First, be aware that you may not be able to load Windows 11 on any of these "recycled" machines. Despite having more than sufficient hardware specs, Windows 11 just doesn't support this Intel i5-6500 CPU. There's no reason given why this CPU is forbidden but Microsoft gets the last word. There is a process called a Leo Windows 11 image overlay which will allow you to bypass Microsoft's draconian random requirements but it's not for the technically feint hearted and I judged it not worth the effort. Windows 8 is still a perfectly acceptable operating system for running a machine used just for reading the news, paying bills and emailing.I had 2 bigger problems with the Optiplex 3050 that I got. I keep getting random drops from the internet, failures to locate the boot drive, and daily, random BSOD (blue screen of death) crashes. These crashes often made me revive the machine with my BitLocker code that was saved in my Microsoft account. Being a relic from the "IT in the 80's" era, I knew quite a few things to try. I reflashed the BIOS, reinstalled Windows 8, replaced the cheap WIFI dongle with a slightly better one that had an external antenna, updated the 1.X TPM with a new flash of TPM 2.0, etc. That took care of some of the problems.After many hours I tracked down the problem of the unrecognizable boot drive to a dying CMOS battery on the motherboard which is pretty common for a machine this old. I should have replaced this battery first thing and if you buy one of these junkers, I recommend you do the same. Open your case and look for the shiny silver coin battery (aka nickel battery) plainly visible on the mother board. It's usually a common CR 2032 that you can usually purchase for about $3 in your local grocery or hardware store.I've finally gotten all the wrinkles worked out except for the random error message BSODs. Luckily, the machine just automatically reboots and then runs fine for another few hours. I've wasted enough time on this machine. I just live with the crashes.Caveat emptor.