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XPS 8930, can I run Windows 7 or Linux?
I picked up a new XPS 8930 with the intent to use it as a development machine. i7 8th gen, 32gb GTX 1080, win 10 pro. I maxed out the ram to allow for installing the development environments in virtual machines.
My issue is windows 10. I. Just. Cant. Not only is my old Windows 7 machine much faster, the whole update every 10 minutes thing is absolutely rage inducing. I just rebooted the computer (because dell software said there was an urgent bios update), it took 20 min (20 min I can't do anything) because windows had updates and after waiting all that time, immediately as soon as the desktop shows, I get a notice saying Updates are ready to install and I need to reboot. Things were thrown. Microsoft, I have work to do. I have enough stress in my life, I don't need this. And yes, I spent a good part of yesterday uninstalling software, hacking the registry and group policies to try and get it to stop and how many times will candy crush automatically get installed after uninstalling it? This is a work computer. I didn't ask for this. I would HAPPILY run Windows 7. Will I have any issues with that if I wipe it and install Windows 7? The UEFI thing (or whatever it's called) scares me as I've purchased a machine before (years ago) that I was unable to downgrade because of it. I don't really understand it. Also I was thinking of trying out a Linux operating system. I use them in a server/command line environment so I'm familiar, but never really did anything with desktops other than Raspberry Pi. I don't really see any drivers for Linux on Dells site so I'm guessing it might be a bad idea.
Thoughts? Thanks.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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April 25th, 2018 21:00
I didn't really have any bloatware on my Aurora-R6, but if you did ... just clean-install with the microsoft.com ISO and it will be a clean-perfect Windows-10 Pro 64bit install. Takes about 15 minutes with a SSD.
After you get it installed and updated (to be running the latest version or Windows and drivers) you can set it to the business-ring and turn-off updates if you want.
Windows-7 is a bad idea ... Microsoft hasn't really touched that code in like 5 years. Plus, it might be hard to find the 64bit drivers you need. UEFI is a good thing but if you don't like it or (the usually optional) SecureBoot, then drop the machine into Legacy Mode.
You can install Linux if you want, but there are better forums for help with that. Just make sure it runs your preferred VM Hosting App.
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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April 26th, 2018 10:00
Newer Processors and Chipsets WILL ONLY USE 10. Does not matter what you asked for INTEL and Microsoft are Declaring 7 and 8 dead.
Earlier OS XP / VISTA / 7 / 8 are not supported.
Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support. Translation No more 7 or 8 period end.
Through July 17, 2017, Skylake devices on the supported list will also be supported with Windows 7 and 8.1. During the 18-month support period, these systems should be upgraded to Windows 10 to continue receiving support after the period ends. Windows 7 was designed over 10 years ago before any x86/x64 SOCs existed. For Windows 7 to run on any modern silicon, device drivers and firmware need to emulate Windows 7’s expectations for interrupt processing, bus support, and power states- which is challenging for WiFi, graphics, security, and more. This is also why there is NO CSM for class 3 UEFI bios.
Mike___m
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April 26th, 2018 12:00
Thanks for the answers!
I tried booting a Ubuntu (16.04 IRC) live CD and it booted fine. Worked right out of the box. Didn't even need any drivers. I ordered a new m.2 drive and going to try to go Linux. I'll remove the current drives and install it on the new drive as not to kill the 10 install just yet and see how I like it..
I ordered an m.2 drive though honestly I don't know if it will work. This machine comes stock with 1 TB spinner and a 16gb M.2 for the intel Optaine thing. But I saw other 8930s with "normal" size M.2 drives. I don't care about the optaine thing. I plan to remove all the drives and just put the 250gb M.2 I just bought in for linux. Hope that works. We'll find out tomorrow...or when someone here says it wont.. lol.
Koeven
140 Posts
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April 26th, 2018 13:00
Mike - when I saw your original post, the first thing I wondered is if you were booting from an M.2 NVMe drive. Learning that you don't, I think you'll find a massive improvement in speed and a higher level of satisfaction with Win10 if you move to an NVMe bootdrive, especially knowing all of the reasons listed above. There are some good posts on how to do it, it's a little bit of work, but well worth it.
Mike___m
2 Posts
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April 30th, 2018 07:00
In case anyone else was wondering, I removed both the 16gb NVMe and the 1TB spinner and installed a 250gb Samsung 960 EVO NVMe , and loaded the latest Ubuntu (16.04 IRC).
It installed without an issue. Everything worked out of the box. I didn't have to manually install any drivers.
Boot time from Dell logo disappearance to desktop ready: 11 seconds.
The downside is trying to find replacements for my favorite programs. But that's a temporary problem.
Thanks for the help everyone.
thaineth
2 Posts
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February 9th, 2020 22:00
Hi,
I just wonder, have you updated Ubuntu to 18.04 LTS?
Does the latest stable version run smoothly and can it be installed without any issues?
Looking forward to get one too, if everything works fine.