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    Installing Windows 8.1 on Inspiron 9300 with CPU Pin-mod

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Flav_cool, May 5, 2015.

  1. Flav_cool

    Flav_cool Notebook Consultant

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    Hey guys,

    It's been a while since I've posted here. After upgrading to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 on my UX32VD and being blown away by its efficiency, I thought I'd do the same on my old Dell Inspiron 9300. When I tried to install, I got this error: http://superuser.com/questions/3960...g-windows-8-consumer-preview-on-an-old-laptop

    The laptop initially came with a Pentium-M 1.86HGz 533Mhz CPU. At some point I did the "Pin Mod", which forces a 400MHz CPU to run at 533MHz: www.notebookreview.com/news/pin-modding-and-overclocking-a-pentium-m-guide/

    I put in a 1.7GHz 400MHz chip that clocked up to 2.26GHz, a pretty nifty "hardware" overclock. Now however it seems the Windows installer is detecting it as the unsupported 400MHz chip, for the reasons in the first link I posted. To confirm this was the problem, I un-did the Pin mod and put back the original 533MHz chip. Windows 8.1 installed fine. After re-doing the Pin-mod, Windows wouldn't boot, with the same error I got when trying to install (yes I did a lot of CPU thermal pasting that night). Is there any way to get around this?
     
    Flav_cool, May 5, 2015
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  2. SL2

    SL2 Notebook Deity

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    Just to clarify, I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say unsupported. The older CPU doesn't have the hardware requirements (like your link says), it has nothing to do with you overclocking the CPU (like you suggest in the title.). Windows 8.1 wouldn't install with that CPU even if you didn't have the pin mod.


    Google is your friend! ;)

    The third answer, with the first green check mark:
    http://superuser.com/questions/6621...de-requirements-from-windows-8-to-windows-8-1

    http://forums.mydigitallife.info/th...e-Patch-(Bypass-Windows-8-CPU-feature-checks)

    Edit: I'd go for the second link, not so sure about the info in the first one.

    I haven't tried this myself.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2015
    SL2, May 5, 2015
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  3. Flav_cool

    Flav_cool Notebook Consultant

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    Yes, I realize it's a real restriction, was looking for ways to get around it and see if it's still stable. Thanks for the links. Since this is a 32bit install, the new required features are PAE, NX, and SSE2. The patching seems like a lot of work and might not work after updates, so I think I'll just leave it at 1.86GHz.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2015
    Flav_cool, May 5, 2015
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  4. Flav_cool

    Flav_cool Notebook Consultant

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    I wanted to add I changed my mind and followed that guide from digitallife. It worked :) I re-did the PIN mod and it's all working great. Thanks for the link!
     
    Flav_cool, May 6, 2015
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