Prime Members: KAMRUI Essenx E1 Mini PC: Intel N150, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Win11 Pro

TealThread549

Jul 21, 2025 8:14 PM

399 Comments

Joined Mar 2024

TealThread549Jul 21, 2025 8:14 PM

399 Comments

Quote from whatgooddeal

:

yes, wipe off windows 11 spyware, and install linux.

I wonder what flavor Linux you used, and did you try bluetooth wifi to ensure they work?

namlook

Jul 21, 2025 9:18 PM

26.7K Comments

Joined May 2006

namlookJul 21, 2025 9:18 PM

26.7K Comments

Quote from TealThread549

:

Yes but you need to complete your login on it with your real MS account and it will save it for you. Then reinstall can be done IF all the drivers are standard and not wiped like happened to me on my last mini experimentation.

Those weren't requirements for me. I recently bought a used mini-pc that was "wiped", the hard drive and ram had been removed by the seller, and windows pro showed activated after installing windows with a new hard drive that I supplied. I did not enter any key during installation and it was a new MS account that was used.

Last edited by namlook July 21, 2025 at 02:32 PM.

nijave

Jul 21, 2025 9:34 PM

223 Comments

Joined Feb 2013

nijaveJul 21, 2025 9:34 PM

223 Comments

Quote from dealbuster9999

:

yeah, i removed the top and have a external fan blowing over mine.

Took it apart yesterday and it's a solid aluminum heatsink powder coated black including the part that contacts the CPU. I sanded it down a bit with 800 then 1500 grit (still some paint but aluminum partially exposed) and reassembled. It's also sitting upside down and that seemed to help a little bit.

1

nijave

Jul 21, 2025 9:39 PM

223 Comments

Joined Feb 2013

nijaveJul 21, 2025 9:39 PM

223 Comments

Quote from iamjpad

:

From windows 10, Microsoft did a great job decoupling all of that. They kept it very quiet, my guess is to drive new windows license sales. But YES, You can literally buy new hardware, take your old drive with windows 10 or later on it, and stick it i that, and it will boot up just fine. It will reapply new hardware drivers and you are up and running. YOu can also just clone the drive to it. However, if you run both machines ONLINE then the license key could be deauthorized, if you only run the first one then your license key is still fine with no issues. I've been using this method to update hardware for the past 10 years. Clone my drive to the latest/fastest NVME and still have all my stuff. Like I said in my original post, the only issue you might run into with newer hardware is that they are UEFI only, if your install is still LEGACY boot then will have to boot into windows recovery command line and run a BCDBOOT command to copy over the UEFI boot files instead to your boot partition (they are actually included in your Windows 10 but based on your install choice weren't copied over). That is it. I've done this over 2 dozen times, no issues. I always install latest drivers after the migration just to be up to date.

Did they loosen since 7/8? I thought you used to have a hardware change "quota" which usually allowed most parts except the motherboard serial to change before it invalidated the key

coollife3000

Jul 21, 2025 11:38 PM

132 Comments

Joined Nov 2006

coollife3000Jul 21, 2025 11:38 PM

132 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank coollife3000

Bought this mini PC few weeks ago; however, the wifi cnonection only worked for about two days.
Tried download and installed the latest driver and the wifi connection still would not work properly. Returned the item.

Last edited by coollife3000 July 21, 2025 at 04:40 PM.

2

1-6

Jul 22, 2025 1:08 AM

2.2K Comments

Joined Sep 2014

1-6Jul 22, 2025 1:08 AM

2.2K Comments

Quote from TealThread549

:

on my GMKtec the only way I could get it to work is make an image off my second identical mini. I did find the intel type card and loaded windows and intel drivers and still had the problem you describe. IDK how other said linus and reformats work for them. IIRC the lan port worked so that might be it? They didn't check for unknown device errors also?

I used a second Amazon account to buy another at a discount. I'll let you folks here know what the missing drivers are when I get a chance.

1

BossNog

Jul 22, 2025 4:58 AM

2K Comments

Joined Nov 2006

BossNogJul 22, 2025 4:58 AM

2K Comments

Quote from whatgooddeal

:

so you did a fresh install of the spyware that is windows.

No, I used the key to do a fresh install of doors.

iamjpad

Jul 22, 2025 10:55 AM

674 Comments

Joined Aug 2011

iamjpadJul 22, 2025 10:55 AM

674 Comments

Quote from nijave

:

Did they loosen since 7/8? I thought you used to have a hardware change "quota" which usually allowed most parts except the motherboard serial to change before it invalidated the key

I don't think so. I've done this too many times to count. The one time I had an issue with windows key, I just bought a new Win10 key from an online key site for like $4.

1

iamjpad

Jul 22, 2025 11:28 AM

674 Comments

Joined Aug 2011

iamjpadJul 22, 2025 11:28 AM

674 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank iamjpad

MAKE A COPY OF ALL THE DRIVERS BEFORE REINSTALLING WINDOWNS

If you buy this and you are planning to reinstall windows. Please copy the drivers off the Windows folder first to an external drive or USB.

Copy everything in this folder "C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository"

After install, you can simply point device manager to the copy of this folder, then click update driver and it will install the correct drivers.

Last edited by iamjpad July 22, 2025 at 04:35 AM.

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TheGOAT901

Jul 22, 2025 11:36 AM

34 Comments

Joined Jul 2022

TheGOAT901Jul 22, 2025 11:36 AM

34 Comments

FWIW, I've had a Kamrui GK3 hooked up to my TV for about three years now and it's been great. I added a 1TB stick and doubled the ram and it works well for me

ValB

Jul 22, 2025 2:43 PM

640 Comments

Joined Nov 2012

ValBJul 22, 2025 2:43 PM

640 Comments

Quote from bandros

:

I've been looking to buy one of these for TV streaming. I was about to pull the trigger on this one for $120 (N100, 512GB, 16GB RAM) that also has USB-C.
The one in this post is ~$15 more - is it any better?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DDL944Q9/

I use a cheap Chromebox for TV streaming , more reliable .

Vanquished

Jul 22, 2025 3:59 PM

5.8K Comments

Joined Dec 2014

VanquishedJul 22, 2025 3:59 PM

5.8K Comments

Quote from HiTechComputers937

:

In my professional opinion, there are many better options for what you describe in the $300 to $400 range.. these simply aren't made to sustain non stop constant use with long up times. The power adapters fail on 50% of these mini PC types regardless the brand (this is based on dozens of units over last 24mo) I hope this helps. The price isnt bad im just scared of these mini pcs performing any important task.

Its not an important task. Fwiw. I have used one of these (weaker) as a media server for 2 years now. On 24/7

Only issue is that sometimes windows updates and then i have to plug a monitor and keyboard in to log back in so it shares the media again.

1

whatgooddeal

Jul 22, 2025 5:42 PM

3.5K Comments

Joined Aug 2006

whatgooddealJul 22, 2025 5:42 PM

3.5K Comments

Quote from BossNog

:

No, I used the key to do a fresh install of doors.

the key is for the window, not door

1

BeigeWinter369

Jul 22, 2025 6:13 PM

67 Comments

Joined Dec 2021

BeigeWinter369Jul 22, 2025 6:13 PM

67 Comments

Quote from gamespeed

:

Consider whether this can sustain 24x7 operation. Although I didn't have a failing mini PC power adapter, I did have at least one failing/problematic 12v power adapter for my cable modem. Another thing is whether to run an external desktop hard drive 24x7. I had one Seagate external desktop HDD connected to a raspberry pi as NAS (with ext4), and it eventually failed after about 5 years and something. This isn't too bad, considering that the disk and enclosure isn't designed for 24x7 operation. It would be nice if someone can educate me whether those purpose built NAS use only components that can do 24x7.

Are you sure the drive was running 24x7? I experimented with an external drive (ext4) attached to my router running DD-WRT for a makeshift NAS. The drive did spin down when not in use, so technically it wasn't running 24x7. For my use case, I'm perfectly fine with it going into standby mode. If your use case is similar, you may not need a dedicated NAS. But be mindful of heat build-up and ventilation to get the maximum life out of your electronics.

gamespeed

Jul 22, 2025 6:39 PM

631 Comments

Joined Jul 2012

gamespeedJul 22, 2025 6:39 PM

631 Comments

Quote from BeigeWinter369

:

Are you sure the drive was running 24x7? I experimented with an external drive (ext4) attached to my router running DD-WRT for a makeshift NAS. The drive did spin down when not in use, so technically it wasn't running 24x7. For my use case, I'm perfectly fine with it going into standby mode. If your use case is similar, you may not need a dedicated NAS. But be mindful of heat build-up and ventilation to get the maximum life out of your electronics.

I'm not sure that YOUR disk is running 24x7, as I never know. But for NAS, it's a general requirement for the disk to be able to run 24x7. Many services do require 24x7 access to the disk, even if nobody actively uses it.

1

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