# The lab: how a page earns its evidence badge

> Every page on this site carries an evidence level. This is what E1, E2 and E3 mean, which machines produce them, and what a badge does not claim.

**Tested on**

- Build: 26300.9457 / 26100.33650
- Edition: Pro (26H2) / Server
- Architecture: x64
- Evidence: E2
- Verified: 2026-10-29

## The short answer

Three levels, and every page declares one:

| Level | Means | What you can rely on |
|---|---|---|
| **E1** | Follows official documentation | the vendor's stated behaviour, on the documented build |
| **E2** | Reproduced in this lab | the steps were run here, and the output is quoted |
| **E3** | Measured on physical hardware | numbers from real silicon, with the method stated |

A badge is a **claim about method, not about your machine**. E2 means "this worked on this build in a VM"; it does not promise your OEM image behaves the same.

## What the lab actually is

| Component | What runs |
|---|---|
| Host | Proxmox VE, 16 cores, 31 GB |
| Client VM | Windows 11 Pro 26H2, `26300.9457` |
| Server VM | Windows Server (LTSC), `26100.33650` |
| Media | official ISO, SHA-256 recorded before install |
| Snapshots | taken before each destructive step |

The VMs are stopped when they are not in use. A page that says "verified 2026-10-29" records the date the run happened, not the date the page was edited.

## What a badge does not claim

- **Not a benchmark.** Timing numbers in a VM say nothing about your SSD.
- **Not driver-agnostic.** A GPU claim reproduced with the VirtIO display adapter is not a claim about your NVIDIA card.
- **Not permanent.** A build that behaves one way in 26H2 can change in the next release; the date is the boundary.

> **Caution: When a page has no badge yet**
>
> Some pages are E1 only — they explain documented behaviour without a run behind them. The page says so in its own lab boundary section rather than pretending otherwise.

## Read more

- [Lab method: E1/E2/E3, PVE templates and snapshots](https://winbook.fyi/en/lab/method/) — the full procedure, including how a run is recorded and what counts as a failure.

## Related

- [Windows downloads: official sources](https://winbook.fyi/en/downloads/)
- [Which Windows 11? 26H2, 25H2, LTSC and ARM64](https://winbook.fyi/en/windows/start/versions/)

## Lab boundary

This page describes the lab; it is not itself an experiment. The host and VM identities above are the ones used for every E2 page on the site.

## Sources

- [Proxmox Wiki — Windows 11 guest best practices](https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_11_guest_best_practices)
- [Proxmox Wiki — Windows VirtIO drivers](https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Windows_VirtIO_Drivers)
- [Microsoft Learn — Windows lifecycle FAQ](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/windows)

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Source: https://winbook.fyi/en/lab/