installing windows 11 from windows 10 with unsupported laptop

Hello,
Old Lenovo G580 worked perfect on windows 10, watched video on YouTube to update to Windows 11. copied everything as per video.
Last screen message laptop will now restart, after 30 just a black screen, laptop off, powered laptop charge light on, heard laptop trying to boot.
Black screen only, nothing works, mouse, keyboard nothing, tried everything on You tube all pressing all key functions, nothing just a black screen.
Is it time to visit laptop repair shop?, laptop not worth much, not tech minded, any help would be appreciated, thanks.

wilbury7 said:

Old Lenovo G580 worked perfect on windows 10, watched video on YouTube to update to Windows 11....
....tried everything on You tube all pressing all key functions, nothing just a black screen.

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

The Lenovo G580 came with a choice of processors, from 2nd/3rd gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 to AMD E or early A series. Only the Intel processors have the SSE4.2 instruction set that has been a vital and un-bypassable requirement for Windows 11 since version 24H2. Your symptoms are consistent with having the AMD processor without SSE4.2, if so your best option is to go back to Windows 10.

Platform Breakdown & SSE4.2 Support


If you do have an Intel processor, then the correct ways to install or upgrade an unsupported device from 10 to 11 are in this tutorial.

Hello Bree,Edwin.

Thanks for your reply, Laptop has i3 intel processor, cannot do anything on laptop as nothing works .
Laptop seems dead, will not boot, cannot open to try to fix.

Thank you for viewing.

wilbury7 said:

Thanks for your reply, Laptop has i3 intel processor, cannot do anything on laptop as nothing works .
Laptop seems dead, will not boot, cannot open to try to fix.

Click to expand...

Try a hard reset. Remove the battery, press and hold the power button for at least 30 seconds, then try to power it up. Try first without the battery, just the power supply plugged in. If that works turn off and try again with the battery in place. If it fails with the battery, whether on the power supply or not, then it may be that the battery has died.

After a hard reset, see if you can enter the BIOS.

Hello,

Laptop has no external battery mains only, have tried hard reset, unplugging everything to get rid of static, tried all keyboard pressing, took out small CMOS battery, replaced wit new one, removed ram cleaned and seems fine.
HDMI is input only so cannot test screen if is alright, lost for now, cannot go back to windows 10 as nothing works.
Thank you again.

I would remove the HDD, and then see if it will boot to the BIOS. Assuming it does, then verify there are no other hardware issues. I'd also connect the HDD to another PC an verify no issues with it. Assuming the HDD checks out, I'd delete all partitions, reinstall the HDD in your G580 and try again. As far as deleting the existing partitions on the HDD, I prefer to wipe EVERYTHING, including the GUID Partition Table (GPT). I recommend using 'diskpart' from a C:\ Prompt, and running the 'Clean' command.

Lots of videos on YouTube, so not knowing exactly what you did, was this an attempt at a Clean Install of W11, or an 'In-Place Upgrade' from W10? Was your BIOS properly configured for W11; UEFI only, No CSM Support? What method was used to create the W11 Installation Media?

Personally, on a machine this old, I prefer to do a clean install of Windows 10 first, then perform an 'In-Place Upgrade to Windows 11. YMMV, but here's why...

Windows does a horrendous job with Drivers generally, but especially with W11 on old/unsupported hardware. In my experience performing a clean install of W11, Microsoft absolutely SUCKS when it comes to installing the correct drivers on unsupported hardware, often using 'Microsoft Drivers' where a driver provided by hardware manufacturer is basically a requirement for proper performance. They suck SO Bad, I've even seen 'Microsoft Drivers' with Driver Dates of 7/18/1968 and 1/1/1970 installed on Intel System Components!

As such, I prefer to start with clean install of Windows 10, set with up with 'I don't have Internet' and a 'Local Account', so NO Internet Connection! Next, 'Pause' Windows Updates, turn off ALL of the Microsoft Telemetry, and then install the Lenovo 'System Update' tool to install the correct drivers for your machine. Connect to the internet and run System Update a couple of times, as it usually doesn't get everything on the first run. Once your Drivers are all up to date, then run Windows Update. At this point, I will ‘Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows’ using Macrium Reflect.

Then it's on to Windows 11. I do an 'In-place Upgrade' to W11 (without a network/internet connection!), 'Pause' Windows Updates, turn off ALL of the Microsoft Telemetry, and then run the 'System Update' tool again...And again. Once that's complete, then I run Windows Update. Once everything is updated, I do another System Backup and ‘Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows’ using Macrium Reflect. Now there are two baseline images to fall back on should need options or have to reinstall if anything go south in the future.

This 'may' seem like extra work, but I assure you it works every time, and will prevent headaches. I've installed W11 on seven Lenovo PCs with unsupported hardware, and have encountered zero issues once I settled on this method. In the case of your Lenovo G580, getting the proper NVIDIA driver for your N13P-GL Graphics Chipset 'could' be a headache you avoid by using the Levovo System Update tool rather than relying on Windows. Hope this helps...

Can you access the Lenovo G580's boot menu using the Novo button? See the instructions in the YouTube video linked in Bree's post.

If the Novo Button Menu also fails to appear and the screen remains completely black, the problem may involve the firmware, display, or hardware rather than Windows 11 itself.

For older Windows 10 PCs, Flyby11 could be the answer to upgrading to Windows 11 even if you don’t meet all the requirements.

Hello everyone
Will have take time to read through all latest posts, pressing Novo button starts laptop if off but just the same result as power button.
Cannot get into bios by any means, may nhraacecraft's suggestion, but that will take time for me.

Thanks all.

wilbury7 said:

pressing Novo button starts laptop if off but just the same result as power button.

Click to expand...

Just to clarify, when you press the Novo button with the laptop switched off, does the laptop power on but the screen remain completely black, without displaying the Novo Button Menu?

Hello Celery,

Yes that is correct, black screen, fan starts a little then stops, it does the same when the power button is pressed.
No menu of any kind, perhaps some hardware has failed, it is a very old laptop in perfect condition, fault is mine.

Thank you.

If possible see if you can run either bootable or on board Lenovo hardware diagnostics:

Hello,

I do not know how to do this, things are getting too difficult for me.
I looked at the site, but confused.

Thank you for your help.

Some additional Lenovo hardware testing links:




And videos:

Hello zbook,

Thanks for the video link I will view later.

Many thanks.

wilbury7 said:

HDMI is input only so cannot test screen if is alright,

Click to expand...

wilbury7 said:

Yes that is correct, black screen, fan starts a little then stops, it does the same when the power button is pressed.
No menu of any kind, perhaps some hardware has failed, it is a very old laptop in perfect condition, fault is mine.

Click to expand...

The Lenovo G580's HDMI port is an output, not an input.

Could you try connecting your laptop to a TV or external monitor via HDMI and check whether anything appears on the external display?

Hello

I did try the HDMI port to TV only a black screen.
Have just tried removing SSD powered up laptop no bios screen appeared.

Thanks again.

The BIOS should still be accessible even with the SSD removed, so this suggests the problem isn't simply with Windows 11 or the SSD.

Since you've also tried an external display, the Novo button, resetting the CMOS, and reseating the RAM without success, I suspect a hardware or BIOS/firmware problem.

Given the laptop's age, I'm not sure it would be economical to have it professionally repaired.

Hello,

Yes I now agree with your conclusion, for me it was a shot in the dark, too old to spend money on fixing.
Until now I have never had a problem on this laptop, no broken hinges, should have left as was.

Thanks everyone for you suggestions.