Solved Clean install on ASUS Tablet

[thebigalphamale]

How to update your asus vivotab smart me400c avoid issues

SORRY ITS SO LONG AND KINDA RUN ON SENTENCES... :shock:

ok now as far as updating here is the best info I could find on how to update from the day you get your tablet. This is how I did it, and I only had 1 hiccup and Ill explain how to avoid that as well

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR ASUS VIVOTAB SMART ME400C and avoid major issues - it is best to start these steps from a brand new fresh tablet right out of the box, if you have tried and failed with asus live update and windows updates it might be best to use the restore point and or reinstall windows from the hidden recovery partition and start fresh again. You do not have to do this, but I highly suggest it. You might try it without the restore point/fresh install and maybe do it as a trial run and see how your tablet responds and maybe after you have done it once already save your files to microSD card and then do a fresh windows install/restore and try again to get no errors which like I said may result in a better tablet experience.

The most fool-proof way to upgrade it is by the following steps: READ ALL STEPS BEFORE ATTEMPTING so you can choose which option you want to try


(0) when you get it out of the box plug it in and make sure its charging and then power it on and on initial startup/setup, choose the option to "NOT" update windows.. This will prevent the 112 download updates. If you already past that point and have had your tablet a while with some failure and some success your best option maybe to go back using the restore point feature or reinstall from the recovery partition and start fresh again (YMMV and look below for the info on where the recover partition can be found)

(0.1) click the desktop tile and it should prompt you to Run vivotab live update and only update the bios and it will need to restart/reboot. This did give me an error and I had to use restore point to start over and so I found the asus live update Version V2.1.3.13 off a forum, but didnt save the link so you can search it out yourself or I found it here ASUS V2.1.3.13 Drivers LiveUpdate21313.zip - ASUS Downloads - DriversGuru I used the 2nd download now link which is 7.4MB version bc thats what I remember the file size being from my successful attempt - you can also try to get it off the asus website but I wasnt having any luck finding it before posting this step by step
(3) if you were successful with the bios update or did the uninstall live update restart and then install from the zip file you just downloaded then click desktop tile again, asus live update and do the bios for the 1st time or the remaining updates and restart. ( basically uninstall live update, reinstall from the zip, do the bios update, restart, do the remaining update and restart.) if all that goes well go to step 4!!!

(4) just do a google/bing search for KB2871389 - download it from the microsoft download center and then search for KB2917499 and download it from the microsoft download center - make sure to choose the x86 versions bc the VivoTab Smart is a 32bit version of windows 8 - install them in that order.. cant remember if it asks you to restart after each, but do it if it asks of course.

This will allow you to get 8.1 update from store.

(4) Go to the tile interface and click on the store tile and select the 8.1 update to install, its something like 2.7 GB and will take a while to download and install, restart and then you get to set your preferences - I suggest doing customize when it asks so you can have more privacy etc, but to each their own.

That's it... 8.1 loaded. WHEW what a crazy way to just update to 8.1, not too happy with ASUS at this point, it should be seamless but alas nothing ever is, right?

I hope that all made sense and was detailed enough to help the many people who may be searching for how to fix the errors they are getting and make it simple and easy!

edit - impt info

I also forgot to mention above that after you do install windows 8.1 you should have a windows.old or whatever its called folder on your hard drive (c drive most likely as I dont remember exactly where windows leaves it) that will have your old stuff from windows 8 that you should probably move any files you had on the asus before updating to windows 8.1 and then delete the unnecessary stuff that is left and get some storage space back.

THEN after you get your tablet up to snuff with windows 8.1 updates (and if you want your programs and such) then DO A FULL IMAGE BACKUP so if all else fails you can always try to revert to that complete image backup you made and not have to do the nightmare of all the steps above. There are free image backup programs, I believe windows 8.1 has its own way of doing this etc then there are paid programs so you should do your research and find what option is best for you and compatible with windows 8.1!

 

[thebigalphamale]

Happy to say just finished doing the updates and update to win 8.1 and all went well. Took 5 hours but hopfuly I'll never have to do that again.

Thanks for your help.

Do you happen to know how to turn off NFC? I have no use for it and no need for it to consume batt. if I will never use it.

Happy to say just finished doing the updates and update to win 8.1 and all went well. Took 5 hours but hopfuly I'll never have to do that again.

Thanks for your help.

Do you happen to know how to turn off NFC? I have no use for it and no need for it to consume batt. if I will never use it.

Hi sundance,

Your Welcome, you mean Bluetooth ?

If so if it is in the notification area, right click or with touch hold finger then select settings.
Remove the icon in tray by unchecking it and turn of Discovery option, should also be in the control panel.

no sundance means NFC, the ME400C has NFC, but I dont know of anyway to disable it but Ill do some digging bc if it can save battery life then it would be a good thing to have it on only when you turn it on manually if you are not a big NFC user, that being said NFC can be useful if you have a NFC capable phone along with your NFC capable tablet, making it easy to have file transfers between the 2 without having to use USB or direct connect your phone via otg cable etc

 

[thebigalphamale]

How to reinstall windows 8 from recovery & bloat free vers

So while doing my research I ran across some interested threads at other forums etc. Here is what I have found as far as how to reinstall windows 8 from the hidden recovery partition on your ASUS VIVOTAB SMART ME400 and also how you can get your windows 8 key from the bios and install a non ASUS bloated version of windows 8 which may or may not be better/faster etc, YMMV and you could have major issues (or none) if you attempt any of this and or try to install the non asus recovery version (driver issues or anything else could happen so please do your research and as a grown adult you decide what is right for you do try and what is not bc there is always a risk of "bricking" your tablet)

I will say before attempting this you should read my above post in this thread and get your tablet up to snuff with windows 8.1 updates and then DO A FULL IMAGE BACKUP so if all else fails you can always try to revert to that complete image backup you made. Again you do any of this at your own risk. And to be clear Ive not done any of these things below as of this posting, Im just doing my research so that I am prepared to do so when and if I choose to do it.

this is just a copy cut and paste that I had on a word document so check the links out where I found the info and read more and others experiences on how they did it and what worked and what didnt etc




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Asus VivoTab ME400C - wiping and clean reinstalling of Windows 8 Pro

Asus VivoTab ME400C - wiping and clean reinstalling of Windows 8 Pro

Hello,

I have had some strange issues with my Vivotab Smart ever since day 1 - in spite of several resets of the OS from the default Asus recovery partition, the issues remained. I have even upgraded to Windows 8 Pro, but the problems were not solved.

So this time I went to the extreme and wiped out all the existing partitions (including the Asus recovery partitions) and reinstalled a clean, plain vanilla Windows 8 Pro from scratch. This wasn't too difficult and now everything looks like it should - no freezes, no crashes and no unexpected sluggish behavior. Everything works as before, all the sensors are functioning, all the drivers are in place, camera, sound, everything. It seems obvious to me that something in the Asus installation of Windows 8 or possibly some of the bloatware that the tablet comes preinstalled with caused these issues.

So I thought I would give you a short description how to go ahead.

This is what you need:

One 4 GB USB flash drive
Windows 8 Pro 32-bit
Windows 8 Pro activation key
An USB OTG cable
An USB hub (to be able to use at least three USB units)
An USB keyboard
An USB mouse
The ASUS Vivotab V1 driver package (do not use the V2 package, it contains a different driver set)




You first need to make the USB flash drive bootable. This is easiest performed with using DiskPart command. Google for it and you should find it easily.
When done, copy the content of the Windows 8 Professional DVD to the memory stick. It should be the complete installation package, not just an ISO image!
Download the Asus Vivotab driver package from Asus (ASUS VivoTab Smart - Tablets & Mobile - ASUS). Unzip and copy the content of the package to the USB flash drive.
Plug in the USB OTD cable and the USB hub into the micro-USB port of the VivoTab. Plug in the USB flash drive, a keyboard and the mouse into the hub.
Reboot the tablet, and hold down the power and volume down buttons until you get to the Boot selector screen. You should be able to see the name of the memory stick. Scroll to it by using the volume button and select it by clicking the Windows button.
Now the tablet should start using the memory stick as a boot device and initiate the installation sequence.
Perform a regular Windows 8 installation. If you wish to wipe out all the existing partitions, feel free to do so, that was what i did. You will not be using them anyway, so you will gain more than 8 GB of storage space (from 50 GB to 58 GB).
When the installation is finished, you will have a basic Windows 8 installation, sans most of the drivers. You will not have Wifi, camera, sound, GPS and most of the other stuff you need. If you look in the Device Manager, you will see a frightening array of unrecognized devices. Don't worry, this is taken care of in the next step.
Locate the Asus driver executable on the USB stick, and double-click on it. As it runs, it will find all the devices and load the required drivers for them. After this step, only two unidentified devices will be left. These will be fixed in the next step.
Connect to the internet, and run Windows Update. Download all the hotfixes. This part takes quite some time, but when done, all the missing drivers have been installed.
Since the key for Windows 8 is prestored in the BIOS, the Windows installation is already activated. This is however not the Pro version of Windows 8. If you wish to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro (e.g. to be able to join a domain or to be able to host Remote Desktop connections), you will need to use the Add Features in the Control Panel. Enter the activation key number of your Windows 8 Pro license, and the upgrading process will start. It takes some while (30 mins or more), so let it run through its course.
Install all you applications and set up the tablet to your liking.


======================================================================================================================================================
after fresh install Win8 Pro (clean install), all mysterious issues solved (LiveUpdate, sleep etc)


Yes, Yes!

I have struggling with sleep issues, battery drain, wifi problems and freezing for 6 months. And now I did the same as you, a clean install with a newly downloaded Win 8 Pro. And guess what, not a single issue since then!! Indeed the stock Win8 on TF810C is corrupted!!

This is how I did it:
(I take no responsibility for this guide, do it at your own risk. If you don't know what you're doing, DONT DO IT)

Go to Upgrade to Windows 8 with only a product key - Microsoft Windows (change "en-us" in url for your specific country, I'm fom Sweden and changed it to "sv-SE"). Important, you must run this installer on the tablet or else you may get wrong windows version downloaded.
Use this tool to extract OEM product key from bios :Windows 8 Product Key Viewer
Or if you have purchased Win 8 Pro upgrade just use that key instead.
Make a bootable USB, Important if you not using the OEM product key, you must make a PID.txt file and place it on the newly created bootable USB using this guide: Solve Windows 8 Clean Installation Product Key Do Not Match Problem
Go to pc settings, advanced - UEFI settings, and change in bios to boot from USB
Windows installer should start, Delete all partitions on disc to make sure no Asus crapware is left! Make sure you have backed up everything important first!!!!
Important!!!! You must have a USB-keybord to do this since no drivers for dock-keyboard and touch will not work out of the box with a clean Win 8 install!!!! A USB mouse is very handy too. I dont know how to do it if you not having the dock, since the bootable flash drive using one USB port and you need another one for the keyboard?? Mayby you can create a booatable SD-card?
After install, just download asus driver pack on another computer (no driver for wifi at this time) and put it on a usb drive , and install it on the Asus. Run all windows updates, after that you should have all drivers set up and no unknown devices in device manager!!
Install Asus Live update
Done!




Enjoy a rock solid tablet!!!!!


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Asus VivoTab Smart recovery | Windows 8 | XDA Forum


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How to Reset/Re-image a Broken VivoTab Smart

How to Reset/Re-image a Broken VivoTab Smart

I purchased a VivoTab Smart from Staples.com. The day I received it, I made the "mistake" of trying to update it with the 2 updates (BIOS + software, I believe) from Asus at the same time. I left it to install the updates (it was taking a LONG time). When I came back a while later, I found it off. When it booted back up, it booted into the Windows 8 recovery environment. Trying the options to "refresh" or "reset" my installation failed (but never gave an error message). Choosing the Advanced Options also failed - the restore points (created when the Asus LiveUpdate program updated itself) wouldn't even attempt to restore ("you must enable system protection on this drive") and the restore from image option couldn't find an image.

A google search turned up other people with this problem but no solutions. Several searches pulled up various pages from this thread:
Asus Vivotab Smart ME400 experience
I didn't read every single one of the 487 entries but I read a bunch of them and couldn't find a solution.

I tried returning the tablet to my local Staples. No luck - they don't carry it. I tried to arrange an exchange with Staples.com - they are out of stock with more stock expected in "2 to 3 weeks." So I did some more searching and came up with the following:


To reset the VivoTab Smart, you will need:
-either a microUSB to USB OTG cable + USB flash drive/hard drive OR a microSD card (or possibly a location on your local network accessible via WiFi)
-imagex.exe from Microsoft

I downloaded the 32bit version of imagex from here:
Download imagex.exe without installing WAIK | RAID Calculator | RAID Calculator

You can also get it directly from Microsoft as part of the 1.3GB Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) here:
Download Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 from Official Microsoft Download Center

The command line options for imagex are outlined here:
ImageX Command-Line Options

The image to reset the VivoTab Smart is located in two places:
c:\windows\system32\recovery\install.wim
(hidden 8gb recovery partition):\RecoveryImage\install.wim
*you can make sure that your working VivoTab Smart has this image by following the instructions below to assign the recovery partition a drive letter
*if you look at the partition in the graphical Computer Management/Disk Management, it will show the partition as empty but it isn't

Step 1:
Put imagex.exe on your external memory and connect to VivoTab Smart.

Step 2:
Open up the command line from the blue recovery screen:

Troubleshoot --> Advanced Options --> Command Prompt
*if your software keyboard doesn't pop up even when you press in the command prompt screen, just reboot and try again... it only failed to pop up once for me.

Step 3:
Run each of the following commands:
diskpart
list disk
(the built in drive should be listed as 58GB and be disk 0)
select disk 0
list partition
(the partition we want is the 8GB Recovery - not the 300MB Recovery - it should be #4)
select partition 4
assign
exit

Step 4:
Figure out which drive letter your recovery partition was assigned and which your external memory was assigned:
d:
dir
e:
dir

I will assume your external memory is d: and your recovery is e: - run the following command:
d:\imagex.exe /apply e:\recoveryimage\install.wim 1 c:\

Leave your VivoTab Smart plugged in... it will take a while. When finished, reboot. Everything will be reset to the way it came from the factory.

Resources used:
DiskPart
» How to: Make recovery partition visible in Windows 8 IT Blog
How to make a recovery drive for Windows 8/RT to go into recovery mode

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Asus VivoTab Smart recovery | Windows 8 | XDA Forum


The image to reset the VivoTab Smart is located in two places:
c:\windows\system32\recovery\install.wim
(hidden 8gb recovery partition):\RecoveryImage\install.wim

 

[jds63]

WOW!! That is a long drawn out response, but helpful to answer my question originally posted.
Can i do a clean install of Windows 8.1 on this Tablet, although knowing i will loose the Recovery Partition.

I found this post link as possible option for me Asus VivoTab ME400C - wiping and clean reinstalling of Windows 8 Pro

Only thing that concerned me when asking this question starting this post would be as said the ASUS Drivers for devices like Bluetooth,WiFi and some others.
If i read it right in this link, usually when you do your clean install it will ask to delete or format the drive, at this point before you start the custom clean install there is an option to load drivers, this is when you insert the USB flash with drivers on them and click load, then do your install selecting the partition.

Way it was done on my ASUS Desktop i had Windows 7 on it went to Windows 8.1 Pro, done clean custom install, yes i lost the recovery partition, but knew i did not want to go back to Win7.

Now i would not trust others sites to download ASUS updates from.
So far everything works fine for me,Windows 8.1 32 bit running smooth, no freezes,nothing.

I just wanted to know if there was a way if i decided to do it, knowing i could also regain space on the drive.
I am a bit unsure about it now,with this ASUS original Drivers going in correct if i did this.

I bookmarked the link i re-linked here, to look at it more.

For one thing ASUS is one company that does not put a lot of bloatware on there systems, knowing this is my second product from them.

Need a keyboard to access the recovery partition, along with the USB OTG cable, i have all this. I do have a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 32 bit on a disk with original key.

Oh,what exactly does NFC stand for where do i find it then?

 

[jds63]

O.k. here is a new something i thought of, do not have a USB hub to be able hook up a mouse,keyboard and a flash drive.

Tablet comes with a MicroSD, seems there could be a possibility to boot from this card.
Making a bootable SD card How To Install Windows 7/8.1 From Your Phone's Micro SD Memory Card
Install clean install of Windows.

Do i really need a mouse to install Windows 8 or would just a keyboard be fine, i felt so.
Leaving me not to have to go out and buy a hub now just for this, since i have the USB OTG cable for a keyboard.

 

[thebigalphamale]

WOW!! That is a long drawn out response, but helpful to answer my question originally posted.
Can i do a clean install of Windows 8.1 on this Tablet, although knowing i will loose the Recovery Partition.

I found this post link as possible option for me Asus VivoTab ME400C - wiping and clean reinstalling of Windows 8 Pro

Only thing that concerned me when asking this question starting this post would be as said the ASUS Drivers for devices like Bluetooth,WiFi and some others.
If i read it right in this link, usually when you do your clean install it will ask to delete or format the drive, at this point before you start the custom clean install there is an option to load drivers, this is when you insert the USB flash with drivers on them and click load, then do your install selecting the partition.

Way it was done on my ASUS Desktop i had Windows 7 on it went to Windows 8.1 Pro, done clean custom install, yes i lost the recovery partition, but knew i did not want to go back to Win7.

Now i would not trust others sites to download ASUS updates from.
So far everything works fine for me,Windows 8.1 32 bit running smooth, no freezes,nothing.

I just wanted to know if there was a way if i decided to do it, knowing i could also regain space on the drive.
I am a bit unsure about it now,with this ASUS original Drivers going in correct if i did this.

I bookmarked the link i re-linked here, to look at it more.

For one thing ASUS is one company that does not put a lot of bloatware on there systems, knowing this is my second product from them.

Need a keyboard to access the recovery partition, along with the USB OTG cable, i have all this. I do have a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 32 bit on a disk with original key.

Oh,what exactly does NFC stand for where do i find it then?

Ive also found there isnt much if any bloat on the tablet. So storage space shouldnt be the reason to install a fresh non asus version of windows 8, the reason Ive seen posted is it "may" give you more free storage space, and it "may" make the atom tablet feel "faster"... YMMV and I do not know if its true or not on either. I may give it a go and see. But I think you can clean up windows to get the maximum space possible anyways (clean off old restore points and old windows update files etc as examples) and you can make it faster by installing the game booster or turbo boost programs of your choice or just google how to optimize windows 7 and or 8 and do the things you feel are worth while (turn off aero view and so on to increase performance at the expense of visuals and so on) so I plan on trying these things before I try a complete reinstall of non asus windows 8 version just to see what I can "get" out of it for more speed/processing power/less ram usage etc...

If I do reinstall from non hidden partiton (which you should be able to backup to an external drive before you do your own install of windows 8 so you dont lose it) ill have to download the ISO from microsofts site bc I dont have a disk and Ill have to extract my key from the bios or whatever as it is mentioned in my above posts.

and you should be able to backup all the asus drivers you are currently using with a number of driver backup programs that are free on the internet... Ive used them before, some are good and some are bad...and ive not used any in a long while, so Ill prob download 2 or 3 programs, use them all so I have a few choices to pick from if I have a problem using it to install my drivers or update them. Ill also prob do a simple full image of the current windows set up I have now just to have an easy reinstall if I want to revert back to this current one I am using now.. Yeah I tend to go a little overboard on backing up and so on...LOL... but I think a few clicks for prevention is well worth it in the long run and I just delete them down the road if I dont use them. Ill probably just play with the current setup I have for a week or 2 before I do anything just to get a feel for how it is now.

you can get a 4 port usb hub for dirt cheap at ebay or newegg or amazon... OTG cable I got 2 for 99 cents I think off ebay (from china if I remember right) but for under 5 bucks you can get all that easily and it will come in handy for years to come. If you have lots of external hard drives or usb 3.0 computers I suggest getting a powered usb 3.0 hub... can easily get one with 4-7 ports for $8 and under on amazon. and the power option will come in handy at some point im sure its good to have it IMO vs a non powered one, but a simple small portable 4 port hub for the vivotab I think is essential. They may even make one that is microUSB male at the connection end, mine is not that way so I have to use OTG then connect my hub to it.

It would be nice if we could use the microSD card slot to boot from to do the install, but I do not know if that is a viable option, wonder if we can get to the bios from the boot screen and see if it gives that option... come to think of it on booting I dont remember it displaying click f8 or whatever to get to the bios???? humm???

as far as NFC I believe it stands for near field communication and its used as a simple way to connect 2 devices and share..all you do is touch them together on the specific spots and it does its thing. Its used for stuff like google wallet payments and or other things like simple sharing of a picture or video from one device to another device that has NFC...
you can see it in action on the asus vivotab smart right here on youtube - the link should start at like 31:25 if not thats where the NFC demo begins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FyAfkWyUJ4&feature=player_detailpage#t=1879

O.k. here is a new something i thought of, do not have a USB hub to be able hook up a mouse,keyboard and a flash drive.

Tablet comes with a MicroSD, seems there could be a possibility to boot from this card.
Making a bootable SD card How To Install Windows 7/8.1 From Your Phone's Micro SD Memory Card
Install clean install of Windows.

Do i really need a mouse to install Windows 8 or would just a keyboard be fine, i felt so.
Leaving me not to have to go out and buy a hub now just for this, since i have the USB OTG cable for a keyboard.

just a thought but maybe you have a friend or college at work ( or you IT dept at work if you have one) might lend you a hub for a day or 2 so you can use it till you get one of your own and so you dont have to pay super high retail price at your local brick and mortar store.. or buy one at bestbuy use it and return it when done ...

by the way do you have the transleeve cover and keyboard? or maybe just the transleeve cover by itself..Im thinking of getting one and from the videos the cover looks like it has a decent magnet, but from reviews i read they say the magnet is weak and sucks so its not worth it, just wondering if you have any experience with it, the keyboard looks nice esp with the trackpad, but its really expensive. Like 75-100 bucks! If not what case/cover are you using? or recommend one?

 

[jds63]

O.k. some of reason i also thought of doing a clean install was, if i ever had to do a system recovery i would have to go through putting in all of the Windows 8 updates again, then Windows 8.1 upgrade, plus it's update again, a bit tedious.

Yes i am aware of how to clean up Windows update, old back ups of Windows,etc.

Right now only software i put on is Microsoft Office Pro 2013 and i have almost 34GB used on Tablet.

Link i posted does show a possibility of doing this with a MicroSD, yes i guess i can afford a hub,but no other use for it on my desktop or others.

Guess this was some of my reasons for clean install and yes some say it runs better this way.
Link you first put in, forum members had issues with the Windows 8 ASUS put into the Tablet.
My thing is i want 8.1, possible clean install of it.

Yes i will gain 8GB from the recovery partition.
Some cases fresh install runs better then system with an upgrade over it.
Yes my biggest concern doing this would be ASUS's drivers being put back in.

My Desktop has a WD MyBook 3TB USB 3.0 External Drive for my backup. I use system restore a lot.

Question, do you know how to disable NFC, since i do not use that feature, if it's using up battery life ?
Do not see it in control panel, sure i would find it in services.

Speaking of keyboard i recently purchased the Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard and the Wedge Mouse at a great price.
Both work great, there both Bluetooth. Transleeve,no, i just bought a cover with Auto-sleep and it works and fits great with magnets, cheap one too.

If bootable Microsd is out, then i will get a 3 port cheap hub, just for this. If i want to ever do this job.

 

[thebigalphamale]

I cant wait to hear how your microSD boot/reinstall goes if you do end up doing this. I just really wonder how much faster a clean install (vs asus version of windows 8 and then updating to 8.1)

Ive found you can turn off NFC and the GPS feature- you go to the charms bar, hit settings, change pc settings in the lower right, network and then under airplane mode turn off GNSS for turning off the gps stuff and then turn off NFC to turn off NFC... I honestly dont know how much more battery life you can get out of doing this... if I had to guess I would say maybe 10-20%???

have you tried burning the hidden recovery partition to dvds or putting it on your 3TB and then deleting if off the vivotab smart? you could save the space that way and still have access to the recovery partition. Ill prob end up trying that in a few weeks after playing with this current setup and then I will also do a full image backup of the current setup with the recovery partition still on it with all my windows 8.1 updates etc so that I have access to it if I ever need it and so I dont have to, like you said, reinstall all the windows 8.1 updates etc.. Ill prob also backup the drivers like I said and put them in onedrive so I always can get them from the cloud if need be.

can you post a link to the case you got/liked

and have you tried the microHDMI port?

and do you know of any good pdf apps or touch pdf programs for reading pdfs etc... the default windows reader one kinda sucks IMO bc it doesnt render the text very sharp on this lower resolution screen (coming from much higher resolution nook HD and samsung note 10.1 2014 android tablets) and their isnt any settings I can find on it to customize it??????

 

[robinb9]

I have used the micro hdmi port. I hooked up a vga micro cable to it so i could hook it up to a projector, i got it at amazon, works great. I also got a micro usb port also from amazon and a micro port to hdmi and all 3 work great
i use adobe pdf reader to read pdfs on the tablet

 

[jds63]

I cant wait to hear how your microSD boot/reinstall goes if you do end up doing this. I just really wonder how much faster a clean install (vs asus version of windows 8 and then updating to 8.1)

Ive found you can turn off NFC and the GPS feature- you go to the charms bar, hit settings, change pc settings in the lower right, network and then under airplane mode turn off GNSS for turning off the gps stuff and then turn off NFC to turn off NFC... I honestly dont know how much more battery life you can get out of doing this... if I had to guess I would say maybe 10-20%???

have you tried burning the hidden recovery partition to dvds or putting it on your 3TB and then deleting if off the vivotab smart? you could save the space that way and still have access to the recovery partition. Ill prob end up trying that in a few weeks after playing with this current setup and then I will also do a full image backup of the current setup with the recovery partition still on it with all my windows 8.1 updates etc so that I have access to it if I ever need it and so I dont have to, like you said, reinstall all the windows 8.1 updates etc.. Ill prob also backup the drivers like I said and put them in onedrive so I always can get them from the cloud if need be.

can you post a link to the case you got/liked

and have you tried the microHDMI port?

and do you know of any good pdf apps or touch pdf programs for reading pdfs etc... the default windows reader one kinda sucks IMO bc it doesnt render the text very sharp on this lower resolution screen (coming from much higher resolution nook HD and samsung note 10.1 2014 android tablets) and their isnt any settings I can find on it to customize it??????

I am not positive this MicroSD will work, as saw in a link i posted it was explained how, but not sure if it would boot to it, if i tried.
I bought a USB hub.

I did go into the BIOS and it is a UEFI BIOS which i wasn't sure it was with 32bit system, thought only 64bit was.
Because if i tried that link you provided about making a USB Flash Drive, do i need to make it UEFI bootable or not,
was not explained in the that topic link.
This shows you how by Brink, but note says 32bit not supported http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15458-uefi-bootable-usb-flash-drive-create-windows.html

So this part puzzles me.
Now i do have a USB OTG Cable and even a Portable DVD Drive, question is will it see it in the boot menu, like trying to use the MicroSD.

Drivers were a concern as mentioned before, i did find them at ASUS Support Download site ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download ASUS VivoTab Smart

These links you provided from those forums, most were saying that they had issues with the performance of the Windows 8 on this Tablet that ASUS put on it, this seemed to be there reasons for trying a clean install.

I am not going to mess with trying to delete or remove the recovery partition unless i decide to try the clean install, then i will have the option to delete it then.

Thanks for the info on NFC, i will take a look into it. I sent you a visitor's message with the link to the case for Tablet.
No, i have not tried this HDMI port yet, see Robin has your answers.

 

[thebigalphamale]

Yeah I dont see anything in the bios about the microSD slot and I also have a usb portable dvd writer so that had crossed my mind as an option. My guess is it will boot from the microUSB port with a usb flash drive or the dvd drive, but not boot from the microSD slot.

as for the drivers I would back them up from your ASUS as well as get them from the ASUS site... Ive found sometimes the ones currently on to be newer than the ones on manufactures websites and sometimes vs versa.

and yes from what I read the clean install of windows 8.1 they seemed to feel it was zipper

I have a microHDMI ill give it a try this weekend and watch a movie using VLC.

Im still looking for a good pdf reader but maybe Im just stuck without a good one since windows app store still leaves much to be desired as far as extra options but if I have time this weekend I might try to install bluestacks and try to run my favorite pdf reader from android on it.

 

[jds63]

I see i got you thinking on this more and more, .

I never used a USB Flash drive for this kind of situation before. So i guess i am not too knowledgeable on it.
But i am doing my research and homework as i usually do, before i ever attempt doing anything on a PC,laptop or Tablet i am not too familiar with.

When i bought this Tablet i believe one of the update through ASUS Live Update was marked ME400C, probably was driver updates, along with the BIOS update.

So one on the ASUS site is the newest ones compared to one that came on the Tablet, driver date on the site is 2014.
Tablet was manufactured before that, would of had Windows 8.1 on it also. Look at dates when it was made.

Well i made a USB Flash Drive following Brink's Tutorial, copied the contents of a Windows 8.1 32bit DVD to it.
Copied ASUS Drivers and ASUS Live Update to another USB Drive. Do more homework and think about doing it or not, need to look at a few more things, possibility of knowing if this has secure boot and shutting it off if i do this also. Then there is also the possibility this recovery partition is locked.

Hey if i want to watch a Movie i have my desktop PC with HD 1920 X 1080p, no reason hook tablet to my Monitor, not gonna work better anyways. Cyberlink PowerDVD one of the best.

Do not know much about PDF readers. Adobe Acrobat an option ?

 

[thebigalphamale]

ive got a HTPC high res with bluray etc...so Im good to go...but I figure why not try out the hdmi on it...might come in handy to have done it a time or 2 for when Im on the road or movie at a friends house etc... and can just use my portable tablet


good thing for google and all the others out there who have done it before us and wrote it up. I am thinking on it more and would like to do a clean fresh install of windows 8.1 (no update etc fresh and clean!!!) I do have to get 32bit 8.1 off the web though as I dont currently have a disk and get my serial for windows off the asus before I have at it...

I cant imagine it being slower...so we only got room to improve and space to gain!

 

[jds63]

Yes i have a Blu-ray DVD Burner also, nice set of 5.1 speakers.Creative Soundblaster Z 5.1 Card.Decent EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Video card.

I tried the USB hub with a keyboard and mouse, but i only thing i can not access is the recovery partition just to check it out.
ASUS said press F9 on keyboard at boot, but nuttin' happens.

F8 gets me a menu for the boot manager or BIOS Setup. Nothing in the boot manager, i assume it's because nothing to boot from yet, nothing hooked up. This was just a test.

All i get on internet are ways to do a reset from within Windows 8.1 in PC settings. Is this it? Am i missing something ?



Well if i finish my homework get bold enough i may connect the USB Flash drive and try.
One thing that i may need to do is i noticed Secure Boot in the BIOS, i may need to disable it if i try the clean install.

 

[thebigalphamale]

Ive heard of this issue when going from a hdd to an ssd drive, but this isnt the case since its always had a ssd... my next guess would be that its possible the partition is still there, BUT the "link" to it has be lost due to the update from windows 8 to 8.1??? just a guess but that could be reason as its a major update and in a sense its kind of done like an upgrade to a different version of windows vs a SP1 to SP2 type of update... and it sets up your old documents in the windows.old folder.. so maybe that has something to do with it??

my 3rd thought is somehow 8.1 doesnt want to let you go back to 8??? but this is unlikely and is the last thing I could come up with without doing any research on it

I tell you so far these ASUS set ups, updates, windows updates, factory resets and so on... its not straight forward as it was in windows 7...seems there is a lot of error and issues to deal with... ive never had to work so hard on a brand new out of the box device i my life!!!

 

[jds63]

Listen i can try to call back ASUS on F9 deal. Pretty good at answering quickly and will talk with you long.

I do not believe everything i read on the internet, good reason i come here where there are knowledgeable people.

I was curious to see the screen for the recovery, in case of i ever needed it. Be calling ASUS if i do then.

Do not believe updates are causing this to happen, unless you do a clean install of Windows 8 or 8.1, then you might loose the function of F9, even with possibly keeping the partition. You may also as said not be able to remove it, due to it being locked.
Hence not even being able to do a Clean Install EITHER!

A guess is after or even before an update or upgrade to 8.1 this partition may possibly only be accessed through Windows 8 PC settings screen, similar to when you do a reset or refresh. Saw a topic about holding down shift key plus power button, something like that, should of saved the page, or typing factory in search bar in tiles screen.

I never look at any PC stuff as hard work, especially that i enjoy using one, i always look at it as a learning experience.
Don't get frustrated, if you do, take a break, come back to it. I have done a lot with my Desktop PC,i've learned a lot and i'm not afraid to learn more, never too old.

 

[thebigalphamale]

Dont get me wrong I enjoy tinkering, learning and figuring things out. I had an old lenovo x41t tablet and I had xp on it, then vista, then windows 7 then just bc I added windows 8... and you know they dont update the drivers and such for it since after vista, so it was always fun to try to get things to work properly and all the dedicated buttons etc....

well let me know what you come up with on the F9 issue...

 

[jds63]

I get ya!! Just checking

Tried F9 still nothing.

But guess what, i got anxious and did the Clean install of Windows 8.1 32bit. Had all research i felt needed, finished my homework.

Everything went good, no issues at all, exactly as shown in that tablet pc forum you linked me.

As said before i made the USB Flash Drive UEFI Bootable, copied the contents of a Windows 8.1 disc to the flash drive.
Went to ASUS site and downloaded the Drivers package v5.0 and ASUS Live Update software and unzipped and copied them to another USB Flash Drive.

I connected the USB OTG Cable w/USB Hub connected keyboard and a mouse, restarted and hit F8 to get the boot manager and saw UEFI USB Flash Device an selected it.

Installation started just as it did when i did it before with Desktop, did not take long at all. When it was done i put in other USB Flash Drive and installed the ASUS Driver Package 5.0 and Live Update then rebooted.

I am now installing Windows 8.1 updates, about 49 + WiFi update.

Let you know more how it is, so far HDD reads 49GB free space, have not even done a clean up yet of install.

 

[thebigalphamale]

NICE...glad things went so smoothly! I think Ill do the same thing when I get some free time to knock it all out in a row! Did you get the windows serial key for the vivotab smart, use another one you had or bc its embedded in the bios it did it all on its own?

 

[jds63]

Yes it did go smoothly, one thing about a clean install, it goes so much faster then a factory recovery which most of times takes an hour or more, i remember doing one or two on my Desktop. Only slow thing is Windows update and i know it is not my WiFi, i have fast internet service, either it's the Tablet's speed (processor or Wifi) or Windows Updates speed. Even if i am doing just say 3 updates.

I had this Windows 8.1 disc with it's own serial number, so did not need ASUS one.

Seems that only thing is i lost a few programs, some of the bundled ones ASUS put in, like Kindle, ASUS Vibe and ASUS Web storage.

No big deal, i had ASUS Vibe on my desktop never liked it, do not use ASUS Web storage.

After all updates i have now about 48GB free space.But i will be putting some programs back on, like Microsoft Office 2013.
Some other smaller programs. Plus i have a 64GB MicroSD.

Well i do not see any issues, i will make sure to keep that USB Flash Drive in case, but can always use Windows 8.1 refresh or reset.