Finally, an update: a few days ago, the install had to be cloned to another SSD because the system would lock up after login. Surprisingly, the system after cloning was fine. This, however, broke the AnyDVD HD trial eight days in. (I was imaging the somewhat large DVD collection during this incident.) Requesting a new trial also worked...!
Oh, forgot it locked up once trying to remove some old files to free up space. It was also after one other file brought up an I/O error. That is what prompted me to run chkdsk in the first place.
Will have to assess the drive and then possibly clone the install to another one to save it.
The temporary cooler obstructing the location of the power supply on this early 2000s case. The power supply is not in obvious view here, but it is at the 5.25" drive/accessories section (originally meant for optical drives).
Also, the CPU came in for the media server yesterday, and I built it that same day. However, since I'm using a quite old case (looks to be from around 2000), the temporary large cooler blocks the way of where the power supply should be. Right now, the power supply is where the optical drives would normally be.
Now, the media server is running, but there is no media on it yet...
Originally, the unit BSODed, then it was brought to me. Unit also had a delay powering on, then it started checking the disk for errors. Then it booted to the Windows desktop.
Then part of the AMD GPU drivers were corrupt. This prompted me to scan the disk twice: /f, then /r. Noticed the Date/Time Settings would crash, but pretty much everything else was fine.
Sadly, DISM was pretty much useless, but sfc /scannow was not so. This was run twice. Eventually, the Date/Time Settings worked.
Also noticed after DISM, the build number discrepancy showed.
Dad's aging Core 2 Quad machine apparently does not like ancient nVidia graphics cards. Now uses an AMD Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition just to render the desktop and other certain effects better than the onboard graphics does.
Surprisingly, Windows 10 runs pretty well on that machine. Even if Windows 11 didn't restrict hardware requirements, I most definitely wouldn't install it on that system. I already almost didn't install Windows 10 on it; the machine had a Core 2 Quad Q6600. Since the changes - upgrade to fixed Q9550 and 128GB SSD -> 250GB HDD -> 256GB SSD, I finally upgraded it to Windows 10. But...
This required a long EOL version of Windows 10. Basically: Windows 7 -> Windows 10 1607, Windows 10 22H2. I backed up the Windows 7 install before doing this so I had an ass-covering. It worked, though.