Windows 11 Pro for Workstations Unsupported Upgrade 22H2 ->23H2


For Windows 24H2 go here. For 23H2 Continue.

SOLVED PROBLEMS BY READING THIS ARTICLE:

  1. Download Windows-11-Pro.iso [All versions & Workstations] from Microsoft
  2. My PC from eBay.com a hp z640 – default language: de-de, change to us-en
  3. Bypass Restrictions of Win-11 Pro for WS: upgrade 22H2 to 23H2 *
  4. After upgrading from 22H2 to 23H2, Win-11 Pro for Workstations, some minor updates may be needed
  5. Buy Cheap Software keys – Windows 11/10 Pro for Workstations, Windows 11 Pro, Home, etc. **

* Instructions given – This method DOES NOT USE 3rd Party Tools. It does use the Official Windows11.iso from the Microsoft website – download, and some CLI commands – All Safe === All Microsoft…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

** Windows 11/10 Pro for Workstations can be installed on any PC, but to make use of all of its functions and power needed Workstation PC, eg. Intel XEON processor, ECC RAM, Professional Graphics card…etc.


1- Download Windows-11-Pro.iso [All versions & Workstations] from Microsoft

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download

Please go to:

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11

After in the 3rd section of:

Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices

Choose in the drop-down menu: Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices)

Press the button “Download now”

And after in the appeared Section: Select the product language:

English (United States)

Press the button “Confirm”

The Section “Download – Windows 11 English” appears

Press the button “64-bit Download”

Save the file in the prompt as: Win11_23H2_English_x64v2.iso

Repeat the Process but this time – we do this because the eBay PC has a base language of German so needs German ISO to upgrade:

And after in the appeared Section: Select the product language:

German

The Section “Download – Windows 11 German” appears

Press the button “64-bit Download”

Save the file in the prompt as: Win11_23H2_German_x64v2.iso

Note-1: these downloads e.g. Win11_23H2_German_x64v2.iso can be used for installing or upgrading any flavor of Windows 11 like:

Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Pro for Workstations,…

Note-2: Verify your download always to be sure indeed download is from the origin of Microsoft:

Press Verify your download

As described go to the CLI CMD PROMPT or PowerShell and type as shown in the pictures below:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! https://aka.ms/PSWindows

PS D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs> date

22 April 2024 18:44:15

PS D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs> pwd

Path

D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs

PS D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs> Get-FileHash Win11_23H2_English_USA_x64v2.iso

Algorithm Hash Path
——— —- —-
SHA256 36DE5ECB7A0DAA58DCE68C03B9465A543ED0F5498AA8AE60AB45FB7C8C4AE402 D:…

PS D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs> Get-FileHash Win11_23H2_German_x64v2.iso

Algorithm Hash Path
——— —- —-
SHA256 9BD27FD71714D7458D88B537DB74DE115CE7585FCD78783ED38D96A544017B68 D:\Downlo…

PS D:\Downloads\ISOs\2023 ISOs>

====

Now compare the SHA256 CHECKSUM with Microsoft web site at

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 .

If they match you are good to proceed.

====


2- My PC from eBay.com a hp z640 – default language: de-de, change to us-en

If proceed with Upgrade from 22H2 to 23H2:

Normally will run the file setup.exe in the root file structure of the ISO. BEFORE DO THIS the ISO file gets burned on DVD, mounted to a drive, or extracted from ISO to a USB Stick location. You have to do this for both ISOs

Win11_23H2_German_x64v2.iso and Win11_23H2_English_USA_x64v2.iso

There are 2 problems Language should be de-de/German and hardware restrictions.

To bypass the language in the Win11_23H2_German_x64v2.iso extraction replace the folder:

G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\de-de

with

Win11_23H2_English_USA_x64v2\sources\en-us\

We proceed as follows: copy the Win11_23H2_English_USA_x64v2\sources\en-us\ to G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\

Rename the:

G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\de-de\

to

G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\de-de_2\

and the H:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\en-us\ to G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\de-de\ .

This way I can follow in ENGLISH during the upgrade as I do not know German, see screenshots:


3- Bypass Restrictions of Win-11 Pro for WS: upgrade 22H2 to 23H2 *

The last step is to start the Upgrade process from 22H2 to 23H3. If the hardware supports Windows 11, we proceed to run the:

“G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\setup.exe”

But the hardware is unsupported:

So, we proceed as follows:

Open CLI as Administrator and go to the folder:

G:\Win11_23H2_German_x64v2-en\sources\

THEN WE GIVE THE COMMAND:

setupprep.exe /product server

This will start the upgrade process ignoring the Hardware Restrictions of Windows 11.

Please ignore the “Install Windows Server” – It does not matter – it is upgrading the OS in which you run it, in our case Windows 11 Pro for Workstations – but, can also be Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, if e.g. Home or Pro, Windows 11.

Press “Next”

Press “Accept”

Press “Next”

Press “Install”.
[If you use a PC I recommend a UPS or if you use Laptop Plug-in the power cord]


4- After upgrading from 22H2 to 23H2, Win-11 Pro for Workstations, some minor updates may be needed

You proceed normally for minor updates – there is no check for unsupported hardware. See below shots:

here are some German words involved, for unknown reason:

You can search in Settings for “lang”, normally if you log out, re-login, or restart the PC, when prompted – some of the screen words may be in German but you will understand the RESTART Button is self-explanatory.

====

Thank you!

Please share this article with your friends on Social Media!


5- Buy Cheap Software keys – Windows 11/10 Pro for Workstations, Windows 11 Pro, Home, etc. **

Windows 11 Pro for Workstations – $13.99 just

Windows 10 Pro for Workstations – $13.41 just

Windows 11 Pro

Windows 10 Pro

Windows 11 Home

Windows 10 Home

Windows 11 Pro + Office 2021 Pro Plus

Windows 10 Pro + Office 2021 Pro Plus


List of 64-bit Single Board Computers (SBC) with 32GB RAM – Purchase Links to Amazon

List of 64-bit Single Board Computers (SBC) with 32GB RAM

All Purchase Links to Amazon.com or where indicated to Amazon Germany

This Article Coming Soon! But the Amazon.com links are working …!


1

Orange Pi 5 Plus 32GB with 256GB eMMC Rockchip RK3588 8 Core 64 Bit Single Board Computer, 2.4GHz Frequency WiFi Bluetooth Run Orange Pi OS, Android, Debian, Ubuntu (Pi 5 Plus 32G+Case+eMMC+R6+Supply)

https://amzn.to/3UiUElN

https://amzn.to/4aBeoqH [cheaper without case]


2

MeLE Overclock4C N95 (up to 3.4GHz) 32GB 512GB Slim Mini PC Windows 11 Pro Dual HDMI + USB Type C 4K Triple Display WiFi 6 BT5.2 Gigabit Ethernet, Support Linux OS, Mini Computer with VESA Mount

https://amzn.to/3vTuUD8 — Amazon Germany Link

https://amzn.to/3xFmfF1 (newest model by MeLE) USA Link

MeLE Mini PC Windows 11 Pro 32GB Ram 512GB N5095 Small Desktop Computer Overclock3C 2x HDMI 4K USB-C Triple Display 2.4G/5G WiFi 6 BT5.2 GbE Support Linux Micro PC on Industrial IoT MES WMS NAS Office

https://amzn.to/3Ul6Dzv


3

NOTE: This is a Mini-PC and Not a SBC – RAM can be replaced – max 64GB

GMKtec Nucbox K6 Gaming Mini PC – AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS Windoms11pro Mini Computers, 32GB DDR5 5600MHz, 1TB PCIe4.0 SSD, 2×2.5G LAN RJ45, Triple Display, 45-65W TDP, Radeon 780M, Micro PC with ZEN4 and RONA3

https://amzn.to/4aUxUht


4

NOTE: This is a Mini-PC and Not a SBC – RAM can be replaced – max 64GB

Mini PC AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Up to 4.3GHz 8C/16T, 32GB RAM 1TB SSD Graphics 8 Cores 1900 MHz, M.2 SSD NVME Mini Computer WiFi 6/BT5.2/HDMI/TYPE-C/USB * 4, Gaming/Office, HTPC, Workstation, Media Server

https://amzn.to/4cWowMd


5

NOTE: This is a Mini-PC and Not a SBC – RAM can be replaced – max 64GB

MINIS FORUM NPB6 Mini PC, Intel Core i7-13620H 10 Cores 16 Threads CPU 32 GB DDR5/1 TB SSD Mini Desktop Computer, Intel UHD Graphics, HDMI/USB4 Port, WiFi, BT, USB 3.2 × 2

https://amzn.to/3WjpJrd — Amazon Germany Link


My Triple-boot PC – experimental

Windows 11 <==> Unsupported/bypass methods used

3 OSs: Windows 10 Home, Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro

Was single boot Windows 7 Home, after I had upgraded to Windows 10 Home, after dual-boot by installing – bypass restrictions – Windows 11 Home, on another partition, and all this on an HDD 1TB – MBR – 4 Partitions – two OSs.

Recently, I added an SSD and initialized to MBR, thereafter I installed Windows 10 Pro as a triple-boot PC, and just a week before, I upgraded the Windows 10 Pro to Windows 11 Pro bypass…

In other words,

After successfully installing the first Windows OS, later the second OS as dual-boot, and lastly, the third to be a triple-boot PC… the initial boot screen is like the screenshot [you will NOT FIND the keywords: “HOME” or “PRO”, instead of the first Windows 11=”On Volume 3″ is Home and 2nd one “On Volume 5” is Pro]: you have the choice to choose one of the 3 installed Windows OS… to boot with the PC 🖥️…

Default boot OS is the first one on the top, here Windows 11 Pro (On volume 5)

In my case, the first OS Windows 10 is the Home version, Windows 11 (On Volume 3) is also Home – a bypass version, and lastly, Windows 11 (On Volume 5) is the Pro version bypassing version, of the restrictions of Windows 11 on old Hardware of this experimental PC.

About my storage hardware: I have a 1TB HDD and a 512GB SSD.

On HDD there are 4 partitions of which two are for Windows 11 and 10 Home versions, the others are system small partitions, and lastly, on SSD I have the Windows 11 Pro bypass version.

Some other notes:

In this screenshot during the Boot process – OSs do not have “Home” or “Pro” instead they have plain Windows 10 or Windows 11… names.

Also, because having two Windows 11 OSs the one first installed is “On Volume 3” and the last installed is “On Volume 5” to distinguish between the PC boot with OS, and it’s putting these labels by itself. The PC does not put “Home” or “Pro” labels and Windows 11 (On volume 5) is the Pro version all others are “Home” versions. If a dual boot system was e.g. Windows 10 & 11 the screen would be without “On Volume X”… because would be self-distinguishable.
Because all OSs are Windows the chosen OS screen is the modern traditional screen. If a Linux OS is installed alongside a Windows dual-boot OS, the screen to choose OS may be black and not blue.

You have 30 seconds to decide the preferred boot OS, and this period can be set up from inside any of Windows’s OS Settings, you can also, set up the default OS, and this default will be the first OS in the list… during boot/post of the PC.

To face the Windows OS many updates at least two per month normally, from Microsoft, I have taken over the following actions in each of my Windows OS:

I have pinned the Windows Settings/Control Panel to the Taskbar to Create a Restore Point.

Also, in this Settings window’s other Tabs, you can set the Default Boot OS of the 3 installed, the Time you must choose an OS, on PC boot, set OS Environment Variables, etc. Settings of the OS you are currently using.

If updating one OS of the three, I make sure it is the default OS, due to some auto restarts during the Windows OS update may require…

As you see in the last two screenshots below, as said and before, you have 30 seconds to decide the preferred current boot OS, you can set this period from inside any Windows OS (same Settings Window but another Tab as Create Restore Point popup Window) and also you can set up the default OS, if don’t choose any OS on boot up process, this default will BOOT and be the first OS in the list… during boot/post of the PC.