HVCI

This is a nice easy one to check, even if Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity is a bit of a mouthful. It's sometimes just called "memory integrity" (as it is in Windows) and it simply prevents malicious code from being inserted into Windows security processes. To check or enable this feature, type "core isolation" into the search bar when you click on the Windows button. Memory integrity is then the top option, so make sure it's switched on.

VBS

Finally, Virtualization Based Security (VBS) is another software security feature in Windows, and you can check for it in the same way you check for Secure Boot. Type "system information" into the search bar when you click on the Windows button, and if it says "Running" next to Virtualization-based security, then you're good to go. If it's not running, then make sure HVCI is enabled and check again.

Assuming your PC is all decked out in the latest security garb, then you should now be ready to get shooting. Check out our guide to the best Battlefield 6 weapons to get your loadout in order, and having a read of our best Battlefield 6 classes guide will help you nail your role in the next round.

Have you had any problems getting BF6 running? Do you like the need for security features to keep cheaters at bay, or do you just think it's a massive PITA? Let us know your thoughts in our community Discord server.