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from kbonnel
I have the n100 model and did a reload of w11 pro. Not all of the drivers exist on the w11 iso, including the network I believe. I used a usb nic for the load if i remember correctly. You can download the drivers from the vendor or directly from the manufacturer of the hardware.
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from wordage
I did and license was activated without a problem. Neither did I run the factory install at all to "initialize" it--I just wiped the factory install, did a new install of Win 11 24H2, and when it went online for the first time, Win 11 Pro became activated.
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There are a few drivers missing from a generic Win 11 install that you have to seek out and load manually to have all the hardware fully detected (like Intel 2.5GB NIC, Realtek RTL8522BE wireless NIC, and a couple of ACPI things). I have this documented--I'll try to post the details later. |
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from wordage
Ok, so if you do a fresh install of Win 11 2024H2 (like using an ISO sourced from Microsoft), you will have four unknown items in the Device Manager at the end because the drivers are not included in the ISO. The wired and wireless NICs are two of those devices so, unfortunately, you are left unconnected. But you can download the four necessary drivers from the Microsoft Update Catalog easily. Then just unzip the CABs onto a USB and bring them over to the G3 Plus for updating. Here are the four drivers with their Hardware IDs, and the links for downloading the CABs at the Microsoft Update Catalog website:
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Intel I226-V Ethernet NIC PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_125C&SUBSYS_00008086&REV_04 Code:
https://catalog.s.download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/driver/drvs/2024/07/1df2b7e8-c6fc-4b8f-b46e-25cf4d3e4a35_fdc6278f1523a260cc580daec812fb176300c877.cab PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_B852&SUBSYS_B85210EC&REV_00 Code:
https://catalog.s.download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/driver/drvs/2025/02/e223d514-d1f0-48f1-9b69-94bcb1738291_b5c8edb4bf731851eb47a58674893093f6cef7b3.cab ACPI\VEN_INTC&DEV_1070 Code:
https://catalog.s.download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/driver/drvs/2024/11/6d8f0c59-d577-45ec-a0e0-115901aeef77_23bf78a5b1869d923349d395451a3358539441cd.cab ACPI\VEN_INTC&DEV_1057 Code:
https://catalog.s.download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/driver/drvs/2024/09/f830e3d7-f3ae-48c9-8e90-f60d2a02d98e_c3b3dc96668204ea78d9b8c98635dcfec2f20e7d.cab |
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Quote
from dato
I opted for 16GB MEM+512GB SSD for $30 more, and received mine last night. Reading all the horror stories about spyware/malware on minipcs from China, I determined to re-install Windows 11 Pro on my machine. Here's some key points that you need to be aware of if you decide to take this route:
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Next up: Make a new partition in the SSD to dual-boot Linux. BTW, I did set up the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro without connecting to the network, seeing if I could see the spyware/malware in action. I have to say it looked very clean; I didn't see any suspicious processes or services, or bloatware. I also did the virus scan a couple of times and nothing turned up. If I wasn't killing time while watching Grammys on the side, I probably would have left the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro alone. |
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Quote
from wbs3333
Thanks for the good info. As an alternative for the NIC drivers can also be downloaded from Intel here:
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Intel I226-V Ethernet NIC - https://www.intel.com/content/www...-pack.html Intel Graphics Drivers - https://www.intel.com/content/www...ndows.htm For other Intel Drivers - https://www.intel.com/content/www.../home.html Intel Automatic Drivers Assistant - https://www.intel.com/content/www...etect.htm |
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Top Comments
Anyway, if your goal is retro gaming, a Raspberry Pi is smaller and more energy-efficient for these types of tasks, but honestly, once you add in a case, a good power supply (RPi's are picky with respect to power...), and storage, it is probably at the same price or even more than this $130 machine. But if you are interested in more modern gaming or more powerful emulation, this system would be better and give you more flexibility for future upgrades.
Just saying buyers might want to read up.
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1. I know this can handle retro arcade with ease (80-90s). I want an upgrade to an arcade cab I built that's running on a RaspPi 3. However, I really want to run MAME w/all the GPU heavy video effects to emulate CRT monitors, etc. that the RaspPi cannot handle. I wonder if this box can handle that?
2. Do we get the Windows 11 Pro key? I.e., can I blow away the pre-installed Windows 11 and install Windows 11 on another box?
Thanks for reading!
JB
For now, I installed Retroarch and the couple of core emulators (SNES,NES,Genesis,N64) I need and I have a smooth functioning setup for our living room TV. Can navigate everything using a Xbox controller and load games. Retroarch takes some getting used to but I've got it 99% setup to do what I need now. There's a learning curve, but once you get the basics it's pretty great.
I will get a boot drive with Batocera and give it a try, but now that I have everything working in retroarch I am enjoying my time gaming on the box for a few days
- Use microsoft's tool to make a bootable USB drive with Windows 11: Under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" in https://www.microsoft.c
- Download the drivers for G3 Plus from GMKtec's page: https://drive.google.co
- Once 2. is downloaded, you should unzip it and then copy the unzipped driver directory to the bootable USB drive created in 1. That way, when Windows 11 installer detects that it can't find the ethernet/wifi drivers, you can simply point it to the driver directory on that USB. Note that once you specify the directory, the Windows 11 installer would automatically look into it for ALL missing drivers-- You don't need to identify where each driver resides in the driver directory.
- G3 Plus' BIOS by default boots from the USB drive if it detects it's bootable. This means that you can just plug in the bootable USB drive and the Windows 11 installer would run from the USB drive-- no tweaks to BIOS required.
By doing these, I had a very smooth re-installation.Note: You may run into the "download quota exceeded for this file" error with the zip file for the drivers. Here's how you can get around it: https://www.reddit.com/r/google/c...ed_bypass/
Next up: Make a new partition in the SSD to dual-boot Linux.
BTW, I did set up the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro without connecting to the network, seeing if I could see the spyware/malware in action. I have to say it looked very clean; I didn't see any suspicious processes or services, or bloatware. I also did the virus scan a couple of times and nothing turned up. If I wasn't killing time while watching Grammys on the side, I probably would have left the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro alone.
- Use microsoft's tool to make a bootable USB drive with Windows 11: Under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" in https://www.microsoft.c
- Download the drivers for G3 Plus from GMKtec's page: https://drive.google.co
- Once 2. is downloaded, you should unzip it and then copy the unzipped driver directory to the bootable USB drive created in 1. That way, when Windows 11 installer detects that it can't find the ethernet/wifi drivers, you can simply point it to the driver directory on that USB. Note that once you specify the directory, the Windows 11 installer would automatically look into it for ALL missing drivers-- You don't need to identify where each driver resides in the driver directory.
- G3 Plus' BIOS by default boots from the USB drive if it detects it's bootable. This means that you can just plug in the bootable USB drive and the Windows 11 installer would run from the USB drive-- no tweaks to BIOS required.
By doing these, I had a very smooth re-installation.Next up: Make a new partition in the SSD to dual-boot Linux.BTW, I did set up the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro without connecting to the network, seeing if I could see the spyware/malware in action. I have to say it looked very clean; I didn't see any suspicious processes or services, or bloatware. I also did the virus scan a couple of times and nothing turned up. If I wasn't killing time while watching Grammys on the side, I probably would have left the pre-installed Windows 11 Pro alone.Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Ended up paying a bit more and got a beelink and it's been great, for what it's worth.
12GB LPDDR5-4800
512GB SSD
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is $159.99 after $15 coupon.
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Thanks!
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