Windows 8.1 Pro Super Lite Extreme 32 64-bit -

The USB stick still showed the OS in the boot menu. Even without a drive connected.

The name alone was a warning and a promise. Windows 8.1 Pro Super Lite Extreme 32 64-bit

And PID 4? System . Not nsvc.exe . The kernel itself. The USB stick still showed the OS in the boot menu

I formatted the drive. Clean with diskpart. Zeroed the MBR. Windows 8.1 Pro Super Lite Extreme 32 64-bit

The drive was blank. The firmware was stock. The monitor was old and dying.