Win 8.1 and old Asus Z71a laptop

speedlever

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I have an old Asus Z71a laptop which has run XP.pro for years. I installed Win 8.1 x86 on it today and it seems to run fine in 2 Gb ram. However, I need drivers! With such old equipment, this may be a tall order. But does anyone know where I can get chipset, network, wireless, video, and audio drivers for Win8.1 on this old laptop?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1x64 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homebrew
    CPU
    i5-2500k
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V Pro
    Memory
    16 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x 19 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    1.5GB
    2 GB
    3GB external
    Case
    Antec Solo
    Antivirus
    Avast free
Welcome back, speedlever.

Are they all MS drivers? Does it run fine like you stated?

BTW, 8.1 will install on 1GB of RAM. Some claim even less.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer T690
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Acer/Intel E946GZ
    Memory
    2GB (max upgrade)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
    Sound Card
    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL1917W A LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440 X 900
    Hard Drives
    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
    Thumb drives
    PSU
    Standard 250 watt
    Case
    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
    Cooling
    Dual case fans + CPU fan
    Keyboard
    Acer Windows PS/2
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft Arc
    Internet Speed
    54mbp/s
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
Good question. I think the wireless is Intel so maybe I can get the Intel driver update utility to snag what I need.

Edit: except of course I need to enable my wifi or LAN in order to run the updater utility... which requires a driver or two.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1x64 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homebrew
    CPU
    i5-2500k
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V Pro
    Memory
    16 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x 19 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    1.5GB
    2 GB
    3GB external
    Case
    Antec Solo
    Antivirus
    Avast free
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that almost everything seems to have found a driver on this old laptop. Wireless is working fine, as is the rest of the laptop. DM says I need a video controller driver, but the screen looks fine.

I'm pretty amazed that the old laptop can run Win 8.1 Pro/32 bit on 2 GB ram. That speaks very well for Windows 8.1.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1x64 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homebrew
    CPU
    i5-2500k
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V Pro
    Memory
    16 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x 19 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    1.5GB
    2 GB
    3GB external
    Case
    Antec Solo
    Antivirus
    Avast free
I'm glad to read things are working out for you. :)

I was surprised too that 8.1 X64 runs so well on this older Acer tower. No need to buy new.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer T690
    CPU
    Intel Pentium D Dual Core
    Motherboard
    Acer/Intel E946GZ
    Memory
    2GB (max upgrade)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 - PCI Express x16
    Sound Card
    Integrated RealTek ALC888 high-definition audio with 7.1 channel audio support
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer AL1917W A LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1440 X 900
    Hard Drives
    350 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
    Thumb drives
    PSU
    Standard 250 watt
    Case
    Desktop 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.5" (445mm) L x 14.5"
    Cooling
    Dual case fans + CPU fan
    Keyboard
    Acer Windows PS/2
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft Arc
    Internet Speed
    54mbp/s
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Office Pro 2013 / Nokia Lumia 1520 Windows Phone 8.1DP GDR1
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