Windows 11

No more free W7/8 -> 10/11 upgrades.
This probably lasted longer than it should have, due to the pandemic causing PC supply chain disruptions.

Windows Ends Installation Path for Free Windows 7/8 Upgrade​

Created Date: 2023-09-20 | Last Modified: 2023-09-20

Applies To: Publicly Available
Microsoft's free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free.

Details​

To upgrade to Windows 11, devices must meet the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. Some Windows 10 features aren't available in Windows 11. System requirements to experience some Windows 11 features and apps will exceed the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. Find Windows 11 specs, features, and computer requirements.
Get Windows 11 - How to Get Windows 11 for Your Compatible PC | Microsoft.
 
KB5032038: Overview of Windows Backup as installed in Windows 10 and Windows 11
Because Windows Backup is a system component, it cannot be removed. However, we will be releasing a future Windows Update that prevents Windows Backup from appearing on certain user interface (UI) screens for Azure Active Directory (AAD) or Active Directory (AD) users that run the Pro, Education, or Enterprise editions of Windows 10 or Windows 11. For example, after the future Windows update is installed, Windows Backup will not appear in the “All apps” or “Installed apps” lists.
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lol. Enterprise customers are upset. I sense the fake MDM provider hack might just work...
 
https://twitter.com/intent/follow?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1710915255465873560|twgr^660e2a252dffc2a9d3f4445d492d0732c77b896a|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https://www.hwupgrade.it/news/sistemi-operativi/windows-11-basta-un-semplice-comando-per-aggirare-i-requisiti-di-sistema_120825.html&screen_name=TheBobPony

HUGE GROUND BREAKING DISCOVERY!

To ALL users that don't meet the artificial requirements for Windows 11, I GOT SOME GREAT NEWS TO SHARE! When adding "/product server" switch to setup.exe in the Windows 11 setup directory, it BYPASSES the Windows 11 hardware requirement checks.

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Did you know? Has anyone tried it?

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WORKS!!! Done the following test...
1) On a VM installation (without TPM...) with Windows 10 Enterprise licensed/activated, launched, from the Windows 11 23H2 ISO, setup.exe;
2) the installation stops because it "does not meet the minimum requirements" - TPM 2.0;
3) open the cmd (run as administrator) on the ISO device and launch the "setup /product server" command
4) the "Server Installation" message appears but it is installing Windows 11 23H2
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4) The installation/update to Windows 11 23H2 (Enterprise, the same version present in native Windows 10) started and concluded regularly, also acquiring the activation/S/N of the initial version.
Snap15.png Snap16.png
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PS: Since my ISO is in Italian, I apologize for the images in Italian... but that's it....
 
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Yes, and you will have to manually specify the entire command line to run in Unattended mode.

This isn't a "new" discovery, it's been known for some time and AveYo employs it in his MediaCreationTool.bat:
Code: 
::# skip windows 11 upgrade checks: add launch option trick if old-style 0-byte file trick is not on the media  
if "%Build%" lss "22000" set /a SKIP_11_SETUP_CHECKS=0
reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup /f /v AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMorCPU /d 1 /t reg_dword >nul 2>nul &rem ::# TPM 1.2+ only
if "%SKIP_11_SETUP_CHECKS%" equ "1" cd.>appraiserres.dll 2>nul & rem ::# writable media only
for %%A in (appraiserres.dll) do if %%~zA gtr 0 (set TRICK=/Product Server ) else (set TRICK=)
if "%SKIP_11_SETUP_CHECKS%" equ "1" (set OPTIONS=%TRICK%%OPTIONS%)
 
However, it seemed like "interesting" news to me (never thought it was the news of the year...) and I didn't seem to find any trace of it on NTLite.

Then you can quibble as much as you want about who discovered it, used it, etc. etc. but the fact remains that for those who want to update an S.O. dated, without the need for "special" operations is useful.

I leave any other consideration, outside of the "news" to others.
 
clarensio said:
However, it seemed like "interesting" news to me (never thought it was the news of the year...) and I didn't seem to find any trace of it on NTLite.
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That's because Bypass reg keys eventually became the preferred workaround, replacing the older appraiserres.dll hack and other tricks. If you didn't have NTLite or understand how to prep images (as a normal user), then obviously it's a welcome hack.
 
You can just install the Feature Enablement update KB5027397, which turns (Oct 2023) 22H2 into 23H2.
 
garlin said:
You can just install the Feature Enablement update KB5027397, which turns (Oct 2023) 22H2 into 23H2.
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Would it really be necessary? Am I really going to gain anything when most of the stuff included most likely would be purged.
 
Feature Enablement is a stealthy deployment trick for rolling out the next Windows. Prior to the scheduled release, your monthly CU gradually becomes bloated with hidden code for 23H2. Since it's inactive, you don't observe any difference except for the disk space.

When you're enrolled in Insider, those 23H2 features are already turned on. For a normal release, playing around with ViveTool can unlock those features early.

Why is this done? Instead of having everyone download 23H2 update at the same time (which causes network spikes on MS), most of 23H2 has already been pre-installed. Feature Enablement simply unlocks the 23H2 code on your 22H2 system, you're instantly upgraded.

This explains why there is 22621.2428 and 22631.2428. The shared patch level is .2428, and 22631 means you've run the Enablement to switch over.
 
23H2 MCT is available for download. The problem is install.esd is over 4 GB, and requires splitting into 2 WIM files if you're booting FAT32.
 
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