Installing Windows 8 Without UEFI

Hello!
I have an Acer Aspire 5745G-644G50MNKS notebook with preinstalled OEM win 7 home premium.
Specs as following:

• Core i7 640M Processor (2.87GHz, 4MB L3 Cache)
• 4 GB DDR3 RAM
• 500 GB HDD
• 15.6" 16:9 HD LED Display
• DVD RW
• 1 GB VGA (NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 420M)
• WIFI / Bluetooth / Card Reader / Web Cam

I'm wishing to update my system into Windows 8 Pro or Enterprises.
But unfortunately my model isn't appears in Acer's Windows 8 Eligible Models list or Affected Models List.

I think my system has more than enough performance to run Windows 8. But my bios don't have UEFI support.
So, i just wanna know will my computer be able to run Windows 8 without any troubles without that secure boot option.

i"v run Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant Tool in my system and it says everything is okay except Secure Boot option. also I'v checked individual hardware vendor sites for the latest drivers for windows 8. Most products has the drivers, And the current drivers also compatible with Windows 8 according to the upgrade assistant.

What should i do so? Will the win 8 upgrade useless in my system? or it will be better than the current win 7?

Please explain me about this in details.
Thanks in advance before.

You could just install windows 8 from the disc, you really don't need UEFI.

From what I understand you really don't want that secure boot cack, it's in unreasonable overly paranoid security feature.

Hello Osandakj, and welcome to Eight Forums.

You could install Windows 8 with or with UEFI, so no worries there. You could do a clean or upgrade install. Personally, I like clean installs better.

Please go ahead and post the full report say that the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant Tool gave you to see if there may be any issues.

XweAponX said:

You could just install windows 8 from the disc, you really don't need UEFI.

From what I understand you really don't want that secure boot cack, it's in unreasonable overly paranoid security feature.

Click to expand...

Got it! Thanks for the help brother!

Brink said:

Hello Osandakj, and welcome to Eight Forums.

You could install Windows 8 with or with UEFI, so no worries there. You could do a clean or upgrade install. Personally, I like clean installs better.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13375-clean-install-windows-8-upgrade.html

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2234-upgrade-install-windows-8-windows-8-1-a.html​

Please go ahead and post the full report say that the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant Tool gave you to see if there may be any issues.

Click to expand...

Hello sir! Thanks for the info! I'v found the most valuable threads from you in sevenforums as well. I also gonna do a clean installation, upgrade is full of troubles.

Here i'v attached the compatibility details of the upgrade assistant.
* Bluetooth driver is incompatible : but there is a windows 8 friendly driver in their site.

No worries. The message you got about secure boot is just to let you know that your motherboard didn't support (have) the secure boot feature, so you would basically not be able to install with UEFI.

Using the clean install with an upgrade Windows 8 would be the best way to go.

Please let us know how it went.

Brink said:

No worries. The message you got about secure boot is just to let you know that your motherboard didn't support (have) the secure boot feature, so you would basically not be able to install with UEFI.

Using the clean install with an upgrade Windows 8 would be the best way to go.

Please let us know how it went.

Click to expand...

Everything gone fine as I expected. But I still have GPU switching issues with Generic Drivers from nVidia n Intel.

Take look here for a list of the latest drivers.
Graphic Cards - Windows 8 Forums

theog said:

Take look here for a list of the latest drivers.
Graphic Cards - Windows 8 Forums

Click to expand...

I'm already running latest drivers mate. I have some issues with switching.
But before I install W8.1, these feature works fine in W7 under OEM customized display drivers.
P.S. : My OEM doesn't provide Win 8/8.1 compatible drivers for my system. So what could I do to solve this issue?

Thanks before.

Windows 8.1 upgrade reboots to black screen of 'nothingness'. - OUC1TOO - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Error 0xC1900101 ? 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1 - Microsoft Community

Microsoft Forum Moderator said:

Error 0xC1900101 – 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1


Hello,

We understand that many customers are receiving error 0xC1900101 – 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1. This error is typically caused by an incompatible driver.



If you are receiving this error:
1.
First, please double-check the error code. There are many variations of error 0xC1900101, each with a different location code -- the error extension, located after the dash. The information in this thread is intended only for location code 0x40017. If you are receiving a different location code, these steps are unlikely to resolve your issue.

2.
Check that you’ve already updated all of your drivers. In particular, if you have an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, make sure you’ve installed the latest Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers


3.
Check that you do not have any Frequently Asked Questions - What devices are supported by the SteelSeries Engine? that support the SteelSeries Engine installed on your PC. The SteelSeries Engine software is currently not supported on Windows 8.1. Please uninstall the software before attempting to update to Windows 8.1

Click to expand...

Error 0xC1900101 - 0x30018, Couldn't update to Windows 8.1 Preview - Microsoft Community

Can't Complete Windows 8.1 Install

http://www.eightforums.com/windows-...s-8-1-requirements-strand-some-users-8-a.html


Microsoft confirms some older AMD processors do not support Windows 8.1 - Neowin

theog said:

Windows 8.1 upgrade reboots to black screen of 'nothingness'. - OUC1TOO - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Error 0xC1900101 ? 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1 - Microsoft Community

Microsoft Forum Moderator said:

Error 0xC1900101 – 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1


Hello,

We understand that many customers are receiving error 0xC1900101 – 0x40017 when installing Windows 8.1. This error is typically caused by an incompatible driver.



If you are receiving this error:
1.
First, please double-check the error code. There are many variations of error 0xC1900101, each with a different location code -- the error extension, located after the dash. The information in this thread is intended only for location code 0x40017. If you are receiving a different location code, these steps are unlikely to resolve your issue.

2.
Check that you’ve already updated all of your drivers. In particular, if you have an NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, make sure you’ve installed the latest Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers


3.
Check that you do not have any Frequently Asked Questions - What devices are supported by the SteelSeries Engine? that support the SteelSeries Engine installed on your PC. The SteelSeries Engine software is currently not supported on Windows 8.1. Please uninstall the software before attempting to update to Windows 8.1

Click to expand...

Error 0xC1900101 - 0x30018, Couldn't update to Windows 8.1 Preview - Microsoft Community

Can't Complete Windows 8.1 Install

http://www.eightforums.com/windows-...s-8-1-requirements-strand-some-users-8-a.html


Microsoft confirms some older AMD processors do not support Windows 8.1 - Neowin

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the reply, but that's not all I wanted.

I don't have an error code or error messages. My installation goes fine and the issue is with nVidia's optimous technology.

With the latest graphics drivers for the Intel HD and GT 420M, I cannot manage switching as I did in W7.

I couldn't assign any apps in nvidia control panel and I still can browse *.exes. So, when I want to run some app as nvidia gpu, the GPU selection dropdown is inactivated. That's my issue. "Run as graphics processor" option from the right click menu also not working.

Any solutions?

Sorry for my bad english.

Thanks before.