Windows 11 24H2 Upgrade Deployment Walkthrough (4377615)

Windows Feature Upgrade 24H2 is not currently available in the KACE SMA Windows Feature Upgrade catalog. Alternatively, this upgrade can still be deployed to KACE SMA managed systems by utilizing the Managed Installation feature. This guide details this approach.

After recent changes in how Microsoft's upgrade packages are offered with the introduction of Microsoft's Unified Update Platform (UUP) technology for Feature deployment, Windows 24H2 upgrade packages cannot be offered via the KACE SMA Windows Feature Upgrade (WFU) Catalog. The provided Managed Install process is offered as a workaround while our team investigates for a solution that will continue to provide the already familiar KACE WFU automation.

This guide uses the Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise Edition bundles.

Devices must be running Windows 11, version 23H2 or 22H2 with the May 2024 nonsecurity preview update, or a later update, installed in order to update to version 24H2. Windows 11, version 24H2 is a full OS swap so it isn't available as an enablement package. Windows 10 devices can be upgraded to to Windows 11, version 24H2 using the same familiar processes, policies, and management solutions you used to originally deploy Windows 10.

Step 1 - Create the Package

The build upgrade bundle must be obtained from Microsoft. This is distributed in ISO format and must be extracted and repackaged for deployment with a third-party product, such as the KACE Systems Management Appliance.

1. Download the ISO for the approppiate build. This can be done commonly using two methods (third alternative also listed):
   1. Download the ISO from the MSDN Library, if applicable (requires an MSDN license). The ISO will be named similarly to 'en-us_windows_11_business_editions_version_24h2_x64_dvd_59a1851e.iso'. Ensure the proper edition is downloaded.
   2. Download the Media Creation Tool from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11
      1. Launch the tool.
      2. When it asks "Choose which media to use", choose between USB Flash Drive or ISO. Click Next.
      3. Choose a name (example: Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso) and location to save the ISO file. The utility will now build the ISO file.
         1. Click Finish when the wizard completes.
   3. Alternative Method: Download the ISO directly from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11.
2. Mount the ISO and compress its contents into a .zip file.
   1. In Windows 10 or Windows 11, the ISO can be mounted by right-clicking on the file and choosing "Mount" or simply double-clicking on the ISO file.
   2. Make sure that you have 7-Zip installed from here.
   3. Once mounted, select all of the files within the ISO (not the directory/drive, but the files within it), then right click and choose "7-Zip > Add to Archive... ".
      
      

      

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   4. Since the ISO is read-only, select another location to place the zip file (such as C:\, Desktop, etc). Choose "OK".
      
      

      

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   5. After compression completes, the zip file will be created on the selected location with an automatically generated name (example: setup.zip). Rename appropriately (example: Win11_24H2_English_x64.zip). This zip file will be used in the following steps.
   6. Unmount the ISO (right-click the drive and Eject), then store/discard the ISO, as desired.

Step 2 - Upload the Package to the SMA

Due to file size limitations, the build upgrade zip (depending on size) must be uploaded to the SMA via the 'clientdrop' samba share. The maximum file size for upload via the web UI of the SMA is 2GB (version 8.0 and earlier) or 4GB (version 8.1 and later), and build upgrades tend to be slightly too large for PHP upload. The Samba method avoids the upload limit entirely.

1. If Samba is not enabled, enable it (Samba can be disabled after the package is uploaded and imported in step 3). Samba enable/disable settings are found on the Security Settings page (Settings > Security Settings) in the Admin UI (single-org) or System UI (multi-org). To enable Samba, the "Enable organization file shares" checkbox must be checked.
   

   

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2. Ensure the share is also enabled at the Organization level and that credentials for the clientdrop (admin) Samba share are known. If not, the password can be reset on the Settings > General Settings page in the Admin UI (org-specific for multi-org systems).
   
   

   

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3. Connect to the clientdrop share. This can be done in Windows by opening a Windows Explorer window and typing in the share address for the SMA (example: \\k1000\clientdrop, replacing k1000 with the SMA hostname).
   
   

   

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4. Drag and drop the .zip file created in step 1 into the clientdrop share.
   
   

   

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5. Once the file is listed in the clientdrop share, move on to Step 3.
   
   

   

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Step 3 - Map the Package to a Software Title

Create a software title using one of the two methods listed, and then map the .zip file to it.

Method 1: Build a Custom Software Title

This method allows for a custom title and custom inventory rule to grant greater control of reporting and more obvious naming of each build upgrade. If the custom inventory rule is designed in a way that can detect across multiple editions and upgrade branches, then this method is also edition/branch agnostic. Method 1 is the recommended approach.

1. In the Admin UI, go to Inventory > Software.
2. Select Choose Action > New.
3. Fill in the Name, Version, Publisher, and Notes fields as desired. This is the 'custom' part of this approach. An example is provided:
   
   

   

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4. In the Custom Inventory Rule field, there are many possibilities to detect the build number. For the sake of simplicity, this guide uses the DisplayVersion registry value in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\DisplayVersion to detect the OS build installed. This may not work in all editions/branches of Windows 11.
   
   
   1. RegistryValueEquals(HKLM64\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion,DisplayVersion,24H2)
      
      

      

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5. Next, this is where we associate the zip file from the clientdrop share to the Software title. Simply choose the file in the drop down. This will pull the file into the proper location on the filesystem and remove it from the Samba share.
   
   

   

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6. Click Save. Note: After the page is saved and the file is reassigned, Samba can be safely disabled.

Method 2: Use the Automatically Detected Software Title

This method requires the new build to have been installed on at least one system with an SMA agent that has reported inventory at least once since applying the upgrade. This method is simpler than method 1, because it does not require creation of a new software title or creation of the custom inventory rule to go along with it.

1. After at least one system has been upgraded using an alternative method (i.e. not the SMA) in the environment and has successfully uploaded inventory to the SMA, find the new build title with the appropriate version in the Software list. Example: For Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise (the edition matters when using this method), the title is 'Microsoft Windows 11 Enterprise x64' with a version of '10.0.26100. This title can also be found by viewing the device's inventory record and clicking on the newly detected version of Windows 11 under 'Installed Programs'.
2. Once the correct title has been identified, click on it to go to its software detail page.
3. Perform Steps 5 and 6 only from Method 1 above. Since this title is auto-detected, the fields will be pre-populated and the custom inventory rule is not required.

Step 4 - Create the Managed Installation

At this stage, the Managed Installation is created exactly as any other Managed Installation would be created. The steps are detailed here, but anyone familiar with creating/deploying Managed Installations can likely complete the process from this point on from experience. However, even those experienced may want to take note of the Full Command Line example below.

1. In the Admin UI, go to Distribution > Managed Installations.
2. Select Choose Action > New.
3. Input a Name. For this example, the name is 'Windows 11 x64 24H2".
4. Set the desired Execution option based on the environmental requirements/preferences. Something must be chosen other than Disabled or the MI will not deploy.
5. For the Inventory field, Software must be selected.
6. In the Software drop-down, choose the title from Step 3 that has the zip associated to it.
7. For Associated File, choose "Use associated file" to use the file that is already associated to the software item.
8. If desired, "Delete downloaded files" can be enabled to purge the installer from cache after installation on the client.
9. For Installation Options, choose "Override default installation" and ensure "Don't prepend msiexec.exe" is checked.
   1. For Full Command Line, this example shows an auto upgrade with no UI output on the endpoint and no OOBE upon reboot. All command line options can be found at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-command-line-options?view=windows-11
   2. Full command line used in this example: setup.exe /auto Upgrade /Quiet /ShowOOBE none /EULA accept
      Please note that if /NoReboot option is used, the upgrade process will not be completed until a reboot is performed on the device.
      
      

      

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10. In the Deploy section, assign the MI to specific label(s) and/or device(s) (this is where we strongly recommend testing with a small set of machines in a test label before rolling out to larger, network-wide labels), as needed/desired.
11. Configure the Notify section according to environmental requirements/preferences.
12. Configure the Schedule section according to environmental requirements/preferences. Note: Adjusting the deployment window is not advised, as MIs are only run during inventory interval. If the window is configured such that it is not open long enough for all systems to run an inventory interval, then affected systems will never attempt to deploy the build upgrade. Order defines the order the MI is run in versus other MIs and their order values. If the value in Maximum Attempts is exceeded due to installation failure, the MI will cease deployment attempts for those devices.
13. Click Save. If an immediate test is desired and a test label or test device(s) have been assigned, Run Now can be chosen to push out the deployment to all assigned devices immediately. Otherwise, the MI will deploy based on the Execution option.

If additional assistance is needed, contact Professional Services for this or any other customizations here.