*Official* Alienware Official Windows 8.1 support thread [Questions and Discussions Here]

Windows 8.1 Articles
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What is new in Windows 8.1?

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How to boot to the desktop in Windows 8.1

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How to Perform a Clean / upgrade Installation of Windows 8.1

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Windows 8.1 Pre-Update Checklist

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Alienware Windows 8.1 Update Product Support

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Dell Computer Support for Windows 8 Upgrade

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How to Setup Multiple Monitors in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

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Microsoft Windows Locks Up or an Error Occurs

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Computer Will Not Boot to Microsoft Windows 8 or Windows 8.1

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Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 STOP Error (Blue Screen) Troubleshooting

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Accessing Windows Troubleshooters in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

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Resolving Local Account Password Issues in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

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Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Video Settings

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--Moderator Note--
The previous Windows 8 stick thread can be found here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...upport-thread-questions-discussions-here.html

It will be "un-stickied" and replaced by this new thread.

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Cool, thanks.

 

I guess nothing on wifi connection drops after updating from Windows 8 to 8.1? Ever since I updated my wifi drops and reconnects over and over. Sometimes I have to reconnect manually even when it's set to connect automatically. I have the killer e2200 wireless. Updating to the latest Killer Suite v2_1.0.36.1278 made no difference.

 

Not sure if it will help your Killer e2200, but this trick has resolved some issues for those with Broadcom WiFi cards. Might be worth a shot... Seems that many folks using Killer Wireless products are having issues.

If that does not help, you may find something useful in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...thread-look-solutions-ask-questions-here.html

 

Did Mr. Fox's suggestion work? Have you tried setting the WiFi adapter not to turn off at any moment on the power options?

 

Everything works for me in 8.1, except since I have broken SLI bridge I can't activate SLI yet.

One thing though, the Alienware wouldn't shut down after going to 8.1 from 8. It's related to the hybrid shutdown on Win 8. I had to disable hibernate in elevated CMD, by typing "powercfg /H OFF" to fix it.

Dang Microsoft needs to respect their customers. When I press Shut Down I mean Shut Down and nothing else.

There are quite a few drivers that have been updated, maybe Dell should update the drivers update page. Most drivers work, if not one could run the Intel Update Utility to update it. The only driver was the Intel ME driver, I had to find and download the driver from Intel. "Search driver automatically" didn't work. Then again all of the services installed by that driver is useless for home users and can be disabled anyway.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=22596

 

For those that want to be able to do a clean installation instead of going through the Windows 7 > Windows 8 > Windows 8 Store Service Pack upgrade download rigmarole and already have a valid product key, NewEgg is accepting pre-orders for the installation media for only $14.99. Grab it before it's too late.

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Back-up Media - (Media Only)

For those that choose to do a clean installation, you may find that the Windows 8.1 installer from the ISO does not accept Windows 8 product keys. If Windows 8.1 setup does not like your Windows 8 product key, then you should be able to install the operating system with a generic key. Use generic key <code style='margin: 0px; padding: 1px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Consolas, Menlo, Monaco, 'Lucida Console', 'Liberation Mono', 'DejaVu Sans Mono', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono', 'Courier New', monospace, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 19px;'>334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT</code> for core, and <code style='margin: 0px; padding: 1px 5px; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); font-family: Consolas, Menlo, Monaco, 'Lucida Console', 'Liberation Mono', 'DejaVu Sans Mono', 'Bitstream Vera Sans Mono', 'Courier New', monospace, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 19px;'>XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB</code> for Professional, and then enter your existing Windows 8 key after installing. You will not be able to activate Windows unless you enter your own valid product key.

If you choose to go the "service pack" upgrade route from the Windows Store and run into an error stating something to the effect that Secure Boot is not configured correctly, the following steps may fix that problem:

• Run gpedit.msc
• Go to "Computer Configuration"
• Select "Administrative templates"
• Go to "All settings" in the right window pane
• Scroll down to "Use enhanced boot configuration data validation profile"
• Select the "enabled" option and apply the change
• Exit and Restart

 

Was it confirmed that this will work with the Windows 8 upgrade key?

Also, as of a few days ago, you can download the Windows 8.1 ISO via this method: Windows 8.1 Tip: Download a Windows 8.1 ISO with a Windows 8 Product Key | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

EDIT: Also, I did the Win 7 > Win 8 > Win 8.1 upgrade all in one fell swoop (clean install of Win 8 next to Windows 7)...would it be worth my time to go back and do a clean install of just Windows 8.1 Pro?

 

Hey guys, I tried the method you linked to (and I also took note of the generic keys in case they were needed), but the problem is that in order to download the 8.1 ISO, you have to initiate download for the 8.0 ISO first by entering your product key. Well, our Alienware Windows OEM keys don't seem to be valid for this. I tried (extracting it from the BIOS with some software) but the Upgrade Utility says it's not good for a retail version of Win.

So how else could we get a 8.1 ISO?

 

I tried what you suggested, both enabling and disabling "Use enhanced boot configuration data validation profile" in gpedit but it didn't work.

I found a way that worked for me. It's a registry edit which disables UAC.

Run "regedit" with administrator and go to:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\currentversion\policies\system", and search for "EnableLUA", then change the value from "1" to "0", I didn't bother to change it from hex to decimal. Just leave it as hex, but change the value to 0. Restart PC, and bam the annoying "SecureBoot isn't configured correctly" watermark is gone.

Alternatively, one could startup regedit, and press Ctrl + F and search for the key "EnableLUA". Change the value of the first instance that shows up from "1" to "0", then restart the computer.

Nothing else is changed, and Metro Apps run fine. All of them still there, unchanged. You don't want to mess with Metro Apps because some of them cannot be deleted, if not you will break Windows Update. I am speaking from personal experience here.

I got my free copy of Win 8 Pro from the school, so that method worked for me. You could try downloading using the Metro Market app, but I am not sure.

I tried what you suggested, both enabling and disabling "Use enhanced boot configuration data validation profile" in gpedit but it didn't work.

I found a way that worked for me. It's a registry edit which disables UAC.

Run "regedit" with administrator and go to:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\currentversion\policies\system", and search for "EnableLUA", then change the value from "1" to "0", I didn't bother to change it from hex to decimal. Just leave it as hex, but change the value to 0. Restart PC, and bam the annoying "SecureBoot isn't configured correctly" watermark is gone.

EDIT:
After disabling UAC through the registry, Metro Apps wouldn't start now, it says the apps can't run while UAC is off. Well not that I use any Metro apps at all. I will try to find a way to get the Metro apps working.

I got my free copy of Win 8 Pro from the school, so that method worked for me. You could try downloading using the Metro Market app, but I am not sure.

 

Disabling UAC is usually the first step I take when setting up a new Windows installation. But, I have had that "Secure Boot is not configured correctly" watermark appear on two Windows 8.1 machines with Secure Boot disabled and UAC already turned off. Doing that may not work for everyone. It is definitely worth trying in lieu of taking additional steps to get rid of the annoyance. Thanks for posting the suggestion. I am going to do that registry tweak even though I don't need to just for good measure. I love disabling unnecessary Windows "stuff" just to spite Micro$oft, LOL.

I just found out about the tweak in Group Policy Editor. What I did to get rid of it before I learned of that tweak is use My WCP Watermark Editor to remove it. That utility also removed other watermarks, like "Windows Confidential" for preview versions of Windows 8, the build number watermark and the "Test Mode" watermark that sometimes appears after disabling Driver Signature Enforcement.

I never use Metro apps... I feel that most of them are useless bloatware/adware garbage and they are more or less ignored. If there was a way to completely uninstall the Metro UI Start screen from Windows 8/8.1, I would uninstall it because I find it more or less worthless and un-enticing. All of the software I use and like has to be installed and all of it is run from the Windows desktop, so Metro is a totally irrelevant gimmick that offers no value.

Another tweak that I like to implement (for Windows 7 and Windows 8) is disabling DEP. It is a cinch even for noobs to do with EasyBCD.

 

Disabling UAC using the registry tweak by changing "EnableLUA" from "1" to "0" will make Metro Apps fail to start.

I tried using My WCP Watermark Editor. So it did removed all other watermark, but not "SecureBoot isn't configured correctly".

Edit: I think I have found another workaround, for those who want to remove the watermark and keep their Metro Apps. Some might prefer to remove it altogether But removing Metro Apps broke my Win 8 auto update, so I'm just going to leave it as it's.

http://www.alltechtalk.net/2012/09/04/bypass-windows-8-uac-while-keeping-metro/

Another quirk that I experience if I disabled UAC through the registry tweak, is that ThrottleStop won't start up minimized anymore. This is rather annoying, no easy way to remove that watermark.

I have removed all other watermarks using the Watermark Editor. For now since I can't remove the watermark without more quirks I will just leave it there.

For what's worth, enabling SecureBoot doesn't give me any problems. The GPUs (flashed vBIOS) work fine. But I'd prefer to leave SecureBoot disabled, hopefully Microsoft will fix it.

 

Intel Provides Fix for Windows 8.1 Secure Boot Issue

Softpedia reports that Intel has provided a simple workaround regarding an error after updating to Windows 8.1 that reads "Secure Boot isn't configured correctly." This message reportedly appears on the desktop as a watermark, and is one of the more common errors encountered when upgrading to the new OS.

Microsoft previously suggested that inflicted users check to see if Secure Boot has been disabled in the BIOS, and if so, then re-enable it. If that doesn't work, then reset the BIOS back to factory settings, or if that doesn't even work, reset the PC back to its original factory state and then re-enable Secure Boot.

"To determine which of these is the problem, you can check the event logs. Go to View Event Logs > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > VerifyHardwareSecurity > Admin, and look for either of these logged events: 'Secure Boot is currently disabled. Please enable Secureboot through the system firmware. (The PC is in UEFI mode and Secure Boot is disabled.)' or 'A non-production Secure Boot Policy was detected. Remove Debug/PreRelease policy through the system firmware,' the company explained.

However, as Softpedia points out, many computers do not have a Secure Boot option in their BIOS menus, so Microsoft's fix won't make much sense. Luckily, Intel has the correct solution: simply reboot the device, enter into the BIOS mode, and access the secure boot options menu. Enable secure boot (if disabled), check on the option that says "Install Intel platform key," press F10 to save the changes and restart the system.

Of course, that doesn't solve the issue for those who don't see a Secure Boot option. These users are suggested to install the latest BIOS update.

 

Nasty, nasty Micro$oft. Their solution is not actually a solution but a subtle attempt at forced compliance. Those morons seem to forget that some customers do not want anything to do with Secure Boot and have it disabled intentionally. The Micro-Nazis are slowing unfolding their evil plans right under our noses. We don't want the latest BIOS and the restrictions that come along with it. The day is coming when we will not be able to boot anything that the Micro-Nazis don't want us to be able to boot.

 

Hey Mana, did you try the method outlined here? Windows 8.1 Tip: Download a Windows 8.1 ISO with a Windows 8 Product Key | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

 

Hmmm ... My Alienware 14 has a Secure Boot option and I have turned it off and on, but I have never seen an option that says "Install Intel platform key".

Update:
After turning on secure boot, there is an option to set the secure boot mode to custom. However, even after setting it to custom, there is no option to add keys. There is only an option to delete keys. I suspect that Dell needs to update the UEFI/BIOS.

 

Hey Mike,

yes, as I said in the previous post I tried that method a few days back (I received my AW17 and put a brand new SSD on it with Win8 clean install).
It is not a problem with the activation of 8.1, just with downloading the ISO via 8.0 key. Specifically, here:

If you try that with the Alienware OEM key (which you have to extract from the bios), it says it's not good for downloading a retail ISO.
This is not a real problem as I went ahead and installed 8.0 and then updated to 8.1. It was just for convenience's sake and so that I didn't have to re-download 3gb each time.

 

You could try someone else's retail key for Win 8. It's not like you'll be activating this key -- just using it for download.

 

Sorry, misunderstood what you were saying. My bad.

 

Maybe you missed my previous post. You can use a generic product key (XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB works for me) to download and install. After installing, use your valid Windows 8 product key to activate Windows. I just tested this generic key again and it is letting me download Windows 8.1 right now.

 

So, in your expert opinion, is there any benefit in doing a clean install of 8.1 rather than what I did (7 to 8, 8 to 8.1)?

 

You save a lot of time, certainly. Other than that, provided you tidy up a little with the drivers and the old installation files, there shouldn't be any major differences.

Sorry for the confusion in previous posts, probably due to my bad non-native English.

Mr Fox, I didn't realize those keys were good for downloading the iso as well. Thought it was just a workaround to activate post-install. Will give it a try, thanks.

 

If you installed and uninstalled drivers and programs along the way -- especially through the years, likely there is a lot of junk hidden in the registry. That junk may not immediately be a problem but possibly could become a problem. A clean install will avoid that junk. As well, permissions related to various system/user folders may have become corrupt or something other than expected by win 8.1. A clean install will fix that. Various application settings may have been made which are less than optimal. A clean install will give you a fresh start. Last, a clean install will allow Windows to be set-up optimally for your system, rather than merely adopting previous settings.

 

I always prefer a clean install. In fact, I did a clean install on the Alienware 18 last night. I used a USB stick from an ISO I had downloaded the day of launch. I shrunk the Windows 7 SSD partition by 100GB and just did a clean install of Windows 8.1 and everything went smoothly. It's working fine in dual-boot.

On my M18xR2, I already had Windows 7 and Windows 8 in a dual-boot configuration and upgraded to the Windows 8 SP1 (8.1) through the Windows 8 App Store. That also went without a hitch.

I have two other systems running Windows 8 that the upgrade failed miserably on. One automatically rolled back to Windows 8 and still works fine. The other failed, roll-back failed, and constantly blue-screened. I could not fix it, so I ended up restoring it from a clean "full-installation" drive image. (Thank goodness for drive images... beats the heck out of spending hours installing drivers and software applications one-by-one.)

So, long story short, gather what you need for a clean install. Use the generic key to install and your original Windows 8 key to activate. Go ahead and upgrade and hope that all goes well. If it does not, you will be fully prepared to do a clean install.

I had no trouble downloading an ISO the first time, but I attempted to download another copy of Windows 8 and now I keep getting an error "We can't connect right now. Check your internet connection or try again later." Have seen that for the last 2 days on multiple attempts from different machines. I see where others are reporting the same problems. Not sure what's up with that. I have tried both wireless and LAN and same story both ways.

 

Hello Friends,

So i finally spent time this weekend and moved to Windows 8.1.

Thank you to Mr. Fox and Luis for their guide to install windows 8.1. Everything went smoothly and i was up and running without any glitches.

The only thing is see now is this watermark.

I have a legit copy of the Windows 8.1 as i have a active msdn account.

I purposely disabled secure boot, as it does me no good ! i have seen a number of people who seem to face the same problem.

 

It's very disturbing and immoral that Micro$oft is putting that watermark on the desktop to try to deceive consumers into enabling Secure Boot when they have no need for it. The next step will probably be a mandate from the Fuehrer that it must be enabled for the system to function.

Download My WCP Watermark Editor and use it to remove that watermark. I have used it many times and find it works well.

You can try setting the BIOS like this...

...instead of like this

Having the BIOS set like that might make the watermark go away without having to use My WCP Watermark Editor. The watermark has never appeared on my systems with the BIOS set like the screen shot on the left. The difference between the two is the BIOS is using true Legacy mode without UEFI and no option exists for Secure Boot on the left; whereas the one on the right has UEFI boot enabled, but using the Legacy Option ROM (Secure Boot is available, but it is disabled).

 

Mr Fox. Thank you for providing the guide to install windows 8.1, I would like to share my experience and confirm a few things i have been told.

1. I have no wi-fi drops, i installed the latest Killer wireless drivers from their site and everything's been smooth.
2. As soon as i installed the Alienware OSD windows stopped complaining about missing drivers for a few things.
3. Use the new accelerometer driver from Alienware's site. it is compatible and works.
4. I can easily switch between UEFI and legacy boot, i do not have re - install windows. Some people don't know what they talking about on the internet.

 

When i installed windows i disabled legacy rom and secure boot and only enabled UEFI, and i got that ugly watermark. I changed my bios setting to the image on the left and the watermark went away, when i changed the setting to the right the watermark was back up.

I can use the WCP to remove the watermark, but that only removes the build text, "Secure boot is not configured correctly" is still displayed.

 

So far I haven't found a way to remove the watermark if one boots using UEFI. Actually there was one way which I mentioned in a few posts above, which involves registry tweak but it will disable UAC completely and break your Metro Apps. Go to registry, find "EnableLUA", change the value from 1 to 0.

Microsoft being rather nasty now forcing people to have UAC for Metro Apps to work.

The watermark can be removed by enabling SecureBoot though, which I have tried, and didn't give me any problem with the flashed vBIOS. As for now I am leaving it disabled because I have had enough bad things happening.

The Watermark Editor removed everything other watermark except that one.

You can do that because you when you upgraded to 8.1, the drive has already been formatted to MBR. Did you upgrade from Win 7?

Windows will not boot with Legacy BIOS if the drives are formatted to GPT. It will only boot in UEFI.

 

I was on windows 7, and my SSD was formatted as NTFS and used MBR to boot, i was using legacy BIOS.

When i installed windows 8, i followed Mr. Fox's guide and just deleted all my partitions on my OS drive and installed windows 8.1 on unallocated space, this formatted my drive to GPT format.

Now i can boot it in UEFI and Legacy option, based on how i set my BIOS options.

 

Yes, I do not recommend using GPT. I use only MBR. I did a clean install of Windows 8.1 to an MBR disk and I can switch back and forth as well. The only major reason for anyone to use GPT is if they want more than 3 primary partitions plus 1 extended partition on each disk, or a single partition larger that 2TB. None of those "features" are necessary for me.

 

Good day, fellow Alienware owners, and my thanks in advance for any help provided

To "celebrate" the free upgrade to Windows 8.1, I installed a Samsung 840 EVO SSD for the system drive, flashed the latest BIOS (A12), cleared CMOS and loaded default settings (no overclocks). Also did a fresh install of the OS for good measure. My specs are as follows: i7-3610, 8GB Kingston HyperX, GTX 675m SLi, 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD, CM U3 Cooler.

Now every time I run 3dmark Vantage it crashes (black screen, no BSOD, and restarts) randomly during the second test "New Calico", and specifically only during this test. The things I have tried so far:
-Gone back to A10 (previous bios, never happened to me then)
-Disabled EC sensor and force 100% fan speed in HWinfo
-Clean install (again) with just the chipset and nvidia drivers
-Scrub through sensor logs and found nothing to indicate origin of problem
-No problems with OCCT, Furmark, Prime95 though

...all to no avail, I'm afraid. I am now at my wit's end and with my warranty having just expired (2 weeks ago), I'm at your mercy.

 

Reinstall Windows 7 or 8, or do a fresh install of Windows 8.1 instead of an in-place upgrade. Something obviously did not go with with the Windows 8.1 upgrade and you'll spend more time trying to fix it than it is worth... faster just to start over the right way. There are reports all over the web about Windows 8.1 upgrade problems. The Windows 8.1 upgrade went fine on my M18xR2. It failed on two other machines. One I decided to not upgrade at all and the other I did a clean install and it works fine now.

Edit: I see you said you did a fresh install install. Sorry I missed that on my first read.

Did you wipe the drive and install Windows to unallocated disk space, or use Windows 8's built in feature to "refresh" the installation? If only the latter, do the former. Be sure you have nothing enabled related to Secure Boot. Use Legacy Mode with MBR (not GPT) disks. Look back a page or two in this thread for tips.

If you did a true clean install, go back to Windows 7 and see if you machine works correctly. If it does not, you have a hardware problem that needs to be fixed.

 

I wiped the drive ("clean" command in diskpart) prior to installation. Only in legacy mode & MBR as the 675M cards do not have UEFI capability. Tried going back to 8 which was stable for me but the problem still persists. Something new after the BIOS update was some kind of EC sensor that I never noticed before, and the fan on GPU 0 now reads 0% (Still functions though). Will try Windows 7 next. Thanks Mr. Fox.

 

Oh no... I just noticed that you mentioned the A12 BIOS update. Perhaps that is what is causing your grief. I tried warning people against fixing something that is not broken. I have a sick gut feeling that A12 screwed things up for you. Considering the warpath that Micro$oft is on to try to force everyone into Secure Boot, avoiding BIOS updates that do not provide a clear and unmistakable fix for a known issue that one is suffering with is probably the best advice for all enthusiasts to follow regardless of what brand system they own. Hopefully, A12 did not introduce Secure Flash or write protect registers that will prevent you from blind flashing down to an older BIOS. I would check with an expert like svl7 to find out if he knows of anything about A12 that would prevent you from downgrading.

Installing Windows 7 may restore order to yout state of chaos if A12 introduced a more aggressive flavor of UEFI/Secure Boot since Windows 7 does not support Secure Boot.

 

I can confirm that going back down to A10 is possible as its already been done to mine. However I have a terrible hunch that the EC firmware update is permanent regardless of bios revision. Thankfully the A12 bios allows legacy booting so no issues on the uefi front. I guess upgrading the bios was a big mistake.

 

I wish you went back a couple of pages and read. I had the same questions, and Mr. Fox rightfully saved me by asking me to not upgrade the BIOS. I was of the opinion that you could not downgrade the BIOS , but i stand corrected. Thats good to know. Keep posting your Experience so others can read and not commit the same mistake.

Feel sorry for you.

 

Well, maybe it is a problem with Vantage. Try the DirectX 9.0c update for Windows 7 (yes, you should be install it for Windows 8) and see if that helps.

Which GeForce driver are you using? If you are using the Dell Recommended driver, try the latest from NVIDIA (331.58 WHQL) or 314.22 WHQL. Both of these have been rock solid drivers for me.

 

Has anyone noticed a problem with the on screen display ? I installed Alienware on screen display, but it din't work, windows is still using the stock Windows 8.1 OSD.

 

I reinstalled windows 8.1, on A12 BIOS Legacy, updated my runtimes (DirectX, C++, .Net, etc) and disabled scaling on Nvidia Control Panel (on a whim) and Vantage completes properly now. Getting P24189 as opposed to P23667 on Windows 7 with the exact same setup. Odd....

Edit: Still doing the same thing in games. Been battling with this for a week straight and I'm just about ready to throw in the towel and just call Alienware Customer Care. Anybody here with experience dealing with them with an out of warranty (2 weeks ago) system?

 

I too had this problem, and was able to start the Windows 8.0 download (not 8.1) using the generic Windows 8 Pro key XKY4K-2NRWR-8F6P2-448RF-CRYQH

Again, see above.

 

You won't see the old Alienware styled on-screen icons like with Windows 7. It uses the native Windows 8 on-screen icons.

 

This is informational only. I will merge it with the Alienware Windows 8.1 Support Thread in a few days.

More detail available here: AlienRespawn Compatibility issues with Windows 8.1 | Dell Support

 

Oh darn, i liked the alienware icons

 

Me too, but I don't think they can work correctly with Windows 8.

 

Just got off the phone with tech support. My 17xR4 is having issues with hdmi in and no sound, no backlit on screen when powered on and 680m trouble regardless of drivers installed (both dell and nvidia whql drivers). He asked what version of Windows I have and I told him I upgraded to 8.1 when it came out and he states that tech support does not support 8.1 at this time and they will not trouble shoot or make service calls for hardware issues until 02/2014 when Dell will "offically" support 8.1. Is this true? The HDMI no sound problem I've had since prior to Win 8.1 and as an issue for this product it appears it goes back to 2012. Tech support have replaced the GPU 4 or 5 times since 04/2013 and swapped the motherboard too. Do I really need to revert to 8.1 to get tech support for system under warranty? Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!!

 

Just a heads up.

If you disable hibernation, you will disable fast startup and fast boot. Fast startup is the setting in Win 8/8.1, fast boot is a setting in UEFI. With those 2 combined, you can potentially slash the boot time to 5s. Yes, 5s from cold boot.

Now I used to have problems with Win 8 not shutting down/not sleeping properly, so I disabled hibernation to fix that problem. But that has another repercussion which was unknown to me that time.

If anyone is using Intel XTU (Extreme Tuning Utility), you would know that there's a Processor Current Limit value in there. For certain processors, since Dell/Alienware is slugging along and not fixing the BIOS, unlocking that particular register, we have to raise the value in order to have the CPU perform. And I don't mean overclocking, I mean to have it perform at stock clock speed.

With that explained, disabling hibernation (and thus fast startup and fast boot) will lead to a situation where Processor Current Limit in XTU will get reset to its stock value upon waking up from sleep/reboot.

Now that I enable hibernation (I don't use it though), the problem is gone. And the computer sleeps and shuts down properly. One can enable hibernation by typing "powercfg /h off" or "powercfg /h on" in elevated command prompt.

 

Yes, you need to so they can follow their process. Technically, they only support what you originally purchased.

Make an image of your new Windows 8.1 setup and go back to your original OS. Get the system fixed or replaced and when Windows 8.1 support rolls out you can restore your current image.

 

Thanks Mr. Fox! Will do!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

Quoting this post from another thread so there is a record of it here.