Windows 11 Upgrade as SYSTEM

This repository demonstrates a workflow to in-place upgrade a computer running Windows 10 to Windows 11, while executing as SYSTEM. Used with PDQ Connect but potentially applicable to other management / RMM tools.

Description

• spacecheck.ps1: Checks for 35GB of available space.
• File Transfer: Copy the Windows 11 ISO to a Temp folder.
• W11_upgrade.ps1: Runs the update as SYSTEM.

Usage

spacecheck.ps1

1. Identifies the boot (primary) drive.
2. Calculates Free, Used, and Total space in GB.
3. Outputs this information to a table with Write-Output:

2024-11-26 19:38:18.075 === Drive Space Information ===

Name  FreeSpaceGB  UsedSpaceGB  TotalSpaceGB
----  ------------ ------------ -------------
C     124.02       113.93       237.96

4. Defines an adjustable minimum space requirement (we use 35GB).
5. Throws an error if the minimum space requirement isn't met.

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File Transfer

We use PDQ Connect's File Copy Step to download the Windows 11 ISO (Windows.iso) to C:\Temp.

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W11_upgrade.ps1

1. Defines path to where the ISO was copied.
2. Verifies the ISO was successfully copied.
3. Mounts the ISO and retrieves a drive letter.
4. Defines a path to setup.exe with the ISO mounted.
5. Verifies the path exists.
6. Defines parameters for setup.exe (customizable; we have it set to not automatically reboot).
7. Starts the W11 upgrade process:

2024-11-26 20:31:02.277 2024-11-26 19:40:44 – ISO file verified at path: C:\Temp\Windows.iso  
2024-11-26 19:40:44 – Mounting the ISO: C:\Temp\Windows.iso  
2024-11-26 19:41:01 – ISO mounted to drive letter: D:  
2024-11-26 19:41:01 – setup.exe found at path: D:\setup.exe  
2024-11-26 19:41:01 – Starting the Windows upgrade process...  
2024-11-26 19:41:01 – Windows upgrade process initiated successfully with PID: 7600

8. Monitors the W11 upgrade process every 60 seconds, specifically watching for the following processes to finish: setup, SetupHost, and SetupPrep.

2024-11-26 20:27:02 – SetupHost is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:27:02 – SetupPrep is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:28:02 – setup is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:28:02 – SetupHost is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:28:02 – SetupPrep is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:29:02 – setup is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:29:02 – SetupHost is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:29:02 – SetupPrep is still running.  
2024-11-26 20:30:02 – All monitored processes have exited.  
2024-11-26 20:30:02 – Waiting an additional minute before cleanup...  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – Starting cleanup process...

9. Unmounts the ISO and deletes the ISO file.
10. Initiates a delayed reboot (5-minute countdown) with a full-screen message:

The Windows 11 installation process is now complete.
This system will reboot in five minutes to finish the upgrade.
Please save your work.

11. Confirmation script completed successfully with date/time.

2024-11-26 20:31:02 – ISO unmounted successfully.  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – ISO file deleted successfully.  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – Preparing to reboot the system to complete the upgrade...  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – Initiating system reboot...  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – Reboot initiated successfully.  
2024-11-26 20:31:02 – Script execution completed. The system will reboot shortly to complete the upgrade.