W11 24H2 & Rufus on Z420 Z620 Z820 Zx40

[Ricsvcr]

I've been wanting to upgrade my Z620 from W10 to W11 for quite sometime, I almost gave up but just found all these conversations on hp.com with the information I was looking for, thank you!

In my case I didn't want to install any ISO images on the internet, so I upgraded on a supported device using the official windows 11 assistant, then moved the disk back to the z620. These are the steps I followed:

1. Installed all the latest Windows updates and firmware.

2. BIOS mode must be set to UEFI. You can check this on Windows, System Information > BIOS Mode. In my case it wasn't, so I converted my boot drive to UEFI with this command on an Administrator Command Prompt:

mbr2gpt /convert /allowfullos

3. Rebooted into the BIOS settings, enabled Secure Boot. I found that Storage > SATA Mode, must be set to AHCI, not so sure if this is required, but mine was already set to AHCI.

4. Saved, and let it boot up to make sure it was all working fine.

5. Turned off computer, removed the bootable device and installed it on another computer. In my case, I simply used a USB adapter, you may have to change the boot order. Windows will then recognize and install the new hardware first, then it will boot into Windows normally.

6. Once the system is up and running again, downloaded the Windows 11 Installation Assistance from Microsoft's website, and ran it, this will download and install Windows 11.

7. After Windows completed the installation and booted up normally, I turned it off, removed the boot drive and put it back on the z620.

8. Turned on the z620 and let it boot. Installed all the available updates. Done.

I'm on W11 24H2 now, and all devices were properly recognized.