Windows 8 Windows 8 on an older Netbook? (Dell Inspiron 910 "mini")

[serpJedi]

I'm considering loading Windows 8 on an older Netbook - it has an Atom N270 1.6ghz cpu, 2GB of ddr2 and a solid state disk, so I'm thinking while far from a beast, it should be able to keep up?

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-mini-9/4507-3121_7-33240837.html this has more info on it only exception I can tell is I upgraded it to 2gb of ram instead of the stock 1gb.

Hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question I just want to make sure this isn't a universally terrible idea for reasons I'm unaware of. Thanks everyone

-sj/Craig

 

[Jimbo22]

No...not a dumb question at all. It will work just fine. There is only one problem and that is the apps wont work at the low resolution of the netbook. There is a fix and I can confirm it works. Here's how.....http://liliputing.com/2011/09/how-to-enable-windows-8-metro-style-apps-on-an-older-netbook.html. Note...on my netbook the search took quite some time...around 10 minutes....just be patient. when it's finished just keep following the instructions. The only side effect is the screen is distorted a bit...but it's a trade off you have to accept.

 

[serpJedi]

Wow, who knows how long (or if) I would have found that link. Thank you very much for the quick feedback and bullseye advice!!

 

[Jimbo22]

No problem...quick question/suggestion...does you netbook have a DVD player? If not you'll need to install windows from a usb thumb drive. I suggest using Rufus it's what I used to install 8.1 Enterprise on my netbook. This is my netbook Eee PC T101

http://rufus.akeo.ie/

Link Removed

 

[badrobot]

I'm considering loading Windows 8 on an older Netbook - it has an Atom N270 1.6ghz cpu, 2GB of ddr2 and a solid state disk, so I'm thinking while far from a beast, it should be able to keep up?

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-mini-9/4507-3121_7-33240837.html this has more info on it only exception I can tell is I upgraded it to 2gb of ram instead of the stock 1gb.

Hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question I just want to make sure this isn't a universally terrible idea for reasons I'm unaware of. Thanks everyone

-sj/Craig

WIndows 8 is actually Atom CPU friendly as most Win 8 tablets (8" to 10") are running on atom.

 

[strollin]

I'll chime in to say that Win 8/8.1 runs very well on my 5 yr old Acer Aspire One AO150 netbook which has the N270 Atom and has been maxed out to 1.5GB RAM. I did the registry tweak to allow Metro apps to work (BTW, if you don't wish to run Metro apps, you don't need to do the registry tweak). I don't notice any screen distortion as reported by Bassfisher6522 but raising the screen resolution from 1024x600 to 1024x728 causes text, icons and whatever else to be displayed slightly smaller on the already small screen.

My AO150 originally came with XP Home and I think it runs Win 8.1 Pro better than it ever ran XP. Metro apps work great on the small screen (after all they are designed to run on a tablet) and performance is more than adequate.

 

[Jimbo22]

Hey strolin....since you're running 8/8.1 and I'm running Enterprise (trial version) that might be the difference. I here that MS did and update for 8/8.1 to take care of that low resolution issue. As I don't have a copy of 8.1 to use....I'm forced to use the enterprise trial version and doing so just to see if that little bugger would take it and handle it. I agree with you....I think it also runs better with 8.1 versus 7 pro it had on it. Mine has only 1 GB RAM...now I can't pry it away from my daughter...lol.

 

[strollin]

I originally installed Win 8 then did the upgrade to 8.1 via the Store. If you are questioning why you see some distortion and I don't, it could be due to many factors. It could be due to my using Pro and you're using Enterprise as you say but I sorta doubt that. It could be that what I see as smaller text and other graphic elements, you see as distortion. It could be due to your screen being a touchscreen or the fact that it's 10.1" while mine is only 8.9".

 

[serpJedi]

bassfisher6522 thank you for taking the time to comment and provide helpful information on top of my question. And thank you for everyone's comments. I'm rocking and rolling with 8.1 loaded on my Dell Inspiron 910 "mini" aka "Netbook." I loaded 32bit because it squawked that 64bit wasn't supported. The performance I'm getting exceeded my expectations and is as fast as my work laptop (which is probably 1.5 years old running Win7 64, 2GB DDR3, mid range mobile i5 CPU, etc.).

Couple of comments on this part of the article:

Update: The guide below was written for Windows 8 Developer Preview and will not work with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview released on February 29th, 2012.

But you can still enable Metro style apps on Windows 8 Consumer Preview — you just need to download a graphics driver that lets you adjust your screen resolution from the Link Removed.

If you have a netbook with an Intel Atom N270 or N280 processor, after installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview, search for the download center for the latest graphics driver for GMA 950. If you’re using a netbook with an Intel Atom N450, N455, N550, or N570 chip then you’ll need a driver for GMA 3150 graphics.

So we're well past the "consumer preview" released Feb 2012. Since this update to the article was at the top and I was apparently too excited to read the whole thing before taking swings at the adventure, I did not follow my common sense protocol which would have been to check the reg setting first and then check the drivers. But I did drivers first. My resolution was still stuck as 1024x600 within Windows and also the Intel graphics utility. Once I found the reg key and did another reboot, it booted me into 1152x864 which was a little too small but was able to set it back to 1024x768 no problems.

Without a side by side comparison I can't be sure if it's real or my imagination but it seems likes there's a little extra black space than usual (which mathematically I expected, and I'm glad I have black space and not a cut/cropped window), but no flickering or distortion that I can tell. So my mini is off like prom attire thanks again!

 

[Jimbo22]

Glad to here it....job well done!