Hi, it's very great you have created this topic. I am having some minor issues and this seems the right place to report that.
What systems have you attempted installation on, have you had any installation woes and found a way to resolve them?
I have it installed on an XPS 15 L502X (i7 Second generation, SSD, 8GB RAM). The system works great in terms of speed, the system starts in about 5 seconds. Very, very fast.
I didn't have any problem installing Win8 Release Preview. However, there are drivers which are not fully compatible and they are automatically installed in compatibility mode. I haven't made a list, but there are some. Something confusing is the fact that Win 8 installs several drivers, and the computer works just fine right from the beginning, so I didn't really know which drivers download from support.dell.com and install. I did have to install the Realtek Driver, specially to be able to get MaxAudio. But the chipset drivers, for example, I didn't really know if download them or not.
[The latest version, Windows 8 compatible, of the Intel HD Driver for the L502X can be found here]
Something that is not working at all is QuickSet. There's no way I can get it working.
I think it will be necessary that Dell upgrades some of its drivers to a fully compatible Win 8 version. I don't know how much that would benefit performance, but it would definitely make the installation process less confusing.
Regarding the Synaptic Touchpad, it works, but it doesn't show the direction arrows as it showed before.
What is your general opinion on Windows 8, do you like it? Have you tried it with keyboard and mouse, have you tried it with a touchpad and finally have you tried it with a touchscreen?
I like that it's fast, but it's a step back in terms of productivity. I consider myself an advanced computer user, but that doesn't necessarily help. I think the biggest problem comes from the fact that they deleted the Start Menu and didn't replace it for anything offering the same easy-to-use functionality. Metro does include an "All apps" menu, but to get to a program is more time consuming than with the classic Start Menu.
Also, the transition between Desktop and Metro is not as smooth as it should be. For example, if you are using Chrome App, and click to install a program this launches on the desktop, but there is nothing indicating that, nor are you automatically taken to the desktop. Like this, there are several times you just get lost.
Another annoying thing is that touchpad gestures do work in-app, but they don't work on Metro. Using 2 fingers to slide right-left doesn't work on Metro.
I haven't tried it with a mouse yet, only with Touchpad.
What do you like about Microsoft's changes to this Operating system and what do you hate?
I think I more or less answered this question already. I like it, and is still too early to say how great or bad it will be. I do hope that developers come up with some great apps, but I also hope Microsoft will simplify and polish the UI because it's not very user friendly.
I think many, many people will struggle big time trying to figure out how to use it, specially old people. The IT departments will have to spend lots of hours training users on how to use a piece of software they thought they already managed, sometimes the only one they really knew how to use, i.e. Windows.
---
Question: Will you upgrade the drivers of the XPS 15 to Windows 8? Will you upgrade QuickSet to make it compatible with Win 8?
I ran it for awhile on a D820 laptop (originally Vista) with no problems. New UI needed some getting us-to. After a week or two, I wipped the system and installed Windows 7. I now have Windows 2012 Datacenter Server release canidate installed, whiich is the server version of Windows 8. It is running as a virtual machine on a Windows 2008R2 server (Hyper V). No problems. I used the configuration to check out SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 11.
Windows 8 on my Inspiron n5110 is freezing... I can't even move mouse so I have to turn it off via power button. Downloaded and installed Intel HD3000 and GT525m drivers, still freezing. Is there solution for this problem?
I just upgraded from Win 7 Enterprise 64 bit on my XPS 15 L502x laptop to Win 8 Enterprise 64 bit RTM without a hitch. The only thing I had to prior to the upgrade was uninstall some Intel drivers and SEP 12.1 from Symantec. Other than that, my laptop is running just as well as before under Win 7. Now, my XPS 720. . ., that's a different story!
Okay, just removed some potentially conflicting apps/drivers from my XPS 720 and did the upgrade to Win 8 Enterprise 64 bit RTM and it went without a hitch. Won't lie, some peripherals will need new drivers (logitech G510 gaming keyboard and mouse), but for the most part, everything works as it did before in Windows 7.
The table below lists Dell XPS computers available for purchase between October 1st, 2011 and October 26th, 2012 that have been tested with Windows 8. Also listed are the hardware components that may not work immediately after upgrading to Windows 8 for supported systems, but should be fixed by installing the latest drivers from the Drivers and Downloads website. Unsupported systems do not list affected hardware and are not recommended for upgrade to Windows 8 by Dell.
Thanks. I actually saw that some days ago. However, I still think there are drivers which are not listed there and will need an upgrade. For example, the touchpad. I used Windows 8 for about a month, and experienced very poor performance compared to when I use Windows 7. For example, even though I have an SSD drive, the read/write speeds were very poor. I think that might have something to do with some driver too. Those are issues not listed yet. I hope Dell is planning to have a very active approach towards providing news drivers once Win8 is released, because I'm pretty sure what they have listed so far is not enough.
Also, and even though is not a driver, QuickSet needs an update too.
The chipset drivers need an update and so is Rapid Storage Technology and the webcam even cause the driver that comes with Windows 8 is much older than the ones in Windows 7.
I still have no driver for ST Micro Accelerometer.
Most of the drivers are very old compared to Windows 7 in Windows 8.
But one issue that is not raised, is that the battery life is about half of what it used to be (I used to get around 4 hours, now I get three hours on balanced). Is this the right place to bring this up? I am not sure why the battery life is so bad, but it is a major issue.
I have not tried out the consumer preview because I want to wait till launch, though I do plan on using Windows 8 as my primary OS on a Latitude E6530. I'd like to ask a question; you said that you have tried the consumer preview on a Latitude D820? What exactly did you hate about the OS? Because knowing what other people have hated will allow me to figure out if this is the right path for me. and what makes you think that just because you hated the consumer preview, you won't like the full version? Consumer preview is after all, the same thing as saying RC, isn't it? And I have noticed that things have changed from RC to RTM in the past. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts because the way things are looking, this could go either way. I have Windows Server 2012 running virtually on this Latitude, and if the server version looks anything like the client, then I'll probably fall head over heals for it.
Hernan.Aros
3 Posts
0
August 5th, 2012 13:00
Hi, it's very great you have created this topic. I am having some minor issues and this seems the right place to report that.
What systems have you attempted installation on, have you had any installation woes and found a way to resolve them?
I have it installed on an XPS 15 L502X (i7 Second generation, SSD, 8GB RAM). The system works great in terms of speed, the system starts in about 5 seconds. Very, very fast.
I didn't have any problem installing Win8 Release Preview. However, there are drivers which are not fully compatible and they are automatically installed in compatibility mode. I haven't made a list, but there are some. Something confusing is the fact that Win 8 installs several drivers, and the computer works just fine right from the beginning, so I didn't really know which drivers download from support.dell.com and install. I did have to install the Realtek Driver, specially to be able to get MaxAudio. But the chipset drivers, for example, I didn't really know if download them or not.
[The latest version, Windows 8 compatible, of the Intel HD Driver for the L502X can be found here]
Something that is not working at all is QuickSet. There's no way I can get it working.
I think it will be necessary that Dell upgrades some of its drivers to a fully compatible Win 8 version. I don't know how much that would benefit performance, but it would definitely make the installation process less confusing.
Regarding the Synaptic Touchpad, it works, but it doesn't show the direction arrows as it showed before.
What is your general opinion on Windows 8, do you like it? Have you tried it with keyboard and mouse, have you tried it with a touchpad and finally have you tried it with a touchscreen?
I like that it's fast, but it's a step back in terms of productivity. I consider myself an advanced computer user, but that doesn't necessarily help. I think the biggest problem comes from the fact that they deleted the Start Menu and didn't replace it for anything offering the same easy-to-use functionality. Metro does include an "All apps" menu, but to get to a program is more time consuming than with the classic Start Menu.
Also, the transition between Desktop and Metro is not as smooth as it should be. For example, if you are using Chrome App, and click to install a program this launches on the desktop, but there is nothing indicating that, nor are you automatically taken to the desktop. Like this, there are several times you just get lost.
Another annoying thing is that touchpad gestures do work in-app, but they don't work on Metro. Using 2 fingers to slide right-left doesn't work on Metro.
I haven't tried it with a mouse yet, only with Touchpad.
What do you like about Microsoft's changes to this Operating system and what do you hate?
I think I more or less answered this question already. I like it, and is still too early to say how great or bad it will be. I do hope that developers come up with some great apps, but I also hope Microsoft will simplify and polish the UI because it's not very user friendly.
I think many, many people will struggle big time trying to figure out how to use it, specially old people. The IT departments will have to spend lots of hours training users on how to use a piece of software they thought they already managed, sometimes the only one they really knew how to use, i.e. Windows.
---
Question: Will you upgrade the drivers of the XPS 15 to Windows 8? Will you upgrade QuickSet to make it compatible with Win 8?
Cheers,
Hernan.
msgale
2 Intern
•
2.5K Posts
0
August 6th, 2012 22:00
I ran it for awhile on a D820 laptop (originally Vista) with no problems. New UI needed some getting us-to. After a week or two, I wipped the system and installed Windows 7. I now have Windows 2012 Datacenter Server release canidate installed, whiich is the server version of Windows 8. It is running as a virtual machine on a Windows 2008R2 server (Hyper V). No problems. I used the configuration to check out SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 11.
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
August 10th, 2012 08:00
The offer is going on now if you Buy a machine.
Get an upgrade to Windows 8
Buy a Windows 7 PC and get Windows 8 Pro for $14.99*
We’ve got you covered.
STEPS
1. Buy a Windows 7 PC Today
2. Go to windowsupgradeoffer.com
3. Redeem your upgrade
TERMS
*Offer valid June 2, 2012 through January 31, 2013. Redeem download of Windows 8 when available.
For complete details, visit windowsupgradeoffer.com
msgale
2 Intern
•
2.5K Posts
0
August 10th, 2012 12:00
Of course there is plan "B", wait until October for PCs with Windows 8 loaded. There are several advantages
1. Save money.
2. If you need to do a full restore the restore partition will have Windows 8, not Windows 7
3. There will be no chance of losing work during the upgrade process.
4. There will no be any compatible issues.
davidcl7
3 Posts
0
August 20th, 2012 02:00
Windows 8 on my Inspiron n5110 is freezing... I can't even move mouse so I have to turn it off via power button. Downloaded and installed Intel HD3000 and GT525m drivers, still freezing. Is there solution for this problem?
chrismt01
23 Posts
0
August 20th, 2012 06:00
The touch is horrible in Windows 8. I get random ghost touches on Dell XPS Lx502s
udns_eric
122 Posts
0
August 20th, 2012 15:00
I just upgraded from Win 7 Enterprise 64 bit on my XPS 15 L502x laptop to Win 8 Enterprise 64 bit RTM without a hitch. The only thing I had to prior to the upgrade was uninstall some Intel drivers and SEP 12.1 from Symantec. Other than that, my laptop is running just as well as before under Win 7. Now, my XPS 720. . ., that's a different story!
udns_eric
122 Posts
0
August 21st, 2012 11:00
Okay, just removed some potentially conflicting apps/drivers from my XPS 720 and did the upgrade to Win 8 Enterprise 64 bit RTM and it went without a hitch. Won't lie, some peripherals will need new drivers (logitech G510 gaming keyboard and mouse), but for the most part, everything works as it did before in Windows 7.
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
August 31st, 2012 13:00
Topic
Link
Windows 8 Upgrade Checklist
http://dell.to/PqAHju
Windows 8 General Upgrade Troubleshooting
http://dell.to/PPKkJ9
Dell Computer Support for Windows 8 Upgrade
http://dell.to/OtexfG
Inspiron Desktop Windows 8 Upgrade Product Support
http://dell.to/PqAY66
XPS Windows 8 Upgrade Product Support
http://dell.to/OpxMrW
Alienware Windows 8 Upgrade Product Support
http://dell.to/O27pHT
Dell-Installed Software Support for Windows 8
http://dell.to/NBNy0D
Vostro Windows 8 Upgrade Product Support
http://dell.to/PNqcd2
Dell Printers That are Supported by Windows 8
http://dell.to/MZ38I6
RobinBredin
4 Operator
•
3.7K Posts
0
August 31st, 2012 13:00
Ran it in duel boot with Vista and it crashed with BSOD's. Mind you, Microsoft did say not to duel boot it.
Philip_Yip
9 Legend
•
16.1K Posts
0
September 3rd, 2012 04:00
Hernan.Aros
The table below lists Dell XPS computers available for purchase between October 1st,
2011 and October 26th, 2012 that have been tested with Windows 8. Also listed
are the hardware components that may not work immediately after upgrading to
Windows 8 for supported systems, but should be fixed by installing the latest
drivers from the Drivers and Downloads website. Unsupported systems do not list
affected hardware and are not recommended for upgrade to Windows 8 by Dell.
It looks like the XPS 15 (L502X) will have some Windows 8 drivers before October the 26th, 2012,
Hernan.Aros
3 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2012 05:00
Hey!
Thanks. I actually saw that some days ago. However, I still think there are drivers which are not listed there and will need an upgrade. For example, the touchpad. I used Windows 8 for about a month, and experienced very poor performance compared to when I use Windows 7. For example, even though I have an SSD drive, the read/write speeds were very poor. I think that might have something to do with some driver too. Those are issues not listed yet. I hope Dell is planning to have a very active approach towards providing news drivers once Win8 is released, because I'm pretty sure what they have listed so far is not enough.
Also, and even though is not a driver, QuickSet needs an update too.
chrismt01
23 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2012 05:00
Not just that :
The chipset drivers need an update and so is Rapid Storage Technology and the webcam even cause the driver that comes with Windows 8 is much older than the ones in Windows 7.
I still have no driver for ST Micro Accelerometer.
Most of the drivers are very old compared to Windows 7 in Windows 8.
nwells
27 Posts
0
September 29th, 2012 08:00
Hello,
I've installed Windows 8 on my Vostro 3450. There are some issues as stated here: support.dell.com/.../document
But one issue that is not raised, is that the battery life is about half of what it used to be (I used to get around 4 hours, now I get three hours on balanced). Is this the right place to bring this up? I am not sure why the battery life is so bad, but it is a major issue.
Thanks,
Nathan
Chromebuster
64 Posts
0
October 6th, 2012 21:00
I have not tried out the consumer preview because I want to wait till launch, though I do plan on using Windows 8 as my primary OS on a Latitude E6530. I'd like to ask a question; you said that you have tried the consumer preview on a Latitude D820? What exactly did you hate about the OS? Because knowing what other people have hated will allow me to figure out if this is the right path for me. and what makes you think that just because you hated the consumer preview, you won't like the full version? Consumer preview is after all, the same thing as saying RC, isn't it? And I have noticed that things have changed from RC to RTM in the past. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts because the way things are looking, this could go either way. I have Windows Server 2012 running virtually on this Latitude, and if the server version looks anything like the client, then I'll probably fall head over heals for it.