Brian

Yeah, Windows 11 does suck, and we are stuck with it. As far as PS, going from 14.5 to 14.6 usually isn't THAT big of a deal, it's when it goes from 14.xx to 15.0 is where the biggest problems occur. From what Adobe has released about the changes to Lightroom 14.5 from 14.4...the one you are most affected is "Generate Previews using GPU." It seems with each and every update Adobe does, relies more and more on having a current (and beefy) Video Card; in fact, I feel it's more important now than the choice of CPU! Which is why you were having such grief with LR. A 3070 can still hold its own with many video games...but Adobe's products? Notsomuch... *Sigh* It's only money, right?

You aren't gonna like the price of switching over to a Mac, keep that in mind. Looks like you got the latest and greatest with NVIDIA. That's what I would have gotten if I were in your shoes. Keep in mind, Adobe pushes out crap now that often is buggy. So it might take an update or two for things to settle down. That's why I recommend to turn off any auto-updates from the Adobe Mothership App; this way you can wait a little to see if any issues are reported or patches (update to the update) are released. While I feel it's important to be conservative, you also don't want to get so far out of date that it causes you problems. It's all a balancing act, IMHO. Keep me posted.

So what did you end up getting? I'm curious. If it is a NVIDIA Card, definitely use the NVIDIA Studio Drivers that I linked to above and NOT the default ones that come with the Card; those are meant for Video Games and General Computing. The Studio Drivers were created for Adobe's Products like Photoshop & Lightroom.

Yeah, firmware updates are done with the Lenovo Update Software. Microsoft’s updates for stuff like that is questionable at best.

There is software that's Linux-based, and free, that will write to all the sectors on a HD, which zeros out the data. I have used a program called DBAN. The trick is that you need access to the HD for it to work. WD External Drives are notorious for having the worst cases/USB interface. The Drive itself might be fine; you just can't get to it and it will require you removing the HD, hooking up a USB to SATA Cable (or installing it into another computer,) booting off the DBAN CD and telling it to Nuke the drive. It's a process, and is fairly "Geeky." If you are looking for easy / wizard based, you are likely gonna have to pay for that software.

I HATE FUCKING HP LAPTOPS!!! Once upon a time, like 20 years ago, they used to be really good. Then HP switched to Eco-Friendly Solder, meaning it's not Lead Based. Which causes so many weird electrical issues, like the power connector developing cold solder joints so the damn thing won't charge. In today's world, I'd never use one. My clients always seem to complain about them and the built-in trackpads just sporadically cause the cursor to jump. It's such a PITA. Personally...I've had the best luck with Lenovo Laptops consistently, that's why I'm telling you to wait. Trust me - I hate wasting money on this shit.

If you have an access panel, and can get to the HD, you can pull the HD and smack it with a hammer. Or get a USB to SATA Cable (They run about $20 or so) and Nuke the HD. Other than that, you will likely need to take it to a place that does electronic recycling.

Well, maybe not a 5070, but since the 4070 cards are tough to find...so the short answer is: Yes. Or quit upgrading each and every time when Adobe releases a new version. Remember, Adobe Photoshop is a Professional Program. Lightroom is to a degree. In either case, all the stupid AI Crap they keep adding to add "Value" so you keep your Subscription active, compounds the problem. Adobe expects you to have a current computer, with current hardware...and that is usually on a 2-3 year cycle. This is why I recommend such expensive and powerful computer setups, for both Mac & Windows; I'm not only building a computer that will run the current version of PS/LR, but one 3-5 years from now...maybe even around the 7 year mark. You also have to keep in mind, the NVIDIA RTX 3070 was released at the end of October in 2020. That's almost 5 years! Video Cards are now "Computers within Computers," so you have a 5 year old Computer, that identifies as a Video Card, and the current version of PS / LR is killing it. Same difference if we were talking about a 5 year old CPU. Make sense? At this point you have two options: Upgrade your Video Card to at least a NVIDIA RTX 4080 with 8-12GB of Dedicated Video RAM. (That's if you can find one.) Also use the NVIDIA Studio Drivers, which are meant for Adobe's Products. Downgrade your LR / Photoshop to the last version that worked well AND STAY THERE UNTIL YOU GET BETTER HARDWARE. Remember, Adobe's Products have changed; it's not CS6 any longer...where you can run it for almost a DECADE without worrying about Hardware. Now with each and every major release, your Hardware becomes obsolete quicker. Years ago, PS would do a Major Update every 4 years or so, with a incremental update around 2 years. Now you'll get a whole new version every year and things just move so much faster. For example, Adobe could release a major update in October, come out with the mid-version around Feb/March and then release the next version in that August (or whatever.) Instead of 4-5 years, you are getting whole version upgrades within 10 months or so, instead of 4 years. See how things are now? At the end of the day, it's all about money. Whether it's Adobe or Hardware Manufacturers, Hell...even Microsoft with Windows 11 is forcing people to buy new Hardware for it to run well. It never ends. It's only money, right?

Looks good. IPS Screens are more expensive and are tough to find on laptops. This is why we have "IPS-Like;" they are cheaper to manufacture and with the Tariffs on China, many manufactures are looking to make as much profit as possible. I'd get that Lenovo as soon as you can.

There's your answer. Especially the Graphics Card. Adobe's products are using GPU for a performance boost, especially if you keep upgrading every time it's offered. I'm still on PS 2023!! I won't dare upgrade because my 2017 iMac won't be able to handle it and PS CC 2023 pushes things as it is. This problem you are facing is only going to get worse each and every time you upgrade.

Damien is correct. Not to mention the stupid LED Rainbow Keyboard causing color casts when editing photos. I'd wait until Sept. Buy it Right-Buy it Once!

Well, this isn't good. The things that cause this issue are usually 1 out of 3, or even a combination of them: Loose / Faulty Display Cable between the Motherboard and Display Display Panel itself. Graphics Card issue, but since it's built onto the main board, it's a Motherboard Replacement, which isn't cheap. If you don't want to take it to Apple, and pay out the nose for the repair, I'd recommend Rossmann Repair Group. Louis and his Team moved to Austin, TX from NYC. They do these types of repairs all day long and will go as far as component level repairs, rather than just replacing the board. I'd contact them for a quote. If you head to Apple, automatic $1000 at the very least for this type of repair, between parts & labor.

Now since you have a new Mac, this isn't turned on by default. So this is what I want you to do next: Open the Finder. The easiest way is to click the Smiley Face on your DockBar: Then head to the Finder Menu (Next to the Apple Menu) and select Settings: Once there, put check-marks next to these items and change the bottom to "Macintosh HD" if you want: Finally, Click the Red Circle in the Upper Left Corner to save the new changes and close the Preferences box. Now when you insert an External HD or Camera Memory Card into a Card Reader, they will appear on the Mac Desktop. With this setting enabled, you should be able to access your various HDs, both Internal & External, along with any Card Readers with the DCIM Folder, making your photos much easier to get to and copy over to a HD/EHD. For example:

Yeah. I'd look to replace it. It's very possible that the HD itself is fine, but the controller board that you plug your USB cable into and the HD Platters interface with is on it's way out. So put it on your list titled, "Expect to Replace these Items, Sooner rather than Later." Here are the instructions to delete the existing partition and create a new one. The screenshots might look different, with you being on a current macOS, but the process is the same. You just have to adapt to the new screens, but you should be able to fiddle your way through it. The process itself hasn't changed since the 1990's. LOL!! Only the various screens look different. Head to Applications Folder >> Utilities >> Disk Utility: From there, select the WD Drive that you are Dorking around with. For my example, I'm going to choose my external Sandisk Drive. Then towards the top, you should see "Erase." Double-Triple-Check you are on the correct HD!!! If you are on the wrong HD, this is a one-way proposition!! Data Recovery on a Mac is a Pain in the Ass!! Now that's settled, Click the Erase Button. A pop up box will appear, asking your what name you want to call the HD, and what Partition Type. Since your EHD is a traditional / spinning external drive, you want "macOS Extended (Journaled)" and make sure you DO NOT SELECT "ENCRYPTED" ANYTHING! Plain macOS Extended Journaled is just fine. Click Erase, just to the right of the "Cancel" Button and wait a few seconds and it should clear things out. Follow the prompts, "OK / Next-Next-Next, Etc., etc. It should take about 10-15 seconds or so.

One more thing!! I just noticed this: We are going to turn that feature off, so be sure to dig through the settings. We do not want your display changing brightness on its own, especially when Calibrating and editing photos. We want clear, accurate and consistent Displays to edit on. AKA, boring and predictable. Leave the "Bad Boy" Displays for others to deal with. Drama is bad when editing photos. We have the posts to prove it.