Windows 10: Screwed-over by HP/Intel/Microsoft

It's a sad day for early adopters of Microsoft's touch-first OS strategy. Customers who bought some of the first examples of Windows 8.x hybrid systems - e.g. the HP Envy x2 and ElitePad G1, Dell Latitude 10, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 and Miix series, ASUS VivoTab, etc. - will not be able to reliably run Windows 10 because the powers that be are refusing to release a compatible video driver. In fact, anyone with an Intel Atom z2760-based PC is SOL when it comes to Windows 10 support. As far as the vendor community is concerned, the demise of Windows 8.x signals EOL for your systems.

The truly tragic part is that these PCs were designed specifically for a post-Windows 7 world. They feature multi-touch screens, the latest UEFI BIOS architecture and generally support all of the features and functions that separate Windows 10 from all of the pre-Windows 8 versions. Thin, light, fan-less and sporting all day battery life, they represented Intel's first, best shot at creating an x86-based platform competitor to the iPad juggernaut.

Now, these customers (of whom I am one) are being left out in the cold, ostensibly because of a classic "Not Invented Here" scenario. In order to meet its power envelope design requirements for the "Cedar Trail" chipset, Intel went with a Samsung-designed Power VR 545 GPU. And now that the competition between Intel and Samsung is heating up, Intel is treating its own platform like an ugly stepchild - starving it to death in the attic of driver incompatibility while lavishing attention on its own, more "acceptable" children (e.g. "Bay Trail" and later).

Needless to say, this leaves many of us early adopters seriously PO'd. Not only did we get screwed-over for having the audacity to believe in that early Windows/Intel multi-touch PC vision, we now get to watch as MUCH OLDER systems get upgraded and supported, again ostensibly because their hardware components fall on the correct side of the competitive divide.

Shame on you, Intel, for abandoning your most loyal supporters. Shame on you, Microsoft, for failing to bridge the gap through an updated OBOE driver (the most recent Windows 8.1 driver is *almost* functional). And shame on you HP/Lenovo/Dell/ASUS for leaving your customers in such a compatibility lurch.

Just pathetic...

RCK

:)

 

Will Windows 10 have full A2DP Bluetooth support?

There hasn't been any update. I just purchased an HP ENVY Phoenix 860-019 with Windows 10 Home and an Intel Dual-Band Wireless-AC 7265 network adapter (wifi and bluetooth). Checked with Windows Update, Intel Driver Update Utility
and HP drivers and none of the updates includes a A2DP profile. I've uninstalled and then installed/reinstalled the OEM drivers and the updated Intel and HP drivers and nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Neither Microsoft nor Intel provide a A2DP profile in/for Windows 10. Intel points at Microsoft. Microsoft points at Intel. HP points at both.

Meanwhile, my Windows Vista 32-bit machine with an ASUS BT-211 Bluetooth dongle with a 4 1/2 year old driver provides a full suite of bluetooth profiles including A2DP. It's a sad state of affairs when three large companies cannot
get their act together in providing something that has been around for over a decade.

 

DVD Maker and Windows Movie Maker Gone in Windows 10

tO ME IT IS FAIRLY OVEROUS THAT Microsoft SCREWED UP THIS TIME.

 

Would be much better world if manufacturers of HW, OSs and SW would come together but it's dog eat dog out there. Everybody's trying for monopoly and to cut down each other. VHS - Betamax anyone ?

 

You can add ACER (W510) to the list. I agree it can only be described as screwing people over - they are fantastic little devices and indeed exactly on the lines foreseen by MS for the transition to the new OSes: for me this little tablet has actually replaced my laptop for business travel. This would have taken one of their driver techs 5 minutes of work and kept loads of people happy.
Fortunately for me, the manual upgrade to W10 worked with the old 8.1 drivers, my only issue is that for some operations, the machine now slows to a crawl (e.g. launching FireFox). Bizarrely, battery life has massively improved.

 

@rkennedy01

Does this mean they'll never update the driver(s)?

 

Well, I finally threw in the towel and went back to Windows 8.1. And I must say, what a relief! Not only does my Envy x2 work correctly again, it actually FLIES compared to Windows 10 (benefits of starting from a clean install vs. 3+ years of Windows Update crud). Modern IE, in particular, is much more responsive than Edge ever was, and I actually missed the clean, uncluttered UI and swipe gesture support that is missing from the Windows 10 browser.

If and when they ever do release an updated driver I'll give the 10 upgrade another shot. But for now, I'm happily getting to know Windows 8.1 all over again. *Smile

RCK

 

It looks that way. Intel's published compatibility matrix/tables were recently updated to show that x2760-based systems will NOT be supported under Windows 10. They initially showed "yes" for Windows 10 support, but Intel quickly corrected the web page when customers started clamoring for a driver.

So, like I said in my OP, we're all SOL at this point... *Sad

RCK

 

Maybe in Time MS will correct the issues that you were having. It has not even been 30 days since it went RTM. I could never use a touch screen, I would end up putting holes in it.

 

Well, at least something good came out of it. You have a quicker 8.1. You are also able to post info for other folks. *Smile

It'll be interesting to see what happens. If enough users complain I should think they would update the drivers. That is indeed a slew of devices for sure.

 

A slew indeed! In addition to my HP Envy x2 there's also the HP ElitePad G1 (a premium business-class device), Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 and Miix series, Dell Latitude 10, ASUS VivoTab, Acer W510 and a bunch of others. These are not small, obscure user communities, and the same complaint can be found across the various vendor support forums.

I can see not supporting older "netbook-era" Atom devices. But the PCs I'm citing above were designed SPECIFICALLY for Windows 8.xx and released in support of that OS' launch. As such, they should be given priority over 7, 8 or even 10 year old laptops and desktops when it comes to Windows 10 support.

Here's hoping the powers that be choose to do the right thing...

RCK

 

@rkennedy01

Yes, I understand those types of devices. I'm a lover of the Modern approach and movement. Have a Lumia 1520 phablet with 8.1 along with the old Acer T690 here.

Is that 10 has a Tablet mode instead of the Start screen that drivers need to be updated? Or could it be that the Mobile edition has not been released as of yet?

 

I doubt it's related to "tablet mode." Rather, it's mostly a repainting issue with certain modern apps. Unfortunately, those apps include Edge and the Store, as well as things like Jump Lists coming up blank when you right click an app. It's mostly cosmetic, but combined with Edge's poor performance on these devices (again, might or might not be video driver-related), it was enough to send me scrambling back to Windows 8.1. Which is saying something since I'm the kind of bleeding-edge type who will put up with a lot in terms of bugginess/rough edges just to use the latest and greatest. *Smile

RCK