I have a very old motherboard ASRock G41M-GS.

The support for WinXP will end at April 8, 2014: microsoft.com.
After this the OS will not get new security updates.
From what I read in the web, the bad people eagerly await this date, because they know opened doors already for to attack WinXP PCs then.

Over microsoft.com I tested if the above mentioned motherboard is Win8.1 compatible. The website say "Yes" and forwarded me to: asrock.com.
But this are Win7 drivers.

This is a mistake?
Or Win7 drivers will work on a Win8.1 OS PC?

Thanks.

---

I think you got intel chipset. Check intel website for drivers for that chipset.

Ok. Never mind. intel got video driver for Win 7. Nothing for Win 8.

Generally speaking, G41 is old, but not horribly old. I would expect Win 8 to run on it.

---

Any reason for Win8.1?

Win7 Pro OEM disks are still available from PC parts distributors and some still carry Home, Home Premium and Ultimate versions too (until stocks run out).

Cheers.

But this are Win7 drivers.

This is a mistake?
Or Win7 drivers will work on a Win8.1 OS PC?

The drivers for the G41 chipset are built into Windows 8.1.

I'm not a windows lover at all, but believe me, Windows 8.1 with ClassicShell installed is the better Windows 7 - absolutely!

---

Aloha, Uli

Agreed. I don't use Classic Shell, but I do use shortcuts on my desktop a la Windows 95 so that I can stay out of the Start Screen as much as possible.

According to reports on Windows 8.1 Update 1, they're going to return a "Start Menu-ish" like function back into Windows 8.1.

I tried Win 8, it has many improvements over 7 but I preferred 7. With 8.1 and very little tweaking it is just like 7 desktop but with Win 8 improvements. Once one learns to tame the "Metro" thing it comes in handy. Win 8.1 has a start menu but it is mostly for more advanced things, the geeks spoke and Bill listened. Bill is back for more hands on direction. His title is "Founder and Technology Adviser". Boy does M$ need an adviser.

There is a 90 day trial of Win 8.1, the Enterprise version. Sorry for sounding like a "fan boy" but Bill has always done right for the geeks; that is all I have to say about that.

---

The drivers for the G41 chipset are built into Windows 8.1.

That's been my experience with those older Intel chipsets. Win 8 just runs on them out of the box. Actually easier than reinstalling XP, where you do have to hunt out the drivers.

Then if you load Classic Shell, customise it to look how you want, and it will run sweet, even on older Core2 type CPUs. You only get into the Metro interface by accident, and it's easy enough to get out again ;)

Nothing wrong with Win7 either, but why buy an OS that's a couple of years closer to it's EOS?

Ian

I tried Win 8, it has many improvements over 7 but I preferred 7. With 8.1 and very little tweaking it is just like 7 desktop but with Win 8 improvements

OK, I'll bite on the OS I see no improvments in my W8 box over my W7 box, what improvments are you talking about?

---

The drivers for the G41 chipset are built into Windows 8.1.

That's been my experience with those older Intel chipsets. Win 8 just runs on them out of the box.

And if something does not, try to get drivers for it from Windows Update, there you get even more drivers than what's on the DVD.

---

OK, I'll bite on the OS I see no improvments in my W8 box over my W7 box, what improvments are you talking about?

From my experience with Win 8.1 it is faster and less resource and memory hungry than Win 7. Win 8.1 is designed to also run fluidly on less capable hardware like tablets. Main parts of Win 7 are written in C#/.NET, where in Win 8.1 major parts of the OS are written in C/C++ again, like Win XP. Don't get me wrong, i'm no Windows fanboy, but Win 8.1 feels speedwise like a better Win XP, where Win 7 feels a little bit sluggish compared to Win XP. All this on the same relatively old (2008) hardware, of course.

...just my 0.02€

---

Aloha, Uli

OK, I'll bite on the OS I see no improvments in my W8 box over my W7 box, what improvments are you talking about?

The improvements are in security and robustness of the OS. As for SETI I find all Windows about the same when it comes to production. SETI is more dependent on custom tunning than the OS.

---

For Win7 I would need to install (asrock.com):

Realtek high definition audio driver ver:R2.31 (audio)
INF driver ver:9.1.1.1020 (chipset north- & southbridge infos)
Realtek Lan driver ver:7005 (LAN port)
AppCharger ver:1.0.4 (I searched the web, it looks like to connect Apple hardware - in my case not needed)
VGA driver ver:15.15.6.1892 (onboard GPU)

Does this mean in Win8.1 is the "INF driver" included?
And the other three drivers for audio, LAN & GPU, they are also in Win8.1 - or on the Windows driver update website?

Thanks.

---

A I stated previously, the chipset (INF) drivers from motherboards before an OS is compiled are usually included in the OS's built-in driver cache. Depending on the popularity of the other devices, they may be included as well. If not, there's a good chance you can install them through Windows Update afterward.

I saw here: microsoft.com/windows-8/system-requirements
- that the motherboard need NX support: microsoft.com/what-is-pae-nx-sse2.

I opened the motherboard BIOS/Security like described:
There is just:

Supervisor Password
User Password

I looked around and found under an other point:

No- Execute Memory Protection [enable/disable] (If disabled force the XD feature flag to always return 0.)

If I enable this, the NX feature is on?

BTW, the Intel Core2 Duo E7600 can do NX?
[EDIT: ark.intel.com/Intel-Core2-Duo-E7600, is "Execute Disable Bit" the NX support?]

Thanks.

---

Yes:

NX = No eXecute
XD = eXecute Disable

They are both the same thing. Turning it on will enable the "no execute" feature of your processor.

They most certainly are the same: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit.

Also, your Core 2 Duo E7600 indeed has NX: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_2/Intel-Core%202%20Duo%20E7600%20AT80571PH0833ML%20(BX80571E7600%20-%20BXC80571E7600).html

I haven't run that test you linked to, but my guess is that if NX/XD are disabled in the BIOS, it will come back negative/false.

Edit: Sorry, I meant E7400

FYI: the Core 2 Duo E7400 also has NX/XD: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_2/Intel-Core%202%20Duo%20E7400%20AT80571PH0723M%20-%20AT80571PH0723ML%20(BX80571E7400).html

Edit: Sorry, I meant E7400

FYI: the Core 2 Duo E7400 also has NX/XD: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_2/Intel-Core%202%20Duo%20E7400%20AT80571PH0723M%20-%20AT80571PH0723ML%20(BX80571E7400).html

Intel implemented NX bit support in the later generation Pentium 4. So any Intel Core processor will have support. However not all motherboards had this feature as standard. I have some older Core 2 systems that do have have the function to enable it in the BIOS. Even with their latest BIOS being released in 2009.

These processor features are also required for Windows 8.1.

CX16      	*	Supports CMPXCHG16B instruction
LAHF-SAHF 	*	Supports LAHF/SAHF instructions in 64-bit mode
PREFETCHW 	*	Supports PREFETCHW instruction

They can be checked with Microsoft Coreinfo tool. Using coreinfo -f from the command line.

---

SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[