Windows 8 on Asus U36JC

Here’s what I learnt about upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 on my Asus U36JC (even though the Asus Support website says it hasn’t been tested):

• It all works! 🙂 (Except for the bluetooth module)
• At the start of the upgrade I had to uninstall the Atheros WLAN Bluetooth Client Application (and drivers) because the Windows 8 upgrade program said it was incompatible. I did uninstall it and proceeded with the upgrade.
• I used the Ethernet connection in the interim.
• After the upgrade the wireless drivers didn’t install at first. I tried installing drivers in compatibility mode but no luck.
• After doing a Windows Update, the WLAN drivers worked.
• Bluetooth still not functional, which I don’t really need.

And, Windows 8 is pretty cool!

Windows 8

So I was bored and I decided to upgrade to Windows 8. I struggled a bit trying to backup my drive which didn’t work as I expected and ended up using the built-in backup service in Windows 7. The Windows 8 download didn’t take too long, 2GB download, and it is being installed as I post this. This should be interesting…

Windows 7 and Terabyte drives

I learned the hard way that the Windows 7 Backup program (built-in one) doesn’t like drives bigger than 2Tb. It will come up with a I/o error message (can’t remember what the error code was) and if you google that you’ll see the official Microsoft response.

Windows 7 Backup

If anyone is using Windows 7’s built-in backup service and it suddenly stops working, check if your antivirus/anti-malware software found anything during the failed backup process. In my case, Microsoft Security Essentials found a Java exploit and this was causing the backup to fail. Once I completed a full scan of the computer and removed the files containing the Java exploit, the backup service worked! 🙂