Windows 11, version 24H2 won't install

Don't think this is the case. I spent an entire month trying to get the update installed and the only thing that worked was a fresh install. If ACPI was the issue then this would not have worked

Hi,

All the 24h2 install and compatibility issues look power management related to me. I think these are issues arising from acpi calls that 24h2 can't handle correctly with all systems, especially ai controls for atk and pm.

So, it stands to reason the biggest problems are then with devices that rely on power management features heavily.

I've seen this before with Linux systems using nvidia kernel module, but only a decade ago at the soonest.

The fix on a case by case basis might be disabling the ways in which windows can interface with the atk and acpi on board. For the system I experienced this with, it's the software from windows trying to change settings for the non-standard acpi controller. So, if you're going to keep trying to get the update 24h2 to work that might at least be a place to start.

Just... the firmware pm systems are probably several years newer than the windows code base, is all.

The problem is that we are the ones that are coping it. Not Microsoft!

Indeed. Problem is suppose to stem from staff cuts and relying on the Insider program to pick up bugs. Off the two issues I had, the bugs had been flagged up but nothing done about it. The solutions were on posts of people testing the software. All the red herrings were people posting the same old stuff with long lists of clear this that and the other.. rename etc. All of that can be done by a simple in place reset that's in 23h2, on the menus. Takes a time but quicker than all the commands.

Tightening up the backend security on memory integrity halfway through Windows 11 development isn't a good idea if there isn't a plan to pickup rogue drivers and deal with them rather than just bombing out installation without reporting the issue or dealing with it. That latter I think people got round by relaxing the backend security which defeats what Microsoft were intending to do unwisely. You see that in posts from the technically minded. 99.99% of users aren't too technically minded. Not sure of what % of people haven't been able to upgrade that wanted to. That would be an interesting figure.

The problem is that we are the ones that are coping it. Not Microsoft!

25h2 will just introduce a whole new set of bugs. Like many others, I tried just about everything several times over the period of a month even with Microsoft Support. In the end, I had to install Windows from scratch. We couldn't find any valid reason for the update refusing to install! Lost my copy of MS Office as well as several of my installed and paid for applications. Microsoft, pretty damn poor if you ask me.

The problem was Microsoft decided they needed to do a full install build rather than incremental was a bit like coming to Windows 10 from Windows 7 / 8. But nth many years on, systems are more complex. Not all drivers were tested in the migration to 24h2.

This one created an issue in the first boot on the problem laptop I had. A known issue picked up by the Insider program but remained unfixed:

This one fails if 23h2 but correct in 24h2

 set:      Description:        Intel RST VMD Managed Controller 09AB  
 set:      Parent Device:      ACPI\PNP0A08\0  
 set:      Driver INF Name:    oem80.inf  
 set:      Driver Package Id:  iastorvd.inf\_amd64\_d0a29c6938d49066  
 set:      Class Name:         SCSIAdapter  
 set:      Provider Name:      Intel Corporation  
 set:      Driver Date:        07/22/2024  
 set:      Driver Version:     20.1.0.1015  
 set:      Matching Device Id: PCI\VEN\_8086&DEV\_09AB  
 set:      Driver Rank:        0x00FF2001  
 set: {Migrate Device: PCI\VEN\_8086&DEV\_09AB&SUBSYS\_891B103C&REV\_00\3&11583659&3&E8} 19:05:44.082  
 set:      No function driver service for device 'PCI\VEN\_8086&DEV\_09AB&SUBSYS\_891B103C&REV\_00\3&11583659&3&E8'.  
 set: {Migrate Device: exit(0x00000000)} 19:05:44.087  

We run the setup in the directory intel_rst_19.5.7.1058

That restores 19.5.7.1058 which gets you further on in 24h2... to second boot. (reverted the driver from the update)

Then the second issue which was my main one was memory integrity of a driver. You use the Microsoft  hvciscan tool to find any issues. Basically this time round Microsoft enforced greater security on the build at the second boot, Circa 70%. Some knowledge of piping the results out from the program and deleting the offending driver. In my case was a non compliant Adobe DVD driver that had got on the system. Removal and all was good.

Memory integrity blurb:

The memory integrity system readiness scan tool, hvciscan_amd64.exe and hvciscan_arm64.exe, is used to check a system for compatibility with memory integrity. Memory integrity is a virtualization-based security (VBS) feature available in Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2016 or higher. Memory integrity and VBS improve the threat model of Windows and provide stronger protections against malware trying to exploit the Windows kernel. VBS uses the Windows hypervisor to create an isolated virtual environment that becomes the root of trust of the OS that assumes the kernel can be compromised. Memory integrity is a critical component that protects and hardens Windows by running kernel mode code integrity within the isolated virtual environment of VBS. Memory integrity also restricts kernel memory allocations that could be used to compromise the system, ensuring that kernel memory pages are only made executable after passing code integrity checks inside the secure runtime environment, and executable pages themselves are never writable. The memory integrity system readiness scan tool notifies you if the device has any known compatibility issues.

This was also a known issue in the Insider community but didn't get fixed.

Basically, by changing the rules of the game half way through Windows 11 lifecycle Microsoft brought these issues onto itself.