Upgrading to Windows 11 using Software Management Solution
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Upgrading to Windows 11 using Software Management Solution

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Article ID: 249016

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Updated On:

Products

Software Management Solution IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

How to upgrade the OS to Windows 11 using Managed Software Delivery

Environment

ITMS 8.5, 8.6

Resolution

Upgrading to Windows 11 using Software Management Solution.

This article covers a process to upgrade a Windows 10 client (we used Windows 10 Pro N x64 US OS (21H2) workstation (where "TPM" is added to pass Windows11 installer requirement check)) to Windows 11 using Software Management Solution.

Please note that not all environmental circumstances may have been seen during the processes, so you may experience other issues not covered here.

To obtain an ISO, please see: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11


You can determine if you need to use the media creation tool to build the .ISO file or go to the Volume Licensing Service Center if needing an Enterprise Edition.

The following process was used successfully to upgrade. Please pay attention to the notes as they cover important items to consider.

  1. Using a Windows 11 .iso file, extract the contents to a package repository folder that you will use as the source of your Package.
  2. Compress the contents of the folder by creating an archive file (.zip is the only supported compression type) within the folder and give it any name.
  3. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Manage > Software.
  4. In the upper left pane, click on Add Software > Import Package.




  5. In the selector dialog, browse to the folder you created. NOTE: do not only select the folder but select all the files and folders and set "Setup.exe" as the installation file before clicking OK. Select the compressed file created above. It will then prompt you to ask if you want to extract the archived content - choose yes.     



    Note:
    In case of Software Library is used:
    • You must extract all data from the ISO file.
    • After that, zip all this extracted data. 
    • Specify this zip file for Package import and click yes to extract.

      This is how it looks when you specify the .zip file for package import.

       

      This is a result of extracting all files during the zip package import


  6. Under the Package, Server tab, be sure to stage your package as needed. Since the package is very large, having it on the appropriate Package Servers will save time.
  7. Click OK to import the Package.
  8. On the next screen, the default should be to create a New Software Resource. Check the box to Open the Software Resource upon creation.
  9. Under the Package tab, select the Command line and click Edit (pencil icon).
  10. There are several options to consider when generating the command line for the upgrade. Note the following:
    • Command-line option 1:
      • "setup.exe" /auto upgrade /Copylogs %SystemDrive%\ProgramData\temp
      • /auto upgrade is vital to ensure this is an upgrade scenario.
      • The /Copylogs switch was used for testing but can be used to provide data if an upgrade fails.
      • If properly configured, you can use the /Unattend:unattend.xml switch to provide an answer file to any prompts you may get.
      • The command above is suggested as a way to check that for example Windows10 21H2 x64 client computer can successfully upgrade to Windows 11 OS (Some user interactive actions will be required to accept license agreement only).
      • NOTE: If expect silent install,  2 more options are needed, 

        /quiet /eula accept

        "/EULA accept" is to suppress the Windows Setup end user license agreement

        "/quiet" is to suppress any Windows Setup user experience including the rollback user experience

        So the commandline will be: "setup.exe" /auto upgrade /quiet /eula accept /Copylogs %SystemDrive%\ProgramData\temp




        Note:
        Customers can find all information from Microsoft on what command line to use for Windows11 upgrade/install here:
        https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-command-line-options?view=windows-11 
  11. Click OK to save the Command line, and click OK to save the Software Resource.
  12. Go under the Manage > Policies section (or click the Policies blade in the lower left-hand pane).
  13. Browse under Software, right-click on the Managed Software Delivery (or custom folder), and choose New > Managed Software Delivery.
  14. Provide a Name, such as “Windows 11 Upgrade”.
  15. Under Policy Rules/Actions > Software, Click Add > Software.
  16. Choose the new Windows 11 component created previously.
  17. Double click on the name of the software package in the blue bar, go to the Rules tab, click * New, then create a detection rule like the following but appropriate to the version of Windows 11 being installed (double check this in the registry on a Windows 11 computer):


    Note:
    We created a "Detection" rule to make sure that current Windows doesn't have Windows 11 build version 22000
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

  18. For the applicability rule, you need to create a checking of "TPM version" and "TPM State" to make sure that the TPM version is at least 2.x and is enabled. (See "How to get current “TPM” custom inventory information from managed Windows client computers" (KB 250792)

    As a result, the Managed Delivery policy should arrive on the client computer and the Windows 11 wizard appears and only asks to 'accept' license agreement, then Windows 10 should successfully upgrade to Windows 11 version.



  19. The default Run As is the System Account. If this will not be sufficient in your environment, please change to Specified User under the Advanced options.
  20. Under the Applied to section, carefully target those systems to be upgraded.
  21. Under the Schedule section, use a Scheduled Time, do not have it repeat.
    NOTE: When you are done upgrading a client, remove that client from the policy to avoid any unintentional repeat run of the policy.


  22.  Click Save changes to save the policy.

The policy is now ready. However, this may not be all that is required. You may get a prompt on the client that some software installed was not compatible with Windows 11. Run a test to find out if this will be the case for you and take any appropriate actions. Options include:
   •    Add Uninstall Software components before the upgrade to remove incompatible software.
   •    Use the unattend switch to choose what the upgrade should do in those circumstances.
   •    Have someone available at the system to uninstall or skip what is not compatible.


This article may be updated as more is learned about Windows 11 upgrades

Additional Information

"Upgrading to Windows 10 or upgrading an existing version of Windows 10 using Software Management Solution" (KB 178784)

"How to get current “TPM” custom inventory information from managed Windows client computers" (KB 250792)

"How can I Identify the Status of the TPM Chip on the Computers in my Environment" (KB 221244)

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