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HP Recommended

Please confirm if I can install Windows 10 in my HP Z400 Workstation ?

 

Based on the datasheet's Windows 10 is not mention

 

 

Also I noticed in this links that no option to download Windows 10 drivers for Z400

 

 

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/HP_Driverpack_Matrix_x64.html

 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-z400-workstation/3718668

 

Please advise

 

 

 

 

 

8 REPLIES 8
HP Recommended

HP has (AND WILL NOT ) certify windows 10 on the z400 as this system is no longer a current product

 

however this does no mean windows 10 will not load, or there is no drivers, it will install fine, but any drivers not found

by the windows 10 setup will have to be identified by you and then said driver(s) will have to be located by you by using google

HP Recommended

Hello @ravenly,

 

Thank you for visiting the HP Forum and thanks to @DGroves for the very helpful information provided.   After communicating with one of the experts about your post,  I have some additional input:

 

As stated above, HP Z400 Workstation is not supported by HP on Windows 10.  However it should work just fine, even better than on W7.

If you have less then 4 GB RAM install W10 32-bit version.

 

Update BIOS and firmware, which you will find under Windows 7 OS.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-z400-workstation/3718668

 

Update all drivers after the W10 installation, mainly chipset drivers. 

 

There are several methods on how to obtain chipset and other drivers. Usually the best result can be achieved by combining methods below.

 

● HP Support Assistant

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp82001-82500/sp82049.exe

 

● HP SoftPaq Download Manager (HP SDM)

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/HP_SDM_Setup.exe

 

● Search Microsoft Update Catalog:

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Home.aspx

 

● You could use e.g. Snappy Driver Installer Lite

http://sdi-tool.org/download/ http://sdi-tool.org/releases/SDI_R1803.zip

Let  me know if you have other questions or require additional information.

I am an HP employee.
HP Recommended

We have multiple Z400 and Z600 workstations now running very well on Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.  Assuming you have a properly licensed W7Pro64 install you can upgrade, still, from that to W10Pro64.  This is not well documented, but it is a gift from Microsoft that continues to work.  This will work whether your W7Pro64 install is one from a MS "system builder's" DVD or the official HP Restore/original HP W7Pro64 install.

 

My method is to download the latest W10Pro64 installer onto a thumb drive, directly from MS, and instead of booting from that thumb drive I simply boot into W7 and then navigate to the thumb drive and in that to the W10 setup.exe on the thumb drive.  I have already done a full tuneup of the W7Pro64 install before this.  I don't choose to save any of the old programs or data because I've already captured an image of that tuned build with Acronis.

 

Then I run the W10 upgrader by launching that .exe, choose to allow the install to do any updates it deems fit, and let the process run this way using defaults.  Once the W10 upgrade has been done the UUID of that computer is registered forever with MS, and you thereafter can do a clean W10 build from scratch, with all the fine tuning you wish.  Usually I just reload my W7Pro64 build at this point, however, because we have not transitioned to W10 fully.  I just want the computer to be "W10-activated" for the future before the gift goes away (still works 3/18).

 

With a company like HP you can be quite certain that the process will get you excellent functional W10 drivers.   I've even gotten this process to work perfectly with xw6400/xw6600 and xw4600 workstations, plus others from that era.

 

We use the version 2 of the ZX00s.... for the Z400 it is easy to tell.... it will have 6 instead of 4 memory slots.  I'm guessing the process would work equally well on the earlier v1 version of these workstations.

HP Recommended

For those who upgraded to Windows 10, will you recommend to upgrade from Windows7 or just stay on this OS for HP Z400?

 

How fast or any advantage if I will upgrade to Windows10?

HP Recommended

Regardless of whether you use W7Pro64 or W10Pro64 you should run it off a SSD.  The Z400 Z600 Z800 are all SATA generation II technology (very fast, and for practical purposes virtually as fast as SATA generation III technology).  My recommendation is that you buy two used Intel 320 series SSDs from eBay.  These are SATA gen II drives, and these let you use the excellent free Intel Toolbox software for SSD management.

 

You can load W7 on one and W10 on the other.  Then from BIOS you can choose your boot drive and easily switch between the two.  The 300GB size is reasonable in price, and the 600GB is not much more, so you can see the difference when you are choosing your boot drive in BIOS.  If you happen to get a version with old firmware the Intel Toolbox software can upgrade it to the latest for you.

 

Personally I'm liking W10Pro64 more and more, and we use W7Pro64 in our work environment still so day in and day out I get to see and feel the differences.... W10 is faster and a more sophisticated OS, as you would expect, but W7Pro64 still is my favorite.

HP Recommended

Not sure how to do a new install of Win 10 on HPZ400.  I have installed a new Nvidia P2000 as there was no internal graphics card.  How the heck do you get to the setup page?  How does the BIOS recogize the LG screen with the Nvidia?  Thx

 

HP Recommended

from a working computer,  download the microsoft windows 10 instalation  image to a usb key (8 gb or larger) or to a CD/DVD

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

set the bios to boot from usb device first, cd/dvd second then reboot the computer

 

the win 10 setup will auto start

 

after ihe win 10 instalation, remove the usb key/cd/dvd, open internet explorer and download the current video driver for your graphics card from the nvidia web site

 

http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/115308/en-us

HP Recommended

I'll add in a bit here..... have done the upgrade from Windows 7 Pro 64-bit HP OEM COA installs to W10 Pro 64-bit over the years successfully this way:

 

1.  I like to do these type of projects using a HP laser PS2 mouse and a HP PS2 keyboard.  PS2 is more primative than using USB devices for these interfaces, and it gives me control when USB may not yet be properly installed and functioning under W10.  You can find these for a very reasonable cost via eBay, even new.  I do the same with my install work on W7 workstations, and have found I can do some repair work with the PS2 devices I cannot do with USB mouse/keyboard.  For example, corrupted USB drivers fixes, and deleting USB root hubs via Device Manager when needed to allow auto-reinstall to recover USB pathways.

 

2.  I update and optimize my W7Pro64 build to the most recent drivers and settings first.... I use the disk cleanup utility reached via navigating to C drive/ Properties, and check all the boxes for cleanup.  I do a full shutdown and cold boot at the end.  Then using the same path I shift over to the Tools tab and choose Error Checking at the top and check both boxes there.... then restart.  This can take some time.

 

3.  I use the latest W10 USB drive approach to installing using the MS Media Creation Tool, and use the generic option of having that created for other computers..... it can handle more that way.rather than choosing "for this computer".

 

4.  Key point..... I don't boot into the USB key.  I boot into W7Pro64 and the plug in the USB and navigate over into it and choose to launch the Setup.exe there.  It is handy that MS and HP work so well together that MS still allows no charge upgrade to W10Pro64 if it sees an official HP licensed W7Pro64 install.

 

5.  This way works for both upgrading atop a W7 build, or to choose to save nothing and get a fully clean install.  There is an art to fully optimizing a W10 build, and that takes some time and reading to parse out.

 

 

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.