As a general matter, any should work with the DV8P.  One note:  most will need to be self-powered (or to be connected to the tablet through a powered USB hub), as the Dell tablet generally cannot provide enough power to power an external drive as well.

Ok, how about from flash drive?  I could put the cd in my laptop, copy all files to flash, then somehow run the installer exe file.  

If that's not good, you suggest the hub. Can you please explain what I'd need and how it works?  

Thanks

Generally, any powered hub should work.  Simply plug in a powered hub to a USB OTG adapter cable attached to the tablet's microUSB port, and plug in your portable hard drive or any accessory to the hub.

As to a flashdrive, a flashdrive does not need to be separately powered--just attach your flashdrive to a USB OTG adapter cable plugged into the tablet's microUSB port.  And voilà!

Or you could just share your laptops CD drive. access it over the network and run the install.exe

Just reread the part about the flash drive.  'Splain more please.  Seems easiest unless networking has advantages

Thank you both.  I'm not networked; if it is simple to do, please tell me how.** (cheapest method excites me!)

If I buy an external HDD, USB hub and have the adapter  -- I'd have to use my laptop, right?  I'd prefer not to if possible. But if I have to, the adapter goes to the Venue to the USB hub, which hooks into my laptop.  Yes?

Seems easier to copy the CD to the flash drive and run it on Venue, but if the power isn't there...

** Found these directions.  Since I'm not sure the Venue has an ethernet port, I'll wait before buying the cable

Connect the two computers using a crossover cable. At least one of the computers being connected should be using Windows Vista, 7, or 8.

1. 2
   Open the Network and Sharing Center.If you're connecting a Windows 7 and Windows Vista computer together, use Windows 7 to perform these tasks.
   • Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel. In the search box, type "network," and then click on Network and Sharing Center.
2. 3
   Select your network.In the network map, shown at the top of the Network and Sharing Center, double click on the Unidentified network icon.
   • If you have more than a single network, the icon will be named Multiple networks.
3. 4
   Enable network discovery. If network discovery and file sharing are turned off, in Network, click the info bar containing this message: Network discovery and file sharing are turned off. Network computers and devices are not visible. Click to change...,and then click Turn on network discovery and file sharing. If you're asked for an admin password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation, as required.

If you just need to do what you want this time a few times copying on USB stick will be fine.

Networking has a lot of advantages like printer sharing, shared files, backup important files and access to them from all devices,  just to name 3. :emotion-1:

You said, you are not Networked but aren't you connecting to the Internet with your laptop and Venue over the same connection? e.g. a wifi router or hard wired?

Edit: Networking in Windows 7 / 8 is just a few clicks. :emotion-2:

e.g. if you connect uaing your wifi router / access point using your laptop and Venue or your laptop is connected hard wired LAN and your Venue is connecting over Wifi you are basically already on the same network in your house and networked. What is left is just setting your devices up to share. 

Just reread the part about the flash drive.  'Splain more please.  Seems easiest unless networking has advantages

Tried to send you a message but not able to. Your account doesn't seem to be setup that way.

The easiest way is to create a HomeGroup:
On your Windows 8 device go to Charms, Settings, Change PC Settings.. Now select Network then HomeGroup.
Tab on Create and select what you want to share to your Homegroup members and follow the rest (e.g. set password). The Homegroup will be created on that device.

Now join your other device to your Homegroup:
Go to Charms, Settings, Change PC Settings.. Now select Network then HomeGroup. The new Homegroup should be listed and a passwor5d field should show. Type in the password and select join. Select again what you want to share.

Now you are Networked and your devices belong to the same Homegroup and voila you can use all benefits of Networking. :emotion-1:

In order to share the CD / DVD drive on your laptop go to file explorer, Select the drive, right click and select Share with. Homegroup should show up (For a DVD / CD drive just leave the default read (no need to have write on it). you can share the same way folders and any device installed on your device.

Now you just go on your Venue in either Network or file explorer, select HomeGroup, the computer name your drive is shared, double click it and start the install app.

You need to do that Homegroup and sharing setup only one time. From now on the devices are always members of that Homegroup and you can share, copy everything to whichever device you want.

Just think about it. If you download files / apps on your laptop and store it in shared folder and want to read / install it on your Venue as well. No need to download again, just go to the shared folder and voila.
Printer installed on Laptop, share it, no need to hook it up to Venue to print. Access your documents, photos etc. without copying it around.

To me, Networking has just to many advantages compared to copy files to USB and so on.

Thank you!  It sounds simple though Charms confused me.  My laptop, Venue and iPads use the same connection to logon,  wifi set up for patients/residents.  It's a shared wifi but all separate logins   My laptop is Win 7.

Networking does appear to be advantageous for me, particularly printer sharing.   

If I want to use the drive on my laptop to install on Venue, must my laptop be on?  After typing that I realized yes, it must be.  But I can print with laptop off, right?

it sounds like a bit of work to setup will make thing easier down the road.   Tomorrow I'll setup the Venue.  If all goes well, friday I'll do the laptop.  Saturday I can test printer usage.  Saturday night I should be ready to update y'all. 

Going back to your earlier question as to using a portable hard drive with the DV8P--nope, no laptop needed:

USB OTG cable adapter connects to the DV8P, your powered USB hub plugs into the USB OTG cable adapter (and separately is plugged into AC power), and your hard drive is plugged into the USB hub.  No computer needed--apart from the DV8P, that it.  :emotion-5:

Note that in this configuration, your DV8P is on battery power--the USB hub does not power the DV8P, although it sends data to the tablet.  This is a function of how the DV8P is set up.  If you want your DV8P to be powered via wall power in this set-up, you'll need some extra cabling or equipment.  Easiest, although not the cheapest, is the +Port adapter, the Vener8 adapter, or a Dell power/data adapter that has just come out in the EU and will be coming out in the U.S. soon, it's been said.  With each of these devices, they substitute for the USB OTG cable adapter in the above set-up, with a peripheral device or a USB hub plugging into them (just as outlined above with the USB OTG cable adapter system)--and then, through electronics magic, this middle-person device (which separately has been connected to wall power) both powers the DV8P and also sends data to it simultaneously.

And lastly, for some information overload, I've been told that instead of using a powered USB hub in the above set-up, you can use a Y-cable with the hard drive, with one side of the Y going to wall power and thereby powering the hard drive, and the other side of the Y going to the USB OTG cable adapter, for the hard drive to send data to the DV8P (and with the stem of the Y plugging into the hard drive).  There's a separate post on this configuration here in the forum, including eBay and Amazon sources for the Y cable.

Hope this is of help--  (Personally, I'm using the powered hub configuration right now, but may try buying and using a Y cable, to simplify matters.)

Sorry, thought your laptop was Win 8 as well.

Yes, your laptop needs to be on in order for you to access files / devices on it. Same, the Venue needs to be on if you want to access files on it using your laptop. But there comes OneDrive in play. :emotion-1:

What you could do in addition install OneDrive on your Win 7 laptop and use that for syncing files between all your devices (you can set OneDrive that files are only online or offline as well) Basically you create a file on your laptop and it's synced to the cloud and accessible from all your devices (even Android included) as long as you have OneDrive installed. It's installed by default on your Venue 8 Pro and if you logon using Microsoft life account already active and syncing files.

I use same logon on all my Win devices which makes stuff again easier.

In order to create the Homegroup in Win 7, right click on Network, you should see Homegroup: create (if you created one using your Venue 8 Pro you should see "Homegroup: Available to join".

It's not a lot of work. Really not. If you have done it one time it's easy as can be.

But hey, 3 days for it? takes about 5 minutes. :emotion-2:

maybe my steps are to difficult to follow or understand.

Video:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-a-homegroup

Step by step from Microsoft.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/homegroup-help#homegroup-start-to-finish=windows-81&v1h=win81tab1&v2h=win7tab1

On Venue went to Settings, Network, HomeGroup.  Says to click Connections, click current connection, then turn on Find Devices and content. Do so but it's not there. I see Data Usage and Properties .

i then went to OneDrive but can't remember my Microsoft pass if I have one.

how do I retrieve or get one?  And what's my next step to set up a network?  I figure I'll try both methods and hope one works.  Both make sense 

the Y cable looks easier but need to find one then read more

Just reread the thread. I just saw the right click part in your second post. First post didn't say that and I used first as my guide.