United3dArtists Archive

Hey everyone.
I am considering installing Windows 8 preview on this new system I built but I have a couple questions.

I have Windows XP, but XP does not natively support SATA drives. I see online there are workarounds to this,
which I can try, but I would prefer to try the Windows 8 route first. The workarounds involve an application called nLite
which allows me to make an image of the XP installation disk, attach a driver to the image, ... , then make a new installation cd which is: XP install + driver. Uhhh... sounds like work and time.

Microsoft states that Windows 8 'works great' on hardware that supports Windows 7. So I figure, worth a shot,
since the hard drive itself is 'blank' anyway.

The motherboard is: Asus, M5A97. I noticed today the newer versions of this mobo (M5A97 2.0, M5A97 LE) are Windows 8 certified. Heh.

With that being said, I believe, January 2 2013 is when Windows 8 goes on sale. If I own XP, I can upgrade to 8 for $40.
But, do I have to have XP installed? Or do I just provide the Product Key ID? This may be a 'wait and see' question.

Can I install Windows 8 on a blank disk, or does XP have to be installed already?

Thanks!

As I recall if it's just the upgrade then you would have to install it over XP Froo.

Hi Froo i would not bank on the 40 doller upgarde of win 8, I read somewher that it
only goes for the people who bought a new pc with win 7 on it or registered a new win 7 in the
next few months. I also needed a new os for my build ,i got win7 pro 64bit new and not registered from
ebay for 38 eouros thats about 50 bucks ,the only thing i check when i get stuff from ebay
is that they have 100% bewertung. Hope this helps .
you should read about the update in the net
Cheers Ralph

I have xp running with a sata drive for many years , don't remermber needing anything to get it working other that the intel mb drivers.

I have an HP7100 with XP and a SATA HD. You should be okay if your Mother Board has this connector type. It seems like SATA is the new standard on newer MB's.

BNG and stan, did have to install a special motherboard driver during the XP installation? That process sounds complicated, according to the motherboard manual.

Here is the answer to my question at the microsoft forums, from Ronnie Vernon:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... f9f20d2ea3"

Froo, I would look at running Windows 8 in a virtual setting first using VMware. If you are using 32 bit operating system then you must stay 32 bit. However you can run 32 bit virtual guest system under a 64 bit Host System or 64 under 64.
I could run Windows XP on a thumb drive if I wanted to as long as VMware is on the Host Client.
It works great!
Did I mention VMware is free!...

Thanks Steinie. I can try that too.
Basically, I purchased a SATA drive for the build, so I have a completely blank slate. The motherboard only supports SATA drives. I do have an adapter which allows me to connect IDE and SATA drives to a USB port so I could also see if I could boot from an old XP drive via the USB port. But, for the SATA drive which I purchased, I wanted to try installing Win8 Preview and see if I could just get the system up and running.

The motherboard documentation seemed pretty intent in clarifying that XP does not support SATA drives natively. After doing some research online it looked like it would take some work to get it going. That's why I considered the Win 8 route.

So the good thing is I have some options here.

I can try installing XP as well; but I would like to go to Win 8 anyway.

We'll see how it all pans out!

Froo

Why not try the developers preview that will clean install from a usb, assuming its still available.
I ran it on a 4 year old Intel dual core and it worked fine all be it a bit buggy but this was March so it should be a lot better.
It is really quick about on par with Linux on the same machine, but Win8 booted a lot faster.
My only grumble is it is focusing on touch screens and can get annoying
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download"

Thanks nigec.

Well, I got a new SATA drive from Microcenter. Love that place. Cheaper than newegg it seems.
I hooked it up and it was immediately recognized by the motherboard BIOS. So, I was correct. As usual.
Ok seriously. I am installing Windows 8 now. Phew.

I worked about 2.5 hours then had to just take the day off. I have been working fast and furious to come up
to speed on this new project and just ran out of gas. I have not taken day off all summer and I really could use one. My wife and I need to do some fun stuff together.

I'm building myself a multitouch screen using an infrared modified webcam, infrared LED's and a projector on acrylic sheets to prepare for the such. I am not sure how it would work with windows 8, but I know it can work with windows 7!!! I'm not the most effecient of DIY screen makers, but slowly and surely.

But I think it's not too difficult to use the touch features of Windows 8 with the mouse, will just take some getting used to...

Cool Draise! Dang!