Z820 BIOS Update Brick Maker

[gerulag]

Pride preceedeth downfall! After successfully upgrading the BIOS from 3.91 to 3.95, I then tried to boot to Windows 7 Pro 64 bit! It would not boot past the welcome Windows screen! After many attempts I decided to reinstall Windows 7 Pro 64 bit from the Z820 System Recovery Discs x2! After installation, attempted to update windows! Download was accomplished but in order to configure downloaded files, the Z820 must reboot after configuring 30%, and unfortunately on rebooting would not progress beyond the Windows Welcome Screen! As a result the updates were not configured to 100% and thus the installation failed! Various restore attempts resulted in achieving access to windows, BUT attempts to update Windows 7 Pro 64 bit Failed, and the merry-go-round restore began anew! Since my previous post I have tried at least five times, same results, at least 20+ hours without success! FINALLY I reasoned that the original Recovery Discs required Bios 3.91! SO today I reverted to Bios 3.91, used the Z820 Recovery Discs, installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, and when updating windows 7 succeeded, was thrilled! The updates configured 30%, the Z820 rebooted and completed configuration to 100%, I had my Z820 back! After supper, I again attempted to install Win 10 Pro 64 bit from an ISO Image! Everything progressed until Stop code Unsupported Processor! Finally turned off the computer, removed the USB Stick! Manual power on, accessed Setup, tried system recovery, loaded files and then reported Unsupported Processor! Z820 rebooted self, Windows 7 loaded and a warning window appeared, Could not install Win 10, error code 0xC1900101-0x20017! This is the same error code when Bios 3.95 was installed and I attempted to install Win 10 from the ISO Image! So, Bios 3.91 works well with Win 7 Pro 64 bit! BUT I have not been able to upgrade to WIN 10 Pro 64 bit! Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

[DGroves]

possible CPU or Ram issue, are you overclocking? if so stop and revert back to factory defaults

try cleaning cpu pads and reseat cpu, and if still issues replace cpu (any cpu the system supports will work for this test)

then do the same for ram, remove all ram but one or two modules and again recheck system boot/update

[gerulag]

No overclocking! I finally found a site which clearly outlines the complexity and proper method of installing Win 10 Pro! There are some caveats when updating from BIOS 3.91 to Bios 3.95 since drives configured under 3.91 are not recognized in Bios 3.95 if performing a clean install of Windows 10, which requires reformatting the drive as GPT, and of course requiring a legal copy of Windows 10 Pro 64 bit to install! There are other methods outlined regarding upgrading from Win 7 Pro to Win 10 Pro, and require the legal Win 10 Pro 64 bit upgrade! The site follows https://support.hp.com/au-en/document/c04740515 . I await the arrival of Win 10 Pro 64 bit before progressing further! In the interim to access my other win 7 pro 64 bit drives required reversion to BIOS 3.91, fiddling with the CMOS and finally gained access to the drives! CAUTION read the document c04740515 carefully to understand what is involved! I just noticed a warning in the directions which I missed before, Intel AMT technology must be disabled in the BIOS before upgrading ! Makes me wonder what else I missed! Thanks for your assistance! George Gerula.

[DGroves]

for the z820 i recommend you create/download/create the LEGACY non UEFI version of the windows 10 installer if using the MS website to create the install media if you select the ISO/DVD option the resulting install disk is both versions. if you select the USB key option the installer is again both versions

if you use a 3rd party program like "rufus" to create the usb key from the MS ISO then the installer is EITHER legacy or UEFI, but not both 

you can use a activated win 7 pro and still do a upgrade to win 10, this method gives the motherboard a "digital win 10 license" that is locked to the motherboard the upgrade is performed on

to do this method, boot into win 7 on the z80 that has a working internet connection and download a earlier ver of win 10 like the 1709/1809 release of win 10 prof installer, open the win 10 install media (dvd or usb key) and from within win 7  run the "setup.exe" from the dvd/usb key

and during the setup select NO do not download the latest windows installer, as the current 1903 ver will not work for some reason. let the installer do it's magic and the resulting win 10 will be auto activated

you can now do a upgrade to 1903 or do a clean install of 1903 as the board is now activated for win 10

http://windowsiso.net/windows-10-iso/windows-10-creators-update-1709-download-build-16299-15/windows...

[gerulag]

Thanks for your suggestions! BUT when I clicked on the link it led me to a site that appeared legitimate, but when I clicked on Download Win 10 Pro English USA 64 bit, it did not download but led to a scam site! I tried 2 additional times, each unsuccessful regarding Win 10 Pro 64 bit download, but instead opened to a different scam site! Perhaps you may have better luck! George Gerula.