W11 23H2 upgrade on unsupported HP workstations

[SDH]

Edit Note: The info below is for more than just HP workstations. We've used these techniques on non-HP laptops, business class computers, etc. I just started with this trusty old Z400 we use at home in our library... My guess is that Microsoft has put a hold on upgrading via Windows Update from W11 22H2 to 23H2 for now in computers such as this one which their upgrade system sees few of. That is why I chose to test my prior method to "force" the upgrade. Have been doing such things for years now, as an early adopter.

The official latest upgrade to Windows 11 has been officially released, version 23H2, including the .iso installers. I've successfully upgraded to that using the "hybrid" technique I developed and posted on in the forum here, detailed HERE .

I simply downloaded the W11 23H2 installer from Microsoft, "mounted" it on a workstation, and copied out all of the components as the method describes. Using the same small .dll substitution as was used in the method earlier the result was a folder containing the single modification. The Setup.exe in that folder was used to launch the process, and it proceeded as before, doing an in-place upgrade on this Z400 v2, saving all files, folders, and apps rather than doing a clean install (which is another option). This install was then able to be updated using Windows Update, and 3 pictures below show the progress and system ID changes.

A few comments:

1. Remember that if you're going to do an upgrade you need to match the language your original install is using so you get the correct .iso download. You can check that by Control Panel/ Region app/ Formats tab/ at the top there look next to "Format"... mine says "English (United States)" but there also is an "English (International)" option that you need to not use unless that's what you started with.

2. Both Paul Tikkanen and DGroves use an alternative Rufus method to create a bootable thumb drive, and I like that approach better. Mine is a bit more kludgy and it evolved as shown in the post linked above. I used my "hybrid" technique to see if it would still work instead. My guess is that Paul and DGroves are already working on their Rufus techniques and may update us.

3. I've posted on having problems with using my hybrid technique to do an in-place upgrade (keeping all files/folders/apps) on the Z440/Z640 workstations if the original install was running from a NVMe M.2 drive mounted in a HP Z Turbo Drive PCIe card... it would proceed virtually to the last moment of the process and then pause, and then roll back to the earlier W10 Pro x64 install I started with (still functioning). DGroves provided generous help on this... his advice was to do a complete clean install using the Rufus method with no other drives present, and that worked. My guess is that choosing the clean install approach using my hybrid technique might also have worked. Those Zx40 workstations are now up and running great on W11, including using the Z Turbo Drives G1 and G2 versions, and also the ZTD Dual Pro and Quad Pro models (in the PCIe3 x8 or PCIe3 x16 slots 4 or 5, respectively) with slot bifurcation turned on and multiple NVMe M.2 drives inserted and all independently visible and functioning at full PCIe gen 3 speeds. Some of these builds now have zero HDD or 2.5" form factor SSD drives in place.

4. I do pretty extensive cleanup after these OS upgrades using the built in Disk Cleanup utility, and then use its Tools tab for disk error checking and optimization as the last step of that part. I also developed a 3-in-1 method I then use to autorun 3 sequential added built in W10/W11 utilities via a copy/paste from a small saved .txt file shown below. Run exactly this via an elevated CMD (CMD run as an administrator):

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

sfc /scannow
chkdsk C: /f

NOTE: It is essential to add several returns as shown below starting at the end of the last line and to include those in your copy/paste... otherwise the auto-shift to the next utility won't work properly. After you copy all that you just right-click in the already open elevated CMD window somewhere near the cursor to auto-paste it in, and it should start automatically running all 3 in sequence. Handy. Then you can choose to do the checkdisk third step by answering Y if prompted, exit CMD, and do a restart.

Add several returns and include those...

5. Regarding the Disk Cleanup built in OS utility... I check all the boxes and also do the advanced cleanup step to delete old parts which can take a while. After a big upgrade like this it will end up clearing out about 12GB of leftovers. You may want to wait on that clearing of your old install for a week or so. I do the whole tune-up process of items 4 and 5 about once a month.

6. I'd say clean installs are preferred over in-place upgrades... I've noticed the upgrade installs drag along some old drivers from W10 rather than using newer drivers that a clean install gets you. Check Device Manager before and after this process to see if any drivers are missing... I do a full cleanup, update, and Device Manager check before I proceed with these upgrades also.

7. P.S. There is a new Z Turbo Drive v2 released July of this year that is certified by HP for PCIe gen 4 and gen 5 in the newest and future HP workstations. It also should work great in our PCIe gen 3 workstations, and with a mix of NVMe gen 3 and gen 4 M.2 sticks. This is expected because the PCIe technology is backwards compatible. I'll post on that later after testing here.

Here are a few pics showing the W11 23H2 upgrade and then the automatic upgrade of that via Windows Update:

Upgrade W11 22H2 to 23H2Windows Update offerings thereafterResult of those updates