EARLY Installation tests/experiences with W11 pro with Z Workstations?

[wgk2]

Recognizing  AT THIS TIME

HP is not shipping W11 on Z workstations:

DOES the community have any early experiences with W11 on current Z's. 

My Z400 is long of tooth and unable to support W11. 

I want/need to get a replacement for it (several reasons).

wgk2

[joselso]

May I widen the scope: I am looking a bit further on, assuming HP will be shipping W11 on Z workstations in the foreseeable (near) future:
Will it be possible to upgrade existing Z workstation that came preinstalled with 'Windows 10 Pro For Workstations', to 'Windows 11 Pro For Workstations'?
I mean, will HP offer an HP Cloud Recovery or media based recovery, to be downloaded and installed similar to the corrective activation procedure described in detail in '**bleep**y: HP ZBook And HP Z Workstations - Windows 10 Pro For Workstations Is Not Installed During Recovery'?
URL: https://support.hp.com/emea_middle_east-en/document/c06140244

[joselso]

A typographic correction:

'**bleep**y: should read:

**bleep**y: HP ZBook And HP Z Workstations - Windows 10 Pro For Workstations Is Not Installed During Recovery

[joselso]

The error repeated so I will separate the characters one by one:

H P  A d v i s o r y :  HP ZBook And HP Z Workstations - Windows 10 Pro For Workstations Is Not Installed During Recovery

I hope it comes out correctly this time...

[SDH]

Are you aware that this forum has a search function?  It is just above your post... please use it.

There is a long time very helpful and knowledgeable forum member, Paul Tikkanen, who has provided multiple recent posts on his experiences in getting W11 up and running on HP Z and business class workstations with links to what I believe are some of the most well explained HowTo links on the web.  He is very specific, and I've gone through those most recent two he provides.  The "in-place" approach is upgrading a functioning build to W11 saving all your apps and files.  Of course you'd want a backup of your build, and he even provides info on a free utility that lets you capture an image of your build and clone it back if you mess something up.  You might even want to do this:

Capture an image off your current drive, and then take that drive out and set it aside for safe keeping.  Put in a drive that is as close to identical as your first drive and clone from your image onto that drive.  Now work with that clone to test the W11 in-place upgrade method.

Regarding your Z400... has it been optimized?  Is it a version 1 or a version 2?  Hopefully it is a version 2 because it can be upgraded with the very best processor we have ever found for those... the X5690, which can run the fastest RAM the Z400 v2 motherboard ever can (specific DDR3 1333MHz sticks).  Depending on how much RAM you really need the cheapest fastest way to go would be to fill all 6 memory sockets with identical proper RAM... you probably would do fine with 4GB sticks x 6 = 24GB.  If you're running a HDD instead of a SSD you've suffered long enough.  That is a SATAII box, so you would do very well with a SATAII SSD, such as an Intel 320 series bought used off eBay.... search for Intel "SSD 320 Series 600GB" or the next size down, but only if the price is right.  Personally I'd go for an Intel 545s 512GB SSD used... it is a SATAIII one but would work fine too, and you could use it later.

You have homework to do, and choices to make, and maybe the right choice is to move on to a brand new HP workstation.  If you're going to step up your choices that lots of info is available here on is a ZX20 family box (and it must be the version 2) or a ZX40 box, and there is no version 1 vs 2 issue with those (significant more expense, however).

All mentioned above will run fine on W11 with Paul's advice.

[SDH]

To your series of new posts... they already sell boxes with W11 officially installed.  They are not giving them away.

No.... there will be no HP "Cloud Recovery" builds that miraculously circumvent the MS official requirements for W11 to be officially installed.  That is not how the relationship between HP and Microsoft works, and it is not HP's job.  Creating such a build is your job, and Paul has reported his personal "unofficial" W11 installs have been receiving W11 updates over time.  My prediction is that MS wants W11 to penetrate faster than it is and will accept such unofficial W11 builds over the long run.

[wgk2]

Joselo's scope widening expands this to address the loss of OS upgrade capability issue created when an 'old' Z product with W10 pro is 'unable to be' upgraded, IF I understand correctly.  And, covers several other likely scenarios, as well.

His referenced link suggests (or seems to) HP providing a cloud or media recovery/upgrade bridge so as to push a fully configured W10 pro from the relic Z onto a new Z and upgrade the licensed W10 to a configured (restored AND upgraded) new Z W11 pro fully licensed (upgraded).

If the above is correct, not only is this WELCOME, it's the logical end point and HP SHOULD MAKE it AN OBJECTIVE to document it, post-haste.   Doing so CAN allow some of us to choose, configure HDWE and plan (and/or some complete) hardware purchases sooner rather than later.

Thanks, 

wgk2

[SDH]

https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/desktop-workstation-pc.html

Due to covid supply chain delays Santa did not get my message and left me coal under the tree a few days ago... but one of these was what I asked for.  Good luck on your project!

[SDH]

We seem to have two cross threads going.  If the hardware of a HP Z Workstation bought before W11 was released and came from factory with W10Pro64 installed truly also met all the MS requirements for W11 to be installed it is reasonable to hope that a future HP W11 Recovery kit released for the same Z workstation sold with W11 installed from the factory would work in the older otherwise identical workstation.  HP has even stated they'll take care of those type of situations, but I don't remember the details.

I've seen cases where the HP Recovery kit "should" work but would not.  That is because there are BIOS/installer checks that might disallow that even if it should have worked.  For example, there is the "branding" of a motherboard that has to do with licensing rights for that motherboard.  HP is not going to cheat on their licensing relationship with MS, and MS is not going to give away their OS licensing fee.  Just because MS will let you do the work to upgrade from W10 to W11 does not mean that they will give HP the right to do it for you.  And, HP has to do a lot of conformance testing and certification work for its Enterprise customers for every HP OS installer it releases.  They look forward... not back much.  They have to keep moving and let us do some of that work.

That type of stuff has existed for multiple generations of Z workstations.  Never, ever throw away the HP installer/Recovery kits.  You could just do a standard MS Windows Update for an in-place upgrade from the HP W10Pro64 install to the MS W11Pro64 install.  I'm on the hunt for an official HP W11 recovery kit to test with some of our Z4 G4 and Z6 G4 boxes, but they have older non-W11 processors.  I doubt that will work.

[wgk2]

Thanks for your admonitions.  And, advice. 

Yes.  I am aware, SDH, new member or not.

I already stated I've chosen going with a new Z. 

I'm aware of, and have been following, the 'successes' of winding through getting 'unable to run W11' on machines, HP and otherwise, elsewhere. 

Your HDD 'clone' suggestion is 'an' alternative. So, is kissing off HDD.

But, I also want to reduce my box foot print (Ht-W-D), asap.  And, I don't like MSft trashing my OS upgrade option.

I own some of HP...if they remove some of these IMPEDIMENTS to people to buy new boxes...I'm more than able to live with that.

Thx,

wgk2