Solved SSD NVMe Drivers for Windows 8

RapaNui

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I would like to use an NVMe SSD with an Asrock Z77 motherboard using PCIe 4x. Intel and Samsung supply SSDs which are compatible with this mobo.
Intel has driver downloads (Download Datacenter NVMe* Microsoft Windows* Drivers for Intel® SSDs) for
Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and Windows 7
Samsung has driver downloads (SSD Tools & Software | Download | Samsung V-NAND SSD) for
Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
I read several threads, but don't know why Samsung does not have a Windows 8 compatible driver.
Do you guys have any suggestions?
Any help is appreciated
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770
    Motherboard
    ASROCK Z77 Extreme
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Snake Oil
windows 8 and 8.1 have the same kernel so drivers that work on one should work on the other. The reason samsung does not explicitly list windows 8 on their site (my guess) is that so few use it:

March 2019 worldwide windows installs
W10 - 56%
W7 - 33%
W8.1 - 6%
W8 - 2%
WinXp - 2%
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win7 pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    home built
    CPU
    i7-7700k
    Motherboard
    gigabyte z270n-wifi
    Memory
    2x8GB Corsair pc3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard intel hd630
    Browser
    firefox
    Antivirus
    malwarebytes
Thanks for the answer, but I don't understand it.
Windows 8 has kernel 6.2 and Windows 8.1 has kernel 6.3.
Windows 8 has no Microsoft NVMe driver. Windows 8.1 has a standard Microsoft NVMe driver. Anyway, Intel and Samsung add their proprietary NVMe drivers to Windows.
And it's interesting that we have more than a billion Windows installations world wide. A base of 2 % of Windows 8 users would imply millions of potential customers for NVMe SSDs.
So the question is even more burning: Why doesn't Samsung offer NVMe drivers for Windows 8 while Intel does?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770
    Motherboard
    ASROCK Z77 Extreme
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Snake Oil
I have NVMe Samsung SSD 950 Pro in my PC, currently it works with Windows 8.1 without installation of specific Samsung driver (OS was installed anew). However, one year ago it worked with Windows 7 and used Samsung driver v. 1.4.7.17. Later I upgraded it to Windows 8 (direct upgrade to 8.1 wasn't a good option because of loss of all installed programs and settings). And in Windows 8 this "heritage" driver worked quite well. I cannot give you a link to this version and I'm not sure whether it will work in fresh Windows 8. However, I found a slightly earlier version 1.4.7.16 WHQL here:

Samsung 950 Pro Direct Driver Download for Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10 Clean Install Installation.

As you see, it should work with Windows 8 too. Maybe this will help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro; Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-12700K (Alder Lake)
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z690-M Plus D4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GeForce 1050 Ti, 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 235PQ
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 (FHD)
    Hard Drives
    Windows 8.1: Samsung SSD 980 PRO, 500 GB (M.2)
    Windows 11: Samsung SSD 870 EVO, 500 GB (SATA)
    PSU
    Platimax D.F. 1050 W (80 Plus Platinum)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
Windows 8 has kernel 6.2 and Windows 8.1 has kernel 6.3.
For instance, Vista drivers almost always work on Win7, as Vista is kernel 6.0 as Win7 is kernel 6.1. They have the same v6 kernel. Similarly Win8 drivers tend to work on Win8.1. But WinXp drivers do not work on Vista, as they are different kernel versions.
Windows 8 has no Microsoft NVMe driver. Windows 8.1 has a standard Microsoft NVMe driver.
Microsoft does have an NVMe driver for Win7 and Win8, just not on the original installation disks. It came originally as a hotfix for Win7.
So the question is even more burning: Why doesn't Samsung offer NVMe drivers for Windows 8 while Intel does?
I continue to believe the the Samsung does offer such a driver, and its the same one that works on Win8.1. I would phrase the question as "Why doesn't Samsung explicitly state that their NVMe driver will work on Windows 8"? The answer could be that they do not want to troubleshoot users who file tickets due to issues with getting their drive to work on Windows 8, as not only are the worldwide user counts very small as a percentage of their total market, but think about those users for a minute. How many people who turned down a free, easy upgrade to a superior OS (8.1 vs 8) are in the business of going out and buying an NVMe drive for that Win8 machine? Very few - those systems are mostly static. Samsung has perhaps decided that the tiny number of potential Win8 buyers are not worth the trouble to make both the driver certification/verification effort, as well as the support effort. But the point is moot, because that driver will work on Win8, I blindly assert.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win7 pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    home built
    CPU
    i7-7700k
    Motherboard
    gigabyte z270n-wifi
    Memory
    2x8GB Corsair pc3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard intel hd630
    Browser
    firefox
    Antivirus
    malwarebytes
Thanks to Slavic its solved.

Samsung does supply a Windows 8 compatible NVMe driver. However, it's not a windows 8 driver, but a windows 7 driver.

The "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64" works for Windows 8 Pro (my PC) and Windows 8 Enterprise (fresh install on my PC).
The "64bit Samsung NVMe driver v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win8.1 x64" was neither installable on Windows 8 Pro nor -Enterprise.
Both WHQL drivers can be found at 三星固态硬盘驱动Samsung NVMe driver v3.0.0.1802 WHQL 64位下载-三星SSD-U盘量产网
In Windows 8 Pro and -Enterprise unpack the "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64" archive, click secnvme.inf and the driver will be installed. There will be a new entry in Device Manager under Storage controllers: Samsung NVM Express driver. A new drive will appear in Windows explorer as well, i.e. the Samsung NVMe SSD.

Benchmarks for a Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD with "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64":

Windows 8 Pro
Samsung Magician | System Compatability: OS Version: 6.2.9200
Sequential (MB/s) Random (IOPS)
Read Write Read Write
3328 822 275146 235351

Windows 8 Enterprise
Samsung Magician | System Compatability: OS Version: 6.2.9200
Sequential (MB/s) Random (IOPS)
Read Write Read Write
3034 2947 279052 232177


I also tested Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.1.exe with Win 8 Pro and Win 8 Enterprise with the following result: "Samsung NVM Express Driver cannot be installed on this Operating System."

Finally I tried the corresponding WHQL drivers in version 3.1 using Win 8 Pro and -Enterprise:

64bit-Samsung-NVMe-drivers-v3.1.0.1901-WHQL-for-Win7-x64
http://www.smartredirect.de/redir/c...Me%20Drivers/64bit%20Samsung%20NVMe%20drivers
%2520v3.1.0.1901%2520WHQL%2520for%2520Win7%2520x64.rar&r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.win-raid.com%2Ft29f25-Recommended-AHCI-RAID-and-NVMe-Drivers.html
Win 8 Pro: The driver installs, but Samsung Magician Performance Benchmark runs for a second and then completes with errors. In addition, copying a 3 GB file with Windows explorer was 10 % slower with driver version 3.1 compared to 3.0.
Win 8 Enterprise: The driver installs and Samsung Magician Performance Benchmark gives the same results as for version 3.0.

64bit-Samsung-NVMe-driver-v3.1.0.1901-WHQL-for-Win8-x64.
http://www.smartredirect.de/redir/c...VMe%20Drivers/64bit%20Samsung%20NVMe%20driver
%2520v3.1.0.1901%2520WHQL%2520for%2520Win8%2520x64.rar&r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.win-raid.com%2Ft29f25-Recommended-AHCI-RAID-and-NVMe-Drivers.html
Win 8 Pro: Installation of the driver fails with "The software was tested for compliance with Windows Logo requirements on a different version of Windows, and may not be compatible with this version."
Win 8 Enterprise: Installation of the driver fails with "The software was tested for compliance with Windows Logo requirements on a different version of Windows, and may not be compatible with this version."

To sum it up: At the moment the most suitable NVMe driver for a Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD for Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Enterprise is "64bit Samsung_NVMe_driver_v3.0.0.1802 WHQL for Win7 x64".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770
    Motherboard
    ASROCK Z77 Extreme
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    None
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Snake Oil
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