will second life run on Windows 8.1

[jamey Finesmith]

I have recently gotten a new computer with Windows 8.1 and was wondering if Secondlife will run on the platform?

[Lindal Kidd]

Yes.  Be sure you are using the latest drivers, though.  Many times, even a new computer will need updated drivers.  Also, a lot of new computers, even with the latest software, use graphics systems that are inadequate for SL.  Your computer should have a "discrete" graphics card for SL.  If it has integrated graphics (e.g., "Intel HD 4000") you may experience poor performance, or SL may not run at all.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

Jamey,

1) Manually apply ALL the Required and Important patches for Windows 8 from Microsoft. A new Win 8 PC needs 4-5 iterations of this to get them all. The easiest way to do this is to:

.... a) Enter Desktop Mode
.... b) Launch Internet Explorer
.... c) Right-click on the options area of the Browser and turn on Menu & Status Bar [and any other of the old standards you like]
.... d) Tools / Windows Update.
.... e) Select the CUSTOM button so you can monitor and select the downloaded options to install
.... f) Repeat until all are DL'd and installed

Note: Don't install the Bing Desktop. Also, don't install any optional Windows Live components unless you have an email account with Microsoft.

2) Identify the Video / Graphics system in your PC and get the Windows 8 drivers direct from the Video System manufacturer.

.... http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

.... http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

.... http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect/graphics

3) If you just performed the items 1) & 2) above, please reinstall SL again using the official version from Linden Lab. [be sure to do a clean install

.... http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/How-to-uninstall-and-reinstall-Second-Life/ta-p/1375231

Here is the Windows 8 Manual System File cleanup procedure since it's not in the procedure above.

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

.... 1) Open C:\Users\(PC Login Name)\AppData\Local and delete the contents of the SecondLife folder.
.... 2) Open C:\Users\(PC Login Name)\AppData\Roaming and delete the contents of the SecondLife folder.
.... 3) Uninstall Second Life using the Programs and Features tool in the Windows Control Panel.
.4) Download and install the latest release of the Second Life Viewer from http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/.

Note: (PC Login Name) is the Windows 8 User Account Login Name

If you can't see the files or folders described above:
.... 1) Using File Explorer navigate to -> Libraries / Computer / ( C: ) / Users /
.... 2) Press the Continue button to get permission to obtain permanent permission edit this directory.
.... 3) From the View drop-down menu option select Options & Change Folder & Search Options
.... 4) Select the View Tab
.... 5) Under the Hidden Files and Folders options click on the - O Show hidden files, folders & Drives radio button
.... 6) Push the Apply Button then the OK button.

You should be up and running in no time.

P.S. I recommend these steps on all Windows 8 PC's and Laptops, specifically designed for Windows 8 with high-end Graphics Sub-Systems or Graphics Cards.

P.S.S. - On Upgraded PC's & Laptops - If your computer was not designed specifically for Windows 7 or Windows 8 these steps may still help. There are many "Designed for Vista" PC's that don't upgrade well to Windows 8. If your PC was designed for Windows XP, Windows 8 is usually NOT a viable option, practically speaking.

 

 

[bigboi74136]

will this work with sl

  Description:
Brand: HP
Model Number:17-E113DX
Processor Type: AMD A8-4500M
Processor Speed: 1.9GHz
Memory: 4GB
Hard Drive Capacity: 750GB
Operating System: Windows 8.1 x64
Graphics: AMD Raedon HD 7640G
 

Edited February 23, 2018 by bigboi74136

[cykarushb]

As for 8.1, yeah, with no issues. I use 8.1 as my main OS with no problems at all.

If you have 8.1, its already the "fixed" version of 8. 

As for the hardware in that laptop, you may or may not have a pleasant experience depending on how you view your performance in SL as "playable". The 4500e is on par with an ivy bridge mobile i3, and the gpu is slightly better than HD 4000. So you're basically just on the line of even being compatible with SL, I don't think you're going to see great performance.

@KarenMichelle Lane on Windows 8.1 on older hardware, that's what I do and its fine. Dell Precision T3400 with a Q6600 and FX 4600, 8gb of ram, Designed for Vista with an XP option, runs 8.1 no problem. 

Even vista era laptops with mobile core2duos and all that will handle 7/8/8.1 or 10.

You get into "technically it can" with old hardware and new operating systems when you put 8 or 10 on something from the Pentium M era

[cykarushb]

Oh, and extra, if youre going to 8.1 from an older version of Windows like 7 or XP, you may not like the tiles.

Install a program called ClassicShell (http://www.classicshell.net) to get a regular start menu.

This also works on windows 10 for those who dont like the metro start menu.

[Lillith Hapmouche]

17 hours ago, bigboi74136 said:

will this work with sl
 

I like the "technically it can" comment, which sums it up pretty nicely. It is rather old and very limited hardware, rather meant for plain media viewing instead of rendering things like a virtual world.

Do you plan to buy that oldie or do you already own it?

And what's the screensize of that laptop? Not more than 1360x768 might bring hopes that you'd get more than a series of single frames.

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, cykarushb said:

@KarenMichelle Lane

you'r responding to a 4yr old post... and Karen hasn't been here since august 2017

[Lillith Hapmouche]

bigboi's post isn't 4 years old, though.