My Windows 11 VDI machines have TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled, but Windows Health Check reports the guest CPU as an incompatible Xeon Gold processor. Because the hypervisor exposes the host CPU model instead of a supported virtualized model, Windows Update will not install the larger feature upgrades. Registry bypasses that worked during ISO installation have not helped with ongoing updates.
Our environment is template-based: we update one master template and then recreate the VDI pool from it. We no longer run SCCM, so I'm looking for a practical way to obtain feature upgrades from Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog and apply them manually, preferably with PowerShell or DISM. Has anyone solved this through a registry setting, cluster EVC configuration, offline servicing, or another supported approach?
1 Answer
The setup bypasses only get you through installation; Windows Update performs its own hardware eligibility checks later. For a template-based VDI environment, the usual workaround is to download the appropriate cumulative or feature update and service the master image offline with DISM, then redeploy the pool. Make sure the package matches the image edition, architecture, and build, and verify the resulting build number after servicing.
I tried adding the downloaded MSU with DISM and it reported success, but the image build did not actually change. In the end, mounting the matching Windows edition ISO and running an in-place upgrade worked, although the process was surprisingly slow. Since this only happens about twice a year, I can live with that workaround.