Windows 11 Version 24H2, the major feature update for Windows 11 for 2024 has been released by Microsoft. Technically, this update is called Germanium (ge_release) as Microsoft follows the tradition of using chemical elements as codenames for its major updates.
Although Microsoft has officially rolled out this update, it will be rolled out to users via Windows Update in chunks. If you want to download and install Windows 11 24H2 on your computer right now, you can download it using the methods mentioned in this article.
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Download Windows 11 24H2
Download Offline ISO Files
Windows 11 Version 24H2 ISO files are publicly available from Microsoft. Anyone can download the ISO files. Just follow the steps below to download the correct ISO files:
Go to Windows 11 download page.
You will see three options to download Windows 11. Select the third one “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices“
Select “Windows 11 (Multi-edition ISO for x64 devices)” from the drop down menu. Click on Download Now.
Next, select the language in which you want to download the ISO. Click on Confirm.
You will get a new button “64-bit download“. Click the button to start downloading the ISO file.
Please note that the download size of Windows 11 24H2 ISO is approximately 5.42 to 5.45 GB depending upon the language you select.
Verify your downloaded file
If you have downloaded the ISO file from Microsoft, probably there’s no need to verify the authenticity of the ISO file. However, if you have downloaded Windows 11 24H2 from a third-party source, you should verify if the ISO is in its original form.
To verify the downloaded ISO file, run the following PowerShell command:
Get-FileHash C:\Users\usman\Downloads\Win11_24H2_English_x64.iso
Change the file location to the one where you downloaded the ISO file. This will give you a hash value which you can tally from the table below. If it matches, the ISO file is untouched and originally from Microsoft.Country Locale Hash Code Arabic 64-bit 97ED2DF27DEBE5A8E94FB37BE4383EB8516D5C24117793BDA5C1E13568D3F754 Bulgarian 64-bit 1C1BD6E96290521B7E4F814ACA30C2CC4C7FAB1E3076439418673B90954A1FFC Chinese Simplified 64-bit BD1ECBA89BC59B7B62EF12C88C4E70D456EDAC10B969ECB3299EBD458B1F0FB3 Chinese Traditional 64-bit B92C3D6D428D12CF78A8D287B8FB28FFBC44D4A36B74C1B121C3CF443DC67ED2 Croatian 64-bit 95C7008AB1B0BA65212A36FB728AC93B9D7611400A78393FE7B319ED5B74AC5C Czech 64-bit 76120E535DB895D0EA69F47D55B836940821352A010DEDFCBCFC1E22E619FC4B Danish 64-bit D5D34DFFE45BA557581ADA14AC025DB8AA58989D054706061B7D0E5B47F5FDB9 Dutch 64-bit EE9BC545673D8F954A1EDAC691D749438D3E4DFA10A75D2519F79E3708D79FDC English 64-bit B56B911BF18A2CEAEB3904D87E7C770BDF92D3099599D61AC2497B91BF190B11 English International 64-bit D5A4C97C3E835C43B1B9A31933327C001766CE314608BA912F2FFFC876044309 Estonian 64-bit D12DC03FA15A7F436A800692E9BA30DBDDAA4CD6122DD71719A2898E953B5407 Finnish 64-bit D6057E058021A9DF8A02B7BB16331D88C38E8BB63D5AD897D094E0DF6C6ADB5A French 64-bit B73AA55DB50D2AD348F61C6537DA05C0D6DED78A143763454E977BE85B444119 French Canadian 64-bit 3CA47351DAD16BD3F7AFA27CDEB321DD726B79859DE8D2769359C7621DE38EC4 German 64-bit 96E036F1219F9EE59F96312CE43EC7DF093E768383A77132750271940926A013 Greek 64-bit 92248F9F5A8735337D4B0DCCE4DD13348F8718858590FD9D1EB00020B5AFB33A Hebrew 64-bit 27D8090B9266A2DAC04E403FE63E46ADE661A5661BF26CA5EBB1A2F13245E86F Hungarian 64-bit 7B58807592AEB2FC5DDF5AF9749FA023CE9165AA4A1BF4F4741709F8AA2EE9D3 Italian 64-bit D95EC65EC06B4036835C7571FE0108159848D2883EF5DA3A67E480130B1F5862 Japanese 64-bit A1E1BCB6C014F39E4A324EC24DB1B745EE62617D29A450BF7B2596A3DCCECD7D Korean 64-bit 63ED86ADFC53F464649478F931EAE39A42DB3FD86C266C9B5AF7F8E19D318C51 Latvian 64-bit F4C2BF7C16576E6D631070D7B7CF6F55E8359D0729B571C570DC6F39D77D9EA6 Lithuanian 64-bit 23B14643B0AD6FDD0231EA201C5E1B000912EE3A0542F1B1F6907DB470AE7D7B Norwegian 64-bit 6CBD6C3FED9CE08AF85420F19D01C287FC58EC0C42DC7409D1D5C341CEB6492B Polish 64-bit 654273603A945EBA3B185FD5D2C22207A0EB788B5E3402F71E6D0839B3026943 Brazilian Portuguese 64-bit 1BC63E9C62FE3EB7E46778F24C790933770FA7430304583BBDF96B47A5D61F1F Portuguese 64-bit FAAFEDFC301A381B0712FC8DB9F0A16ADE2716B998DD4855D0A38172A9A87AB4 Romanian 64-bit 8B23AD43DF35EB75FADDFDFC85D616A001A4D72C757E5286011E3DC9452A5862 Russian 64-bit D0FBDB93864BF6C8ADE844473C9600EBB031C8BB656A272C736E45DFBD9B3BC9 Serbian Latin 64-bit 566047460EEA2F0E0D36E7A378DCFEEA79D7D3C0328227646BE4AB9AC39A9E36 Slovak 64-bit 5B77F2B5F7C77ABF68E628AC37A8841BB1058B7173C1C76DC5A5F6C5BBA855FD Slovenian 64-bit 73F0DC7CC15885F565C76D78D54E4E4D9934720FFE583B52EFDDA2E2457402D7 Spanish 64-bit 708AF7C9AC63B7EB045CA9B196568758B6C1749E8D13CADE61FAACBC7C66D142 Spanish (Mexico) 64-bit BA7A9B9A2052DEF8C24BCB88C76A47B2E6A6C6EE547EED226B9702C5C63AFC69 Swedish 64-bit F3674D377253E2D12635FDEAB76193E80BD80C56A41D10AB9CCEFDB0CDF1AD82 Thai 64-bit CAD5590347376103E369D7E04941B94C037F4CC6C75D81DC50E194FFA87C8CF8 Turkish 64-bit A47E054FE0B762F5B48D08E2B6F768F4B1CA0BC6DB831A76E829F92E578483AF Ukrainian 64-bit 68BABB954E4BFDF8A03ABC188D5120CF12D4DCA3CAE68EB1BFD4B64F872826E2
Upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 via Windows Update
Unlike upgrading from Windows 11 22H2 to 23H2, upgrading to 24H2 is different. Either you can upgrade using Windows Update or you can also upgrade using in-place upgrade. We will discuss in-place upgrade in the next section. Let’s check out how to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 via Windows Update.
At the time of this writing, Microsoft has still not made this update available to all Windows 11 users. Microsoft is releasing this update to users gradually through Windows Update.
Once it’s available for your system, you will get an update notification from Windows Update. To download and install the update, please go to Settings -> Windows Update. If you see the 24H2 update, just click on Download & install button. This will automatically download and install the update for you.
When I installed this update on my system, it took more than one hour to complete the update. This means this is a major upgrade. The system will restart several times during the update. Please be patient and do not turn off your computer in the middle of the installation.
In-place upgrade
In-place upgrade is a process that will allow you to update your existing Operating System to Windows 11 24H2 without performing a clean installation. It preserves the current system settings, files, and installed programs.
It is convenient for users who don’t want to upgrade using Windows Update but also don’t want to clean install Windows 11.
Before going with the in-place upgrade, make sure your system is compatible with Windows 11 24H2 requirements.
Media Creation Tool
To run an in-place upgrade, you can either use the Media Creation Tool or the Microsoft Installation assistant. Follow the simple three step process below:
- Download Media Creation Tool
- Launch the tool and select “Upgrade this PC now”
- Follow the prompts and select “Keep personal files and apps” when asked.
This will first download the Windows 11 24H2 ISO and then start the installation. If you have already downloaded the ISO file, you can mount it and run the setup directly without downloading it again.
Installation Assistant
You can also use the installation assistant to upgrade to the latest version of Windows 11. It will automatically check for system requirements and only install if your system satisfies the minimum requirements. This is the safest upgrade option.
Follow these steps to upgrade from your current OS version to Windows 11 24H2:
Download Windows 11 Installation Assistant and execute the package.
First, you will need to download and install the PC Health Check app regardless if you are already running Windows 11. Click “Get PC Health Check app.”
The app will now download. Install the PC Health Check app and see if your system meets the requirements.
Once done, return to the Installation Assistant and click Refresh.
Now click “Accept and install.”
The tool will now begin to download Windows 11 23H2.
Once finished, restart your computer so it can upgrade to the latest version available.
System requirements
Windows 11 24H2 has almost the same hardware requirements as 23H2. Here are the minimum requirements:Component Requirement Processor 1 GHz or faster, 2+ cores RAM 4 GB Storage 64 GB or larger Firmware UEFI, Secure Boot capable TPM TPM version 2.0 Graphics Card DirectX 12 compatible Display Display >9” with HD Resolution (720p)
Conclusion
Although I have upgraded my systems, my advice about upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 is that you should wait at least another month, especially for your production PCs. This is because people are complaining about a lot of issues with different types of hardware when they are installing or upgrading to Windows 11 24H2.
Which feature entices you to install Windows 11 24H2 on your system?
Is there any way of downloading Windows 11 24H2 that I have missed in this article? Please tell me in the comments below.