I am sorry to inform you that Joan Archer, our very own gadget mad granny, passed away yesterday morning after a brief illness. It is with deep sadness that I received this news.
Joan became a part of our online community in August 2008 and has been an invaluable member since then. Her warm welcome and helpful nature towards the members of all our sites will always be remembered and cherished.
Her loss is deeply felt, and she will be greatly missed.
1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
Internet Speed
150 Mbps
Browser
Edge, Firefox
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.
UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude E4310
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5-520M
Motherboard
0T6M8G
Memory
8GB
Graphics card(s)
(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
Browser
Firefox, Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.
My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Joan was a special person who I got to know real well interacting daily on John's wife Angie's forum Help Me Bake. It is a big loss, and I miss her already. Farewell my friend, rest in peace
ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 with ESS® ES9018Q2C DAC for pinpoint positioning and dynamics
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung 43" HDR Neo QLED Mini-LED Tizen Smart TV (QN43QN90DAFXZC) 2024
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 @ 150 DPI & 120Hz
Hard Drives
2 x Samsung 980 Series - 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4 NVMe 1.4 - M.2 Internal SSD (Windows 11 Pro Dual boot)
PSU
Corsair HX1000i 80+ Platinum Modular Power Supply 1000W
Case
Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Tempered Glass Full Tower Case - Black
Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i RGB Elite 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
Keyboard
Perixx PERIBOARD-732B Wireless Mini Backlit USB Keyboard with Low Profile Keys - US Layout
Mouse
Logitech MX Anywhere 2S Wireless Mouse
Internet Speed
1000 Mbps
Browser
Latest Version Of Firefox & Microsoft Edge Chromium Stable
Antivirus
ESET Internet Security
Other Info
LG Electronics 14x Sata Blu-ray Disk Rewriter - WH14NS4O
2 x OREI 4K 4x2 HDMI Matrix Switch With ARC Audio Extraction, HDR & Downscaling (UHD-402D) so I can send the output of my Cable Box, Roku, or any of my 4 computers to either of my TV's separately or simultaneously.
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro x 2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
My second abomination, I call it the Money Pit Two
CPU
Intel Core i9 12900K @ 5.2 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI
Memory
2 x Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5 6400MHz CL32 Dual Channel Kit (4x16GB Total) Black
Graphics card(s)
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC Edition 8 GB GDDR6X
Sound Card
ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 with ESS® ES9018Q2C DAC for pinpoint positioning and dynamics
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung 43" HDR Neo QLED Mini-LED Tizen Smart TV (QN43QN90DAFXZC) 2024
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 @ 150 DPI & 120Hz
Hard Drives
2 x Samsung 980 Series - 250GB PCIe Gen3. X4 NVMe 1.4 - M.2 Internal SSD (Windows 11 Pro Dual boot)
PSU
Corsair AX860 - 860W Modular Power Supply
Case
Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass Full Tower Case - Black
Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i RGB Elite 360mm Liquid CPU Cooler
Keyboard
Perixx PERIBOARD-326 Wired Mini Backlit USB Keyboard with Low Profile Keys - US Layout
Mouse
Logitech MX Anywhere 2S Wireless Mouse
Internet Speed
1000 Mbps
Browser
Latest Version Of Firefox & EDGE Chromium Stable
Antivirus
ESET Internet Security
Other Info
LG Electronics 14x Sata Blu-ray Disk Rewriter - WH14NS4O
2 x OREI 4K 4x2 HDMI Matrix Switch With ARC Audio Extraction, HDR & Downscaling (UHD-402D) so I can send the output of my Cable Box, Roku, or any of my 4 computers to either of my TV's separately or simultaneously.
DIY Photoshop/Audio/Game/tinker
96GB (2x48) G.skill Ripjaws 6800 MT/s
Bowers & Wilkins 606 S3 speakers; Audiolabs 7000a integrated amp; RSL 10S Mk2 sub; Creative Pebble Pro Minimilist
WDC SN850X 4TB nvme, SN850 1TB nvme, SK-Hynix 2 TB P41 nvme,. Sabrent USB-C DS-SC5B 5-bay docking station: 6TB WDC Black, 6TB Ironwolf Pro; 2x 2TB WDC Black HDD
️ 850W Seasonic Vertex PX-850 ATX 3.0/PCI-E 5.0
EK Nucleus black 360 AIO w/Phanteks T30-120 fans, 2 Noctua NF-A14 Chromax case fan, 1 T30-120 fan cooling memory
Keychron Q3 Max TKL with custom GMK Redsuns Red Samuri keycaps, TX Stabs
Logitech G305 wireless gaming
500 Mb/s 
12 Mb/s
Firefox
Defender, Macrium Reflect X 
Apple 13" Macbook Pro 2020 (m1)
