Windows 11

Windows 11 25H2 Update: Why Every Device (and User) Should Care in 2025

by

Windows 11’s signature Bloom: a vibrant, abstract rose reflecting the bold innovation of the 25H2 Update.

The Windows 11 25H2 Update has just landed, and all of my desktops and my XPS13 laptop made the transition without a hitch. Windows 11 25H2 Update isn’t just another routine patch—it’s a milestone upgrade, and this time, every system I maintain performed the upgrade with zero issues, smooth as ever.

When your entire lineup—including three custom desktops from my My Computers gallery and one reliable XPS13 laptop—nails the update on day one, it’s proof positive that Microsoft delivered on both stability and user experience. But there’s more to the Windows 11 25H2 Update than convenience or cosmetic changes: in 2025, the stakes for regular updates are higher than ever, with new features designed to keep pace with threats and the demands of modern hardware.

Read more

Kinguin Office Key Fiasco: My $32 Lesson in Gray-Market Reality

by

Kinguin Office Key Fiasco, My $32 Lesson in Gray-Market Reality

When I bought an Office 2021 Pro Plus key from Kinguin for $32.05, I thought I’d found a steal. Instead, I discovered why gray-market software keys are a gambler’s game where the house always wins. This is my documentation of 96+ hours in activation limbo, still counting as of Oct 22, two dead keys, and the Kinguin support runaround that followed.

I’m not a tech god—just a persistent tinkerer who needed Office 2021 for WordPress experiments. Kinguin’s marketplace promised a working key at 91% off Microsoft’s retail price. What I got instead was an education in blacklisted keys, CMD error codes, and the true cost of ‘bargain’ software. Here’s the complete breakdown of my Kinguin experience, with timestamps, evidence, and lessons learned the hard way.

Read more

Windows 11 24H2 – and Recall

by

Windows 11 24H2 installed on my ‘Rose’ test computer yesterday (10/19/2024). Specs are: Intel® i9-10900K CPU, ASUS Prime Z490M-PLUS MoBo, MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER™ VENTUS XS OC GPU, and 32GB of memory.

Didn’t time it, but it is a *MAJOR* update and took time to download (Fiber internet) & install. Restart was required, and that also took time with several restarts during that process. Am seeing reports of an hour or more for the update – depending on computer’s age and your internet connection. Mine didn’t take an hour, but total time was over 30 minutes…maybe 40-45 minutes? It is a “full OS swap..”

What’s new in Windows 11, version 24H2:

Read more

ASUS Prime Z790M-PLUS D4 mATX MoBo: Restore an Image and/or do a Clean Install

by

The Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) driver holds the controllers (?) and storage drivers I needed to do a Backup and Restore (Windows 7) of a Win11 Pro saved image, and/or to do a clean installation of Win11 Pro – on an ASUS Prime Z790M-PLUS D4 MoBo.

I am no expert at motherboards, but I sometimes do more ‘Tinkering’ with my main computer (‘Apevia’) than I should—hence the reason for using the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) utility that comes with Windows 11 before actual ‘Tinkering’ starts.

Long story, but I don’t really want to go thru the ‘Nightmare’, in great detail, again. Doubtful that I could remember all the details anyway, since a lot of the experience involved luck, searching, banging away, more searching, more banging away mixed in with deep thought & pondering, experimenting & testing, and a stroke of good luck in the home stretch. 👍😳👌🙂

Read more

Translate »