Disk read error after attempted Windows11 upgrade on z800 that had back door W11 install

[DavR0s]

So the good news is that the updates all installed, apart from the very last one which is Windows Update 11 24H2 KB 5064081 which is offered after the other updates have all installed ok.  This update seems to install but on restarting the machine fails to boot.  This is what I think I experienced last weekend when I had the original problem.  It seems this update is an optional Preview update so I’m now going to go all the way back again and repeat the whole W11 upgrade again and not take this last update.  I don’t know if there is a brewing problem ahead though. I do find some reports of others experienced installation problems (though unrelated to unsupported hardware).

One question is when the new major update comes through in a few weeks time, will any attempt to install it on unsupported hardware fail gracefully, or am I better ensuring I do the Rufus route straightaway and before I run out of time?  Thanks

[SDH]

I, also, have seen that issue. You may know I have an affection for the Z400/ Z600/ Z800 series and have an optimized Z600 dual processor sitting on my loft desk running W11 24H2, latest updates. However, it is getting to a point where the old hardware is being outpaced by the new OS software. Recently I've seen some issues with running my HP Texas Instruments based PCIe USB3 card in that, which brought USB3 to that generation of workstations for years now. I'm also seeing the benefits of GPT partitioning and running UEFI NVMe boot drives.

Our friend DGroves here posted recently regarding the Z800 that it appears to be time to consider a Z440 and soup it up with the best v4 processor for one's needs (single thread vs multithreaded based on main workload demands) and go forward from there with better than Z800 net performance. I have Z440s here too, have optimized them, and their cost has gone way down now that they're 3 generations back. The speed benefit is so high with those and the hassle factor is so low. They take the Rufus W11 24H2 method very easily versus I'm seeing less success with that in the ZX00 series. Souping up a Z440 has low eBay cost and it performs better than the best you can do with a dual processor Z800 in my opinion. Z640 workstations also have come way down in price, as have the Z840 recycled workstations.

Like you my time has value. My tolerance for hassles is less. My course here will soon be to retire anything less than a souped up Z440 on my loft desk, and I also have been working with optimized Z4 G4 workstations here (which are also coming down in recycled prices as enterprises upgrade to the Z5 and other coming generations).