Specifying for minimal quiescent power while using W10 Task Scheduler

[GidRea]

Hi, hoping for advice. I'm trying to spec myself a new PC for general use, photo editing, and I think my better half plans video editing. No games. Fairly tight on funds. But this thread is just about one aspect.

Present PC is a recycled old mongrel, at least a decade old HP, though W10. After much thrashing about last year, I found the only way I could get my Synology NAS partially backed up to my cloud storage (not one of the big ones, although might move to MS with new PC), was to use Task Scheduler on W10, triggering a batch file wot I wrote (Don't even try to mention Synology's Cloud Sync). This works well, but I'm pretty sure W10/the old PC ends up in a much more power consuming mode than it might otherwise, and definitely can't be shut down. I might be able to do this directly from NAS to Cloud in future, maybe not. In any case, new PC, for editing, will need some automation to ensure edited photos & videos on local storage are flushed back to NAS, but in the sense local is a working cache, NOT that the NAS is a backup of a master on the PC (hope that makes sense). So I may still want to make use of Windows Task Scheduler.

Is a new PC likely to allow the PC to go into truly low power modes, from which Task Scheduler can wake it up, do stuff, then return? Are there particular systems to specify or avoid to do so? Some motherboards not others? W10 Pro needed?

 

[TonyCarter]

You’ve missed out a big part of the equation…your budget!

 

[GidRea]

Hi, I've been looking around for a while, and it looks like the recommended idea on here is to throw out the requirements, and see what you guys & gals suggest? I tried messing with the configurator, but I won't spot subtle non-optimum combos. An some advisers here suggests the default PCS combos are sometimes a bit off. So here goes, hope you can help:

1. I expect to keep it for quite a long time, upgrading bits if useful.
2. General use, Photo editing, and video editing of GoPro footage. Who knows what video standard GoPro will offer in six years time. Definitely no gaming though.
3. Maybe £1500? Funds are a bit tight, but I'm aware this conflicts with other desires. I went through the exercise in 2019 and I'm sure it was loads cheaper! Budget excludes any monitor.
4. I have an old dog PC with W10 that was a free upgrade from OEM W7, can I recycle that recycled license? Might not bother though as preinstalled MS 365 might appeal. Our broadband here is very poor, so too much big downloads gets very frustrating.
5. Anyone got a feel for W11 yet - I'm sure delivery will be after launch date?
6. I have two SATA disks total 3.5TB to recycle for local storage - way more than I should need as long-term storage is on NAS.
7. Case doesn't need lights or bling, but does need space for those 2 disks, and spare PSU power and case cooling to utilise them though. I've no idea if I need a "cooler", never had one before...
8. I'd like core components motherboard, CPU, RAM, Windows/cache SSD to be as fast & future-proof as possible. Perhaps I don't need to overload it with RAM to start with, as it's so easy to add more later, start with 16GB?
9. Must be able to run two monitors, I already have a good, calibrated 24" for photos (HDMI & DP), I'll want a second 24" for general use, adjusted much brighter, must have adjustable height & tilt, and ideally speakers. But I'm happy to source that elsewhere, thus not in budget.
10. Would like min USB 3.0 at least one on the front. Ideally card reader (no CF) & USB C on the front too.
11. Wired gigabit ethernet essential, no need for WiFi.
12. Only basic sound needed.
13. Don't need keyboard, mouse, etc. No optical drive needed.
14. I made a separate thread asking about quiescent power consumption when using W10 Task Scheduler. Might impact motherboard?
    

    SPECIFYING FOR MINIMAL QUIESCENT POWER WHILE USING W10 TASK SCHEDULER​

    Hi, hoping for advice. I'm trying to spec myself a new PC for general use, photo editing, and I think my better half plans video editing. No games. Fairly tight on funds. But this thread is just about one aspect. Present PC is a recycled old mongrel, at least a decade old HP, though W10. After...
    
    
    www.pcspecialist.co.uk
15. err... that's about it.

Hope that's enough to go on, and not unreasonable. It's great people are there to help, perhaps the quote machine should have an option to vote beers for contributors....

 

[GidRea]

What is going on here? I created a thread with a post (about quiescent power). Then I (tried to) create a new thread with a different post. That ended up appended to the first, not in a new thread. Martinr36 actually replied, but I saw my mistake and apologised, and deleted my second, appended posting. It, duly, isn't here now. Then, very carefully, started again in what seemed to be the new thread box. It seemed to work. But on revisiting, it is, again, appended to the thread about quiescent power.

Is everything I post in one area of the forum corralled into the same thread?

 

[SpyderTracks]

What is going on here? I created a thread with a post (about quiescent power). Then I (tried to) create a new thread with a different post. That ended up appended to the first, not in a new thread. Martinr36 actually replied, but I saw my mistake and apologised, and deleted my second, appended posting. It, duly, isn't here now. Then, very carefully, started again in what seemed to be the new thread box. It seemed to work. But on revisiting, it is, again, appended to the thread about quiescent power.

Is everything I post in one area of the forum corralled into the same thread?

Anything about the same topic will be merged into the same thread, there's no need to create new ones, it keeps the forum nice and tidy.

 

[GidRea]

I wouldn't have thought it was the same topic. Can I change the title, then, so I get some answers to the more general, 2nd, issue.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I wouldn't have thought it was the same topic. Can I change the title, then, so I get some answers to the more general, 2nd, issue.

Yes, you can change the title as you like.

 

[ubuysa]

I wouldn't have thought it was the same topic. Can I change the title, then, so I get some answers to the more general, 2nd, issue.

You're seeking information for the same build though, that's why we keep to one thread. If your (rather strange) 'quiescent power' query was for a different build then a separate thread would be fine.

Regarding this 'quiescent power' question, I'm not at all sure what you're asking for here...?

Is a new PC likely to allow the PC to go into truly low power modes, from which Task Scheduler can wake it up, do stuff, then return? Are there particular systems to specify or avoid to do so? Some motherboards not others? W10 Pro needed?

If the PC is on and idle then, as long as you've set your power options appropriately, devices will go into a low power state after a time and the CPUs will be (mostly) running the idle thread - one or two will be running essential Windows processes which you just can't do without of course. If a scheduled task needs to start then it will start and consume as many resources (and thus power) as it needs. When the started task ends the devices will (eventually) re-enter their low power states and the CPUs will be (mostly) running the idle thread again.

Power control is (in the main) done by Windows and most hardware already supports the various power states that Windows manages.

Since this is a desktop the difference in power draw between running flat out and sitting at idle, whilst noticeable, isn't going to be huge. On a laptop where battery life - and thus run time - is critical then maximum power saving is very important. On a desktop however, power saving is really just saving a few pennies worth of electricity. I've never done any measurements of PC mains power consumption between idle and maxed out but I'd be surprised if the difference was large - a few Pounds a year perhaps?

This seems such a strange question that I don't think I'm properly understanding what your asking for?

 

[Martinr36]

You're seeking information for the same build though, that's why we keep to one thread. If your (rather strange) 'quiescent power' query was for a different build then a separate thread would be fine.

Regarding this 'quiescent power' question, I'm not at all sure what you're asking for here...?

If the PC is on and idle then, as long as you've set your power options appropriately, devices will go into a low power state after a time and the CPUs will be (mostly) running the idle thread - one or two will be running essential Windows processes which you just can't do without of course. If a scheduled task needs to start then it will start and consume as many resources (and thus power) as it needs. When the started task ends the devices will (eventually) re-enter their low power states and the CPUs will be (mostly) running the idle thread again.

Power control is (in the main) done by Windows and most hardware already supports the various power states that Windows manages.

Since this is a desktop the difference in power draw between running flat out and sitting at idle, whilst noticeable, isn't going to be huge. On a laptop where battery life - and thus run time - is critical then maximum power saving is very important. On a desktop however, power saving is really just saving a few pennies worth of electricity. I've never done any measurements of PC mains power consumption between idle and maxed out but I'd be surprised if the difference was large - a few Pounds a year perhaps?

This seems such a strange question that I don't think I'm properly understanding what your asking for?

That's what i would have thought as well.

Glad I'm not the only one.......................

 

[GidRea]

Thanks so far. I figured that the obscure query might well rattle on a while, and nobody would feel it worth trying to disentangle to get back to the plain old build question. Anyway, since you asked...

When I was sourcing myself a (SOHO) NAS, for domestic use, that spends most of its time waiting for something to do, there were some online reviews flagging up the potential energy costs. And, looking at NAS mfr specs, and some reviews that actually measured a few, suggested a variation in quiescent power consumption accounting for an annual cost range of £10 to £160 p/a. £160 wasn't for a monster NAS, just going up to 4 bays and a bit more "professional". If a PC follows the same trends, that's enough to cover, say, Adobe CC licences for the year, or a new PC in a decade. So, no, not really pennies.

And, if I want to be virtuous, that's less CO2 and other crap as well.

And, the PC unslept is all lit up all night which is irritating, it shines into the bedroom. And it's the lights that suggested to me that Task Scheduler being "waiting" makes a significant difference. But, please note, this PC is pretty old, pre W10, so I was hoping it's under performance could be avoided.

The PC aspect is a bit annoying, really, as new PC will probably boot fast, and isn't a print or disk server, so we could just turn it off. Except that the NAS using WEBdav won't successfully copy even a nominated fragment of its data to my cloud supplier, so I had a timed batch file on the PC to Robocopy it.

I do have a mains monitor device to observe overnight/quiescent current with, they're cheap on eBay, and it suggests that my old dog desktop, not sleeping very well, is costing ~£120 per annum. To be clear, that's the cost of not using it, active time would be extra.

Just to add a bit of working, very roughly, in UK today, £150 @14p/kWhr is going to equate to 1,000kWhr, ie 0.5A @ 230V. If that was efficiently converted to working voltages in electronic equipment, it's about 9A @ 12v, which suggests an awful lot of kit isn't deeply asleep. Please check my sums! As one of you remarked, a laptop wouldn't last very long on battery at that rate.

I guess that, perhaps, an office-oriented motherboard/BIOS (do we still use a BIOS?) is more likely to offer physical power management features than a gaming machine. But I could be wrong, and it depends upon the OS or an app making use of it.

 

[ubuysa]

Every PC I have ever owned - and that's since the PC was invented by IBM in the 1980's (I think?) - has been left running 24 x 7. If your numbers were real world I would be broke now just trying to keep up with my electricity payments.

And my PCs don't sit idle overnight, they're running backups, archives and quite often other maintenance tasks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

If I could come at this from a different angle.

If you're having to run a PC to automate a script that kicks your NAS drive into backing up to the cloud, the pc requirements are completely irrelevant, your NAS drive or the way it's configured isn't fit for purpose. So long as you have a properly configured NAS, and especially a Synology, there's absolutely no reason it needs a PC for anything at all, it will be more than happy enough to work entirely independently.

I really wouldn't get too worked up about energy costs, unless you're finding that your energy bills are too high.

NAS drives these days are very simply micro servers that deal with many different tasks. At the high end you have media servers on high end Core i9 cpu's that are doing 4k transcoding real time out to the internet.

Those are not a NAS drive in the basic terminology, but most high end NAS will support that function.

I very much doubt your NAS is of that calibre, and more likely has an athlon or celeron or even Pentium CPU perhaps and is more designed for file server applications.

But yeah, the issue here has nothing to do with PC power requirements, the issue is wholly down to your NAS drive not being fit for purpose either in it's current configuration or at a hardware level.

 

[GidRea]

SPYDERTRACKS - Of course you're right, AFAIK I could resolve the NAS/Cloud issue by changing cloud supplier, or by finding some equivalent of RoboCopy on the NAS (it's presumably Linux based?) and making a new script there. I may manage to do one, or both. But I may not. So I'd rather have a PC-side solution as well, unless there isn't any improvement available there. And, if my better half uses the new PC for video editing, I can foresee a local to NAS storage flush being needed, which might have to use... Task Scheduler.

(Aside: It's not that the PC has to "kick" the NAS, PC has to execute the copy of files "from" its network access to NAS "to" cloud via cloud suppliers installed integration under Windows. Synology do offer "Cloud Sync" which uses WEBdav to access arbitrary cloud (and specific methods for some big cloud suppliers). But, "Cloud Sync" has (2020) a well identified failure to recover from WEBdav credentials lapsing, so that it can't complete any significant session; it depends also (I think) on the cloud suppliers security policies. Anyway, they don't get on, and both suppliers just said "tough".)​

UBUYSA - Well, work it out. If you've got an 800W PSU... That's a fan heater on low - how much would you expect to pay for a year? Be a fortune, wouldn't it?

Of course it's not 800W all the time. But even 100W all the time is going to be significant. Not going to bankrupt you though.

I can't add a spreadsheet, can I, here's screenshot of my workings.

 

[ubuysa]

SPYDERTRACKS - Of course you're right, AFAIK I could resolve the NAS/Cloud issue by changing cloud supplier, or by finding some equivalent of RoboCopy on the NAS (it's presumably Linux based?) and making a new script there. I may manage to do one, or both. But I may not. So I'd rather have a PC-side solution as well, unless there isn't any improvement available there. And, if my better half uses the new PC for video editing, I can foresee a local to NAS storage flush being needed, which might have to use... Task Scheduler.

(Aside: It's not that the PC has to "kick" the NAS, PC has to execute the copy of files "from" its network access to NAS "to" cloud via cloud suppliers installed integration under Windows. Synology do offer "Cloud Sync" which uses WEBdav to access arbitrary cloud (and specific methods for some big cloud suppliers). But, "Cloud Sync" has (2020) a well identified failure to recover from WEBdav credentials lapsing, so that it can't complete any significant session; it depends also (I think) on the cloud suppliers security policies. Anyway, they don't get on, and both suppliers just said "tough".)​

UBUYSA - Well, work it out. If you've got an 800W PSU... That's a fan heater on low - how much would you expect to pay for a year? Be a fortune, wouldn't it?

Of course it's not 800W all the time. But even 100W all the time is going to be significant. Not going to bankrupt you though.

I can't add a spreadsheet, can I, here's screenshot of my workings.

TBH I think you're looking down the wrong rabbit hole. If your energy use is really that criticsl then boil less water in your kettle, switch off devices (like TVs etc) that sit on standby when not in use, or turn your heating thermostat down a degree or two. The bottom line is; either you can afford to run a PC or you can't, but asking for a 'low power' PC is a nonsense.

 

[SpyderTracks]

SPYDERTRACKS - Of course you're right, AFAIK I could resolve the NAS/Cloud issue by changing cloud supplier, or by finding some equivalent of RoboCopy on the NAS (it's presumably Linux based?) and making a new script there. I may manage to do one, or both. But I may not. So I'd rather have a PC-side solution as well, unless there isn't any improvement available there. And, if my better half uses the new PC for video editing, I can foresee a local to NAS storage flush being needed, which might have to use... Task Scheduler.

(Aside: It's not that the PC has to "kick" the NAS, PC has to execute the copy of files "from" its network access to NAS "to" cloud via cloud suppliers installed integration under Windows. Synology do offer "Cloud Sync" which uses WEBdav to access arbitrary cloud (and specific methods for some big cloud suppliers). But, "Cloud Sync" has (2020) a well identified failure to recover from WEBdav credentials lapsing, so that it can't complete any significant session; it depends also (I think) on the cloud suppliers security policies. Anyway, they don't get on, and both suppliers just said "tough".)​

UBUYSA - Well, work it out. If you've got an 800W PSU... That's a fan heater on low - how much would you expect to pay for a year? Be a fortune, wouldn't it?

Of course it's not 800W all the time. But even 100W all the time is going to be significant. Not going to bankrupt you though.

I can't add a spreadsheet, can I, here's screenshot of my workings.

To give you some expectation, I run a media cloud server 24/7, it does heavy transcoding both on the Core i7 CPU and hardware acceleration off the GTX 1080 GPU. It has a 750W PSU.

Those are pretty high specs even by todays standards. That PC runs me about £70 a year in energy, and it's constantly in use as it serves people in the UK as well as Australia, so is used while we're sleeping over here.

I'm not sure where you're getting those figures, but they don't relate to any actual usage scenario that I'm aware of.

But as @ubuysa says, if the difference in your electricity bill of a few quid over a year is that important, then perhaps running a PC at all is not right for you.

 

[GidRea]

Hmm, well I'll give up on that aspect here then. Either of you fancy working your way back to the other query about a suitable spec?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hmm, well I'll give up on that aspect here then. Either of you fancy working your way back to the other query about a suitable spec?

If I were you, first thing you need to do is abandon the task manager script entirely, it's the wrong tool. Either get a better cloud service or identify why the service is stopping and troubleshoot that, or run a simple shell script directly on the Synology NAS. At the moment you're adding an entirely unnecessary cost and complexity to patch an issue rather than resolve it.

I have an old dog PC with W10 that was a free upgrade from OEM W7, can I recycle that recycled license? Might not bother though as preinstalled MS 365 might appeal.

You can convert the license to carry over to the new build. I'm unsure what you mean by preinstalled MS 365? If you mean office, that's a digital license also so you can transfer that happily to any machine.

Anyone got a feel for W11 yet - I'm sure delivery will be after launch date?

I have used Microsoft365 which is windows 11 instances in the cloud. I haven't installed it on my personal devices yet as I don't have any hardware that can officially support it. But everything I've read and all reviews on positives and negatives, in the main I think MS have done a very good job (hardware requirements aside). There's a huge amount of copying from Linux on some crucial basics that should have been adopted years ago. On the whole I'd say it's a winner. It's a free upgrade that's provided via windows update, so you'd be eligible for it on a new pc.

I'd like core components motherboard, CPU, RAM, Windows/cache SSD to be as fast & future-proof as possible. Perhaps I don't need to overload it with RAM to start with, as it's so easy to add more later, start with 16GB?

Unfortunately all this is purely down to available budget which is quite low. Prices are at an all time high, literally highest they've ever been and stocks are low, so you can just about factor in a budget build for that cost.

This is the lowest I would go:

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Eight Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.7GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 18 to 21 working days
Price: £1,475.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/y65PrQjXQg/

 

[GidRea]

Thanks SpyderTracks,

For sure you're right about budget. In 2019 it was even less, she hadn't mentioned video then... Never happened, 'cos of Covid. Still, we're retired, can afford to wait for jobs to finish occasionally, just as long as the user interface is smooth enough.

Yes, MS 365, I meant Microsoft 365 Family @£69pa, and the thinking was that it would yield a suitable amount of cloud storage to replace my current supplier. Although I'm not sure if it's available in one lump, or in up to six "user" lumps of max 1TB. Anyway, if I cancel my old cloud, the effective cost is about £20/pa, albeit perhaps less private, allegedly.

W11 is good to hear. I do have a bit of a concern about hassle doing an upgrade from w10 myself. I did three W7->W10 upgrades, all were "successful" eventually, but the old Dell laptop (common as muck) went like a dream, kept all the programs, data etc; the unmodified but old & basic HP desktop would not stay set up, I had to do a fresh setup (I can't remember the exact term); the old, and much tadgered with machine from .... PCS... had to be a fresh setup, took several goes, and needed a fair amount of troubleshooting afterwards (maybe why it blew up after a few months). I don't at all "blame" PCS, but you are of course a small, unAmerican, supplier compared to HP, and several parts were added or changed by me. And when I get your proposed new box I expect to stick some HDDs and a USB 3.x card I have in it. At present, that last level of hassle isn't worth saving £100, and I won't get the thing before W11 launch.

I was going to ask if 1x16GB RAM would be more sensible for future upgrade, but I see it's not an option.

PCS offer a "DUAL" version of that 2060, for slightly less money. But neither PCS nor NVidia websites will tell me what's DUAL about it, or any difference. Is it in any way better or worse?

That's a good chunky (1 TB) SSD, though I see some are faster (and slower). Please would you explain your thinking, because exactly who caches/scratches what to whom/where and when is one of those application-specific areas I know I know nothing about. I used to write real-time video DSP code, but that tells me nowt about what PC photo/video editors do. Feel free to direct me to some primer, if it exists.

Be lovely to have your thoughts on plus or minus £100 options, depending on what I find behind the sofa. Although if it meant starting again, just say so!

Like I think I wrote earlier, there ought to be an option for four-packs for forum...

 

[SpyderTracks]

I was going to ask if 1x16GB RAM would be more sensible for future upgrade, but I see it's not an option.

X570 and DDR4 is dual channel so you always run RAM in matched pairs rather than single sticks.

PCS offer a "DUAL" version of that 2060, for slightly less money. But neither PCS nor NVidia websites will tell me what's DUAL about it, or any difference. Is it in any way better or worse?

Ah, good spot, Dual is just the model name, it's a card by Asus, if it's cheaper, definitely go for it, there'd be no performance difference. There would be a performance improvement going with the 8Gb RTX2060 variant as the VRAM would come in very handy for video editing, but it's currently about £60 more expensive which I don't think is worth it.

That's a good chunky (1 TB) SSD, though I see some are faster (and slower). Please would you explain your thinking, because exactly who caches/scratches what to whom/where and when is one of those application-specific areas I know I know nothing about. I used to write real-time video DSP code, but that tells me nowt about what PC photo/video editors do. Feel free to direct me to some primer, if it exists.

Yeah, that's just a generic configuration, apologies, I totally overlooked the storage, glad you pointed it out. It would actually be better to reduce that to 512Gb of the same Intel M2 for the primary application and OS drive, then for video editing it's worth having a secondary small SSD of around 256Gb purely as the scratch drive. Even a SATA SSD would be suitable for this.

Learn Setting up your Scratch Disks skills in this tutorial video from online course Premiere Pro CC 101 - Get Started Now!

Scratch Disks are introduced and explained in this tutorial. You learn about setting up video and audio previews, capture, and auto-save locations.

ask.video

Be lovely to have your thoughts on plus or minus £100 options, depending on what I find behind the sofa. Although if it meant starting again, just say so!

The only real way to reduce the cost is to reduce the CPU, but that's going to make a severe impact on processing power for any kind of video editing. I would strongly recommend just transferring your current license over and keeping the configuration as it is.

Clean installing windows 10 is rediculously easy, it's far easier than even Windows 7 was, takes about 30 minutes, and only about 5 minutes of that involves any interaction which is just selecting your privacy settings at the end. It's crazy simple.

There's a good article here, follow step one:

How to do a Clean Install of Windows 10 the Easy Way

The Windows 10 upgrade process drags old files, settings, and programs from your previous Windows system to your new one.

www.howtogeek.com

And to migrate your current license again is literally a couple of steps:

Just release the license from the current pc as in this guide: https://win10.guru/windows-10-digital-license-how-to-transfer/

Then when setting up windows 10, just use the email address the license is attached to as your user account. That's it.

 

[GidRea]

Great, thanks, I'll go off and tadger with that spec now.

Later I might ask about photo & video editing software, but OTOH I guess this isn't really the right forum.