Windows 8 and M17x R3 Observations

So I felt I needed to post this in case others run across the issues I did since I was performing some 'more advanced' tasks related to my Windows 8 installation.

Yes yes, I know Windows 8 is new and no one likes the UI, dont run new OSes right away, etc... but I felt I should at least begin to familiarize myself with it a bit more intimately since I'm sure someone I know or someone in my family will end up with a Win8 machine and start badgering me with questions...

Anyways, here goes:

First, and this should be obvious, but I'm going to say it anyways: Dont perform an upgrade over your Win7 install. I know this is common sense, but I was being lazy and hoped it wouldnt be a pain. It was awful, HOWEVER should you choose to anyways, keep the following in mind:

• If you have your User profile in someplace OTHER than the default directory (C:\Users) because you edited your Registry like I did because I wanted my profile off of my SSD, this will prevent Windows 8 from seeing your user directory and assume it has to do a clean install. You will not have an option to upgrade, your only option will be to keep nothing. The way around this is to fix your registry back to default and move your user profile back to the C drive where it was originally intended.
  
  
• The Windows Upgrade Advisor is missing a number of applications to determine if they are actually compatible with Windows 8... so... Good Luck. BTW... the Slingbox Slingplayer (both the web plugin and the standalone app) is not compatible and causes audio lag (I found the official statement from Sling after I performed my upgrade). However, the facebook app runs well, likely because it is pure Flash and not the ized version their plugin and standalone use..
  
  
• After you install Windows 8 whether you upgrade or clean install, DO NOT MOVE YOUR USER PROFILE with the registry. This will break all native MetroUI apps. I learned this the hard way 3 times on this machine (I didnt know this was causing it), both in upgrade and on fresh install. If you do move your user profile with the registry you cannot move it back to fix it, they will still be broken, you have to re-create the account. The symptom that shows you are having this problem is if you click a live tile or native app like pictures or mail, it will pop up then immediately go back to the MetroUI interface. WORKAROUND: Leave the registry alone, go to each individual user profile library location properties and move it in on the location tab to a prepared location you define. This does work and it is what I have had to do. I believe this has to do with the fact that the Appdata folder cannot be moved.

Second. Should you choose to clean install keep in mind the following (in addition to above):

• The Windows File and Settings Transfer Wizard actually works well, so feel free to backup your machine with it before you blow it away... Just dont expect installed applications to work, you will have to reinstall those.
  
  
• Bitdefender 2012 and Avast have a tendency to break MetroUI native apps (in much the same way as moving your user profile with the registry), dont use them. If you own Bitdefender 2012 you're in luck however, 2013 is a free upgrade to anyone that owns 2012 because of the 2012 incompatibility, just go download it from the site, your current license works (be sure to unregister your machine from MyBitdefender of course). BTW Windows Update Advisor will also tell you BD 2012 is incompatible.
  
  
• The Synaptics touchpad on our Alienwares does not currently have a full gesture-enabled version of the driver that supports all Windows 8 gestures. Synaptics has said they are working on it. The 16.2.16.2 driver does however support swiping on the right edge.
  
  
• If you have an Alienware with an AMD/ATI graphics card, the original driver that Windows 8 installs is awful. I have had much better success with a slightly older 12.8 driver than the supplied driver. I used the 12.11 driver temporarily but I didnt have it long enough to determine if it was decent before I ended up reformatting my laptop..
  
  
• If you hate the MetroUI interface it is quite easy to hide or get rid of entirely with both free and paid applications. I've found the best free application to be ClassicShell. It also gives you the option to restore a likeness of the Windows 7 start menu that is customizeable. RetroUI also has positive reviews, but it costs money and I am cheap. A note on this: The registry hack to enable the old start menu does not work in the release version of Win8.
  
  
• The Alienware Command Center is compatible with Windows 8 and will continue to control the lights on your keyboard and chassis.
  
  
• Be sure to register for your free copy of Windows Media Center if you want native DVD playback.
  Link: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs

More as I think of them... I've done so much with this through this weekend I'm blanking on some of it.

 

I had zero problem installing AMD drivers on x64 version. Simply installed official Dell AMD drivers and then 12.11 beta over them without any issue or BSOD.

Synaptics touchpad is working perfectly as well.

 

I meant the native driver that Windows 8 loads during the installation process. I'll clarify.

 

Personally I almost zero issues. The HD 3000 driver was all that needed to updated manually. After that the Synaptics driver for Windows 8 gestures and done.

 

To be honest, I think a number of my original issues were caused by the fact that I moved my profile around. First back to its original location (so the Win8 upgrade would recognize is), then after the install, back to where I wanted it on my second hard drive. If it had never been moved in the first place (like back in Win7) I likely would have had far fewer issues. I think some stuff was simply lost in the translation.

 

I have also had zero issues with anything i had some bsods but these just seam to issues with windows 8 itself. But all my drivers work great used 306.97 and intels hd 3000 win 8 driver again no issues and all my games work great .

 

I have a problem with integrated card reared. Anybody managed to run it?

 

One more thing I've noticed, battery timing of my laptop has increased amazingly with Win8, even with High Performance GPU selected.

 

I've been running Windows 8 Pro RTM on my M17x R3 since it was released on 15 aug. No problems or issues whatsoever, it works great

I'm curious about the Windows 8 gestures on the Synaptics TouchPad! None of them work with the driver that Windows 8 installs by default.

Where can I find this 16.2.16.2 driver? Does it work ok with the R3 TouchPad?

I found this page and this page about Synaptics Gesture Suite (SGS) for Windows 8 but no download link...

Is this the same software? (seems like it includes an older version of SGS)

 

I don't think the newer driver has been released yet. Other than that driver everything is working 100% including switchable graphics. Not sure how I made it work, but I have the newest beta 3 drivers installed and running flawlessly. Reluctant to tamper with it now since I finally got it working on accident.

 

SOLVED!
Turns out the driver that supports windows 8 has not officially been released, however the good news is after a lot of research I found it. Its version is 16.2.12.3 notice the 12.3 at the end... (The Synaptics Gesture Suite (SGS 12.3).
here are the download links:
http://www.mediafire.com/?g01e2dv3299i57m
http://www.filedropper.com/synaptics162123
includes drivers for windows 8 x86 and x64.
enjoy!

 

Thanks.
This file seems awfully large. I guess it's the whole "Gesture Suite" and not just the driver (TouchPad drivers are usually 15-30 MB, this file is 121 MB).
Did you install it? Does it install alot of extra (i.e. not needed) software?
Do you know if you can install just the driver, or do you have to run the setup?
My system works really good atm, so I don't want to risk sabotaging it

 

its just the driver update, I installed it myself. it probably has scrybe as well i have it so it probably update it as well. nothing else will be installed. the reason its so large is because it includes the driver update for windows 32bit and 64bit.

 

Can you give me your links for the synaptics win 8 drivers ?

I've installed the ones from synaptics web site with the scribe and the touch pad is working like crap, most of the time, 2 finger scroll is not working ... sometimes the touch pas don't even work ...

 

Gonna test it out and will report back. +rep for the link.

 

Tried it yet?

It didn't look like I could update just the driver (Windows 8 Pro x64 default driver), so I guess a full install is needed...

 

Synaptics driver W8 v16.2.21 Drivers | Synaptics

 

Ah yes, they have released new official Windows 8 drivers on their website.

Installed it, tried a few simple gestures (incl edge swipes), and it seems to be working.

Thanks for the tip

 

Thanks for all the helpful stuff above. I tried to download the driver from the official site, but seems the server is offline.

http://drivers.synaptics.com/Synaptics_v16_2_21_C_XP32_Vista32_Win7-32_XP64_Vista64_Win7-64_Win8.zip

Can anyone put it up somewhere?

Thanks!

 

Here you go http://www.filedropper.com/synapticsv16221cxp32vista32win7-32xp64vista64win7-64win8

 

Hi guys,

I have alienware m17x r3 and I want to do clean install to windows 8 but I do not know how to install AMD driver for my 6970M for switchable graphics.
Do I have to install driver from my native AMD 6970M card first or from AMD driver website or install intel graphics first?

I need brief explaniation guys. Thank you

 

I think you need to install AMD/NVIDIA drivers first and then Intel graphics. I will try to do clean install of Windows 8 Pro within this week and I'll post my feedback later.

 

Just do a clean install and then install THESE drivers.

 

Thank you guys for your help.

so after I install these drivers, do I have to install intel graphic driver for switchable graphics?

 

Yes integrated graphics driver install first use the intel website for latest ones, I had issues without them, nvidia installer wouldn't see my GPU without the integrated graphics installed.

 

Not sure if anyone else found this, but I had an issue that the windows update would not download and install the intel drivers properly. I had to download the file and then install it for it work properly.

 

After I installed windows 8 on my M17x R3, I uninstalled Intel graphic driver then I installed catalyst 12.11 beta 11 unifl. After that, the switchable graphics works fine from AMD graphic to Intel but when I switch from Intel graphic to AMD, it shows black screen.

guys help

 

After I installed windows 8 on my M17x R3, I uninstalled Intel graphic driver then I installed catalyst 12.11 beta 11 unifl. After that, the switchable graphics works fine from AMD graphic to Intel but when I switch from Intel graphic to AMD, it shows black screen.

guys help

 

I just do the clean install today after I bought it yesterday. I try to upgraded directly with the option "keep your previous setting, personal file,etc" and it give me horrible result. Freeze everywhere, My 6990m driver is missing, can't install the driver cause the windows says that my driver is up to date. Some programs run like hell also....

enough with that, decide to do some fresh install after back up some of my online games that I played. Everything smooth just fine. The one that only need the update for my system is only bluetooth driver. Installing Display driver like the way I always do. First with the original driver I downloaded from Dell Support, restart, and followed with 12.11 beta 11 along with the caps 2 for far cry 3. Smooth install until now. no need to switch to anything like the comments above. everything works from switchable button, OSD, upper right control panel,etc. the one that still not working is still the brightness control when using a 6990m driver. Switch it to intel HD and you can adjust it just fine......

 

Ok, I have found Windows 8 Pro offered for $40 online (from Microsoft) download I want to perform a clean install and I just wanted to know what should I do...should I throw the 2gb file on a USB3 thumb drive or what? To sum up what I am asking I just want to use my digital copy of windows 8 pro in a clean install and would like to know how to do that xD It brings up the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant and gives me three options when I get to the Choose What to Keep section 1: Windows settings, personal files, and apps. 2: Just personal files. 3: Nothing. I just want to make sure that Nothing will lead me to a clean digital install and not beat my system with the stick of crash.

 

I Have it on a separate DVD, but that is just me. Burning an ISO file is pretty easy though.

 

Arma 2 showed me how easy using Power ISO is ;D

 

i think that is an upgrade version of Windows 8 if it's the same as what i bought. it wouldn't let me do a clean install on it so i would make sure you do a full back up of your current system with an image just in case it won't let you.

 

If you're doing an "in place" upgrade from Win 7 to Win 8, you will get offered the option to create installation media (USB) for installation at a later date. It's probably advisable to clean install from this media rather than keep all existing files/data as that always seems to end up in a right royal mess......nice little article here that covers things: How To Install Windows 8 From a USB Device - Instructions on Using a USB Flash Drive To Install Windows 8

Windows 8 should prompt you with a question of "create .iso image" or words to that effect - then just follow instructions to create the installation USB media.

When I did my upgrade, I elected to "keep nothing" and create a USB installation image so I could install anytime, not just right there and then. You should be fine to do the same. As pointed out though, back up anything you can't afford to lose as when you do install from the USB, it will be a clean install and all previous data will be gone.

 

See, when i created the USB image, and booted from it, it just started like the upgrade screen for eg, "do you want windows to keep the data" etc.

Strange.

 

that's what happened with me as well. when i first installed the upgrade something went wrong and screwed eveything up so i wiped the drive clean and attempted a clean install and it would let me. it said i only had an upgrade version and needed a previous copy of windows installed (or something like that). So i just restored from my image and reinstalled the Win8 upgrade and it has been working fine since...other than the issue with the intel graphics driver which was easily fixed.

 

How to perform a clean installation of Windows 8

I found this tutorial on the site and it seems all I need and do is download it and place it on a USB like you said and I can do an actual clean install.

 

Yeah - that's pretty much it. Very straight forward. When I got to the stage of "Where to install", I just deleted all existing partitions and installed to the new unallocated space.

 

Could I use my USB3 backup drive instead of a thumb drive, I do have some other saved applications on there but would it work for the clean installation process?

 

Also odd question....if I put this on a thumb drive could I also upgrade my desktop that has Windows XP? (Yes the hardware is going to be compatible but I want to cheap out on the OS ;P)

 

So, i read an article, and basically, you can't do a clean install with the Upgrade media, whether you burn it to a disc or a USB drive as it not the full OEM copy of Windows 8 or 'System Builder' copy.

You cant elect to chose 'Don't Keep' any of the previous files and it will perform a clean install of sorts, but not in the true sense of the word,at least that's how i read it.

Clean Install Windows 8 with Upgrade Media | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Anyone who can elaborate/refute this? When you select 'Don't keep' did you have to re-install all drivers?

 

You can clean install from the USB media, I've done it quite a few times already. You just have to select "keep nothing" and then "install by creating media" - you will then be prompted to create the USB .iso and once done, you can boot from it, blow away any existing partitions until you have unallocated space left and simply install to that unallocated space. That's it. Clean install.

Windows 8 itself uses a lot of generic drivers, you will have to manually update a few including Command Centre, OSD, Freefall Sensor Card reader etc. but that really is it. That's as clean as you're gonna get.

 

Yeah re-install drivers, after two clean installs I found out that the Fat32 USB was the smoothest and quickest. Try it from the microsoft confirmation email, it starts downloading without system check (with windows 8 already installed R3 legacy bios) and it formats the USB drive to FAT32 and not the NFTS legacy version.



Realtek card reader RTS5209 Realtek

Qualcomm Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-controller-ndis-6-20-driver.html#post9008283

Wi-fi Intel 64-bit http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...ProductProduct=Intel®+WiFi+Link+1000&lang=eng

Touchpad Drivers | Synaptics

USB 3 Microsoft Renesas driver, device manager>universal serial bus controllers>uncheck power management.

IDT 92HD73 Audio Driver Details | Dell United States

OSD the R3 version is the only one without compatibility issues Driver Details | Dell United States

Command Center grab the R4 A02 (Win8) it works both M17XR3 / M18XR1 Driver Details | Dell United States

Title: Application: Alienware Command Center Application
Version: A02-00
OEM Name:
OEM Version: 2.8.10.0
Computers: Alienware Notebook: M14x, M17xR4, M14xR2, M18xR2, M11xR3, M18X, M17xR3
OS: Windows 8 64-bit - Pro, Windows 8 64-bit - ALL
Languages: Chinese Simplified,Japanese,Spanish,Danish,French,Portuguese (Portugal),Finnish,English,Br Portuguese,Norwegian,Turkish,Korean,Arabic,Russian,Greek,Polish,Italian,Chinese Traditional,German,Swedish
Created: 11/28/2012




1 -Obs.before installing OSD/Command Center/IDT enable .Net framework 3.5 program and features>turn windows features on and off>check .net framework 3.5>ok>download/install>reboot>install IDT/OSD/Command Center same order.

2 -Important extract all downloaded DELL files with 7Zip, install from the extracted folders. This will prevent install errors and windows compatibility settings due to packaging.



Start menu try StartisBack fully native Win8 StartIsBack - real start menu in Windows 8

 

One other important thing to remember is to grab your free licence for Windows 8 Media Center. The free offer expires on 31st January 2013 - you'll then have to pay for it if you want to add it to Windows 8. It's something like $9.99 if you miss out but it's better to save that cash instead of simply throwing it into Microsofts's coffers. Another important date to note is Feb. 28, 2013. Purchasers have to register and download the Windows 8 upgrades before that date or all of these deals become void.

Add features - Microsoft Windows

 

Well wonderful, there has now been some weird error after I put in my paypal information and it says that they cannot process my request at this time...even though the charge showed up on my paypall though it is still pending. I talked to Microsoft support and they said they are aware of this issue and that it should be fixed next week some time (the week it goes back to 200...suspicious). So now I am stuck with a dilemma, wait for the download error to be fixed, wait and see if the error is fixed before the 31st, if not I could buy the CD on the 30th while it is still only 60$...or, order the CD now and not have to miss out on the free windows 8 media center...hmmm

Also I found my Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 disk lying around was going to use it to perform a clean install to fix several problems that I have been having(still planned to get Windows 8) but I followed the normal steps and when I got to disc options in the install windows I had three partitions, one that held all of my data, one that was labeled recovery, and another that had about 38 gb of data labeled OEM. Which of these three do I format to perform a clean install? All of them?

 

I'd double check with Microsoft that you will indeed get the price as it is now, without forfeiting it because of their error. I recall reading somewhere that there was an issue when using PayPal to pay, so they should honour it for you.

Regarding the clean install, as long as you have already made recovery media using AlienRespawn, you can do whatever you like with those partitions. Most of us just delete them all and then install the OS to the unallocated space that is then left. If you ever want to boot from your AlienRespawn recovery media, it will put back all 3 partitions anyway, as it's an image of your factory setup. Of course, you don't HAVE to delete the Recovery and OEM partition (The OEM partition holds stuff like Dell Diagnostics tools) but it does give you back that storage space, which is really negligible if you have a large drive.

 

I opened up Alien Respawn and it says my recovery partition is corrupted for my factory defaults. So should I just nuke this system by formating all my partitions and reinstalling Windows 7 Home Premium with the disc that came with my R3?

 

First of all, I would uninstall the AlienRespawn software itself an re-install it. You can grab the Win 7 download from here: http://alwdownload.alienrespawn.com/alwdownload-en.html. If you nuke your recovery partition before creating recovery media, you'll never be able to Respawn to a factory image.

 

Ok, reinstalled it and now the option to restore to factory defaults is actually there. I press the restart button and proceed to go to Windows Recovery, I choose the restore from Recovery Image but it says there is no recovery image on this computer...so what do I do now?

 

Can you create a recovery image using alien respawn? - can you see the recovery partition on your drive?

Have you followed the instructions from here: How to use AlienRespawn | Dell