Hi All,
I had a strange issue after performing a Windows 11 upgrade on a Dell OptiPlex 9020. I was using a Win11 ISO modified by using Rufus to bypass the TPM and CPU requirements which the 9020 is not supported for. I have used this same ISO to upgrade multiple different "unsupported" machines including an OptiPlex 7020 and all have worked without issue.
The issue occurs after the reboot following the main upgrade portion. When the 9020 restarts, it simply comes to a screen that says, "inaccessible boot device". I have run the upgrade using two different SATA SSD drives and the result was the same both times. I also started with fresh installs of Windows 10 on both drives, and those installs were flawless.
If I pull the drive and read it with a USB to SATA adapter, I can access it without issue. With the drive in the 9020, I can see the drive listed in the BIOS under the Drives option, but it is not listed on any boot options. I have tried turning off Secure Boot, switch to Legacy Boot, etc. but nothing has helped.
I also tried to boot to a Win11 ISO on a USB stick in hopes that I could repair the SSD WIn11 install but I get a message that is detects the drive was in the middle or performing an upgrade and my only option was to resume with a fresh install. So, it clearly detected the SSD drive and a pending WIn11 upgrade but can't get any further with it.
It seems that boot related files/config on the drive are corrupted or missing.
Looking for ideas or advice to anyone who had the same issue.
Thanks,
Jeff
I had a strange issue after performing a Windows 11 upgrade on a Dell OptiPlex 9020. I was using a Win11 ISO modified by using Rufus to bypass the TPM and CPU requirements which the 9020 is not supported for. I have used this same ISO to upgrade multiple different "unsupported" machines including an OptiPlex 7020 and all have worked without issue.
The issue occurs after the reboot following the main upgrade portion. When the 9020 restarts, it simply comes to a screen that says, "inaccessible boot device". I have run the upgrade using two different SATA SSD drives and the result was the same both times. I also started with fresh installs of Windows 10 on both drives, and those installs were flawless.
If I pull the drive and read it with a USB to SATA adapter, I can access it without issue. With the drive in the 9020, I can see the drive listed in the BIOS under the Drives option, but it is not listed on any boot options. I have tried turning off Secure Boot, switch to Legacy Boot, etc. but nothing has helped.
I also tried to boot to a Win11 ISO on a USB stick in hopes that I could repair the SSD WIn11 install but I get a message that is detects the drive was in the middle or performing an upgrade and my only option was to resume with a fresh install. So, it clearly detected the SSD drive and a pending WIn11 upgrade but can't get any further with it.
It seems that boot related files/config on the drive are corrupted or missing.
Looking for ideas or advice to anyone who had the same issue.
Thanks,
Jeff
- Windows Build/Version
- 24H2 (Build 26100, 4946)
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Windows 11 26100.4946
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Manufacturer/Model
- Dell




