There are four quick points to get through if you are trying to run Windows 10 on an Asus T100:
- You have to run 32 bit at least for now as the UEFI (new BIOS) that Asus built does not support 64 bit (as of October 26, 2014)
- Windows 10 WILL upgrade from your old Windows 8.1 BUT I found the machine slow and well, not quite right, so wiped it out
- If you wipe out the factory image you will lose the drivers, but all of the drivers CAN be found on one of two sites:
- The Asus T100TA Driver package. Click CHIPSET > SOC DRIVER PACKAGE (with VGA AND CAMERA)
- The Dell Venue 11 driver package
- After the install and driver updates were complete, I was saddened to see the Tiles/Modern UI/Metro start screen… so I changed it!
- Right click on the task bar and select Properties
- Click the START MENU tab and select USE THE START MENU INSTEAD OF THE START SCREEN
Below are the steps I followed to complete the install:
- I flashed the BIOS/UEFI to the most current but I do not think that was required.
- Download 32 bit Windows 10 from Microsoft and make a DVD or use the install DVD if you have a release version
- Entered the BIOS of your Asus T100 and set it to boot to the USB DVD player I had plugged in
- Run through the install wizard as you would expect but delete ALL the partitions
- Complete the base install and sign in
- Launch DEVICE MANAGER and notice that there are about a dozen pieces of hardware that did not get installed and now show as the dreaded UNKNOWN
- Fortunately the wireless driver DID get installed so you can surf and source drivers easily
- Download the Asus T100TA Driver package for Windows 8.1 and extract the files to a new folder your create named C:\DRIVERS
- Right click on any of the UNKNOWN devices and select UPDATE DRIVER then point it to C:\DRIVERS
- Repeat step 9 until you are done
- Expand DISPLAY ADAPTERS, and right click on MICROSOFT BASIC VIDEO ADAPTOR, and force it to update from the Asus Driver package.
- If you leave your T100 with the MS BASIC ADAPTER, the computer will function but it will be clunky and feel slow… so fix it!
- When you are done it should read INTEL HD GRAPHICS
- I also then installed, Office 2013, Adobe Reader because I hate the integrated one along with Microsoft Photo Gallery and Movie Maker.
Note that in my case I did not find the Asus Drivers until after I had installed the Dell drivers using the process in steps 7, 8 and 9. The point being if you are missing any drivers, give the Dell download a shot.
In the end I found that the Video Driver, G Force Sensor and Camera were the biggest problems but the Asus T100 Windows 8.1 SOC package contained all I needed and now there are no UNKNOWNs in my Device Manager.
The Asus T100 runs Windows 10 beautifully.
Enjoy!
57 Comments
Snobird · August 11, 2015 at 11:24 am
Thanks for the detailed install tips. I did the upgrade to 10 from 8.1. After cleaning out Windows.OLD this gave me about 10Gb free space. Win 10 ran well initially but I had a few issues so I did a new CLEAN WIN 10 INSTALL over the single partition. Free space is now about 20 Gb. Now finalising install with all my missing SW. OH Boy
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Yes Windows 10 is smaller because of compression and the removal of recovery partitions. See: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/08/solved-why-does-windows-10-take-less-space-than-windows-7-or-8/
John L Smith · August 8, 2015 at 11:35 pm
after numberless tries to get my t100 to have a network connection I’m seeking help
My system tells me that I cannot start the appopreate manager to sart connectiong and it mocks me by telling me to get more information online (while beeing offline) Pop up keyboard doesent work either
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:07 pm
Does the wireless Network Card appear in DEVICE MANAGER?
njfulwider5 · August 4, 2015 at 9:14 pm
When you did the clean install with the dvd/CD. Did you pick update/upgrade or custom. I notice allot of people talking about the windows.old file. Usually you only get this with update/upgrade. I understand that you can update threw windows also-But I wanted to know about a clean install. Do you happen to remember what version of the Bios you had? Last question-When you use the disk to do a clean install. Will it still use UEFI install automatically?Great Post
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:15 pm
I performed a clean install BUT you could run the update from the “Win10 App” (Windows Update) and the WINDOWS.OLD file will automatically be removed after 30 days. Remember that Windows 10 is SMALLER than Windows 8: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/08/solved-why-does-windows-10-take-less-space-than-windows-7-or-8/ I don’t recall the BIOS version, but I always use the most current available before upgrading Operating Systems. As for the UEFI, I don’t recall, but I am 90% sure it does. I hope this helps.
Brian s · August 3, 2015 at 5:38 am
I’m upgrading to Windows 10 from Microsoft media tool software and it had said in beginning I needed more hard drive space so I put in a 128gb sd card which it said I could do. I come back five hours later and its on a loop where it gets the Asus boot screen w Asus logo then says restoring previous version of Windows with circle spinning. It does a little work, reboots then same restoring message.
Normal or viscious cycle? It says to put back in SD card if I take it out whilst it is rebooting in the cycle.
Thanks in advance
Brian
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:24 pm
This is very odd and quite unexpected. I have not seen this before and I have had no reports of this. I think you are in a viscous cycle and will likely need to do a clean install.
Steve O · August 1, 2015 at 9:41 pm
How do you reinstall MS office 2013 Home and Student that’s preinstalled in Win 8.1?
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:27 pm
Your Office should have come with a CD Key and you can download the source the installation files directly from Microsoft: https://products.office.com/en-us/get-office-oem-download-page
Linus · August 1, 2015 at 4:00 am
On my T100, the device Manager says there are Problems with the Intel Trusted Execution Index (TXE). Also, my T100 crashes all the time….
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:31 pm
It looks like that problem can be caused by a failed BIOS update. https://communities.intel.com/thread/67381?start=0&tstart=0 I would download the latest BIOS and re-flash it. After that I would run a repair by right clicking on the START button, selected COMMAND PROMPT (ADMINISTRATOR) and typing SFC /SCANNOW .
I hope that helps.
Linus · August 30, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Thank you, I´ve just seen this (had a few busy days) and will try it out soon. I don´t understand this issue, as for many people it seems to work well, but my T100 says “Goodbye!” after around 10 minutes. In fact, it doesn´t even say anything. The screen becomes black, and that´s it.
Linus · August 30, 2015 at 3:30 pm
No, it didn´t work. Installed Windows 8.1, but I have still the same problem…
Ezequiel · July 30, 2015 at 10:26 am
I installed Windows 10 from a fresh install and the audio is not working…I have the small red cross and I can’t make it work…any clue?
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Have you tried going into DEVICE MANAGER and UNISTALLING the sound card and driver, then rebooting to have it Plug and Play?
Mat · July 30, 2015 at 7:42 am
If you use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool to create an installation image on another PC, you can then install on your T100 from a USB flash drive.
It doesn’t need too much free space for the installation — I only had around 6GB free and there’s now over 4GB after the upgrade (which will be more when I’ve removed the old Windows).
As mentioned above — you must download and install the SOC driver package, including video drivers. It’ll warn about being older than the existing drivers, but go ahead and install anyway.
All looking goo so far!
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Great! We have some notes on Media Creation Tool for those who want it: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/07/solved-how-to-do-a-clean-install-of-windows-10-without-a-product-key/
BobM · August 28, 2015 at 3:17 pm
When I try this, I get asked for a product key. Is there any way around this (this is a new T100 I just purchased). I can’t find a product key anywhere.
Ian Matthews · August 29, 2015 at 5:35 pm
The Windows 8 product key is embedded in you BIOS and is no longer a sticker. You can find out what that Windows 8 key is with a simple (and free) query tool like: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html You need to upgrade to Windows 10 from Win8 if you do not have a separate key as Windows 10 will NOT use the Windows 8 key.
Ismail Akudi · July 25, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Could you tell me how much of the 32GB does Win 10 take up? I want to upgrade and add Office 365 – that’s all I will need but I am concious that in the past folders such as Winsxs take up HUGE amounts of space.
Ian Matthews · July 28, 2015 at 7:25 pm
It is not notably larger than Windows 8. I have Win 10 + Office365 + dozens of apps and still have > 5GB free.
Dave · July 31, 2015 at 4:31 am
Why on earth would you want to RENT Office. Buy the edition you need and only pay once. I’m still using Office 2007 and it works with Win10.
Mahmoud Samy · August 17, 2015 at 7:50 am
After upgrade to windows 10, it save 8 GB in 32 GB memory. It was unbelivable
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Yes Windows 10 is smaller because of compression and the removal of recovery partitions. See: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/08/solved-why-does-windows-10-take-less-space-than-windows-7-or-8/
Camonunez · June 9, 2015 at 4:41 pm
I installed windows 10 using the file that activates the update through windows update, after an hour and some more, it finished. The system UI was laggy and the animations slow, but i just reinstalled the intel chipset drivers and after a reboot everything works smoothly. I can say that it’s even faster than with win 8.1.
Give it a try, and don’t forget to reinstall the chipset drivers and the lastest bios (uefi) from the official asus support website.
Ehin · August 10, 2015 at 12:58 am
Hi Camonunez
I have a T100TA 32Gig main drive. Win 8.1
I am still incertain about thr Win 10 upgrade.
Firstly, I am certain that I do not have enough space on the main drive.
Secondly I am concerned that the Office 2013 Student edition bundled long with the T100TA would not migrate along with the upgrade and would requre a reinstall — and that would cause issues. (like i can’t find my Office 2013 license key anymore)
I’ve bewn trawling the net to find similar experiences with the same configuratiion, but thus far havent found any.
That said, having a brand new OS with no Office (that i don’t have to pay a subscription for) is not worth the upgrade.
Any thoughts?
Ian Matthews · August 18, 2015 at 9:06 pm
Hi Camonuez, I have two quick thoughts. 1: the upgrade SHOULD not lose ANY of your programs. 2: Windows 10 should SAVE your many GB of disk space: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/08/solved-why-does-windows-10-take-less-space-than-windows-7-or-8/
I hope this helps.
Sam · June 2, 2015 at 8:35 am
Thanks for the article! Finally made the jump now that Build 10130 is stable, and aside from the screen intermittently flickering black (and a few Windows-specific issues–Action Center not opening, Desktop photo slideshows breaking frequently), it’s a great build.
I do still have one device listed as “unknown” in the Device Manager, but I honestly have no idea what it is as I installed everything (so I thought) on the page you provided.
You’re right: the most crucial thing to update is the SOC drivers. The display is night/day different once you do that.
One other side note: Windows 10 seems to have fixed my BSOD issue related to an Intel power driver (which I also believe was the cause of my constant battery drain when in sleep mode wherein the hard drive wouldn’t disconnect).
Thanks!
Karl Forand · March 24, 2015 at 6:56 pm
Hi! Do you know if it is possible to return to windows 8.1 after you have upgraded to windows 10?
Ian Matthews · July 28, 2015 at 7:54 pm
Yes, it is supposed to be able to roll back for 30 days. After that time the WINDOWS.OLD folder is supposed to be automatically deleted and roll back will no longer be an option.
Rick · March 18, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Thanks! I was able to get Win10 installed on mine and everything seems to work good! The only issue I have is with my camera. The picture is extremely fuzzy and not sharp like it was in Win 8. It has driver version 603.9600.1648.31252 installed. I’m curious, if yours is working well, what version you are using? Thanks!
Ian Matthews · March 22, 2015 at 12:41 am
I had not noticed any problems with it. My T100 is not accessible to me right now so I can not give you a build number, sorry 🙁
craig · April 10, 2015 at 7:43 pm
when i log into the uefi the only choice i have under boot is windows boot manager either enabled or disabled. i do not have a choice for my external dvd/cd drive. Any ideas. i have 313 bios onboard.
Ian Matthews · July 28, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Hi Craig; I have only seen this using an older Samsung external DVD that came with a USB cable using TWO USB connectors. If BOTH connectors were not plugged in, the external USB would have enough power to spin but not enough for the laptop to use it.
Harbi · February 1, 2015 at 4:29 pm
One question I have is, how has your battery life been with Win 10?
Ian Matthews · March 1, 2015 at 1:11 pm
I am running my laptops mostly like PC’s in that I have them in docks so I seldom see battery issues. That being said I have not noticed any problems. What are you seeing with your battery under Windows 10?
Hi Ian · January 26, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Nicely done, I’m there as well, but i want to rid my c drive of the windows old file, i didn’t have to wipe it to get it installed.
I am running a 128 GiG Micro Sd card but want to get win Old gone.
any ideas?
Thanks /vegasvinman@gmail.com
Ian Matthews · March 1, 2015 at 1:12 pm
I think you can safely dump C:\WINDOWS_OLD . I would rename WINDOWS_OLD, reboot and run it for a few days first but I think it is junk.