Windows 8 ISOs don't have ei.cfg anymore?

By devHead
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

devHead

Posted
Posted

I noticed that the ISO for Windows 8 Pro RTM doesn't have the familiar ei.cfg file that Windows 7 SKUs had. In Windows 7, you could edit or remove this file and then you would be able to install whichever SKU version you wished. But I can't find any such file in the Windows 8 RTM ISO. Anyone else found this to be the case also?

Grand Master

devHead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, you're thinking the official releases tomorrow on Technet and MSDN will have it? I guess I was figuring that the leaked builds are exactly what are coming out officially.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

So, you're thinking the official releases tomorrow on Technet and MSDN will have it? I guess I was figuring that the leaked builds are exactly what are coming out officially.

you should never assume, especially with the groups the leaked them
Veteran

Darrian

Posted
Posted

So, you're thinking the official releases tomorrow on Technet and MSDN will have it? I guess I was figuring that the leaked builds are exactly what are coming out officially.

They are the same files, but if I remember correctly they weren't in ISO form and they had to turn the install files into a bootable ISO. CRC checks are unlikely to match the official ISOs, and it wouldn't shock me at all if they aren't 100% identical otherwise because they may have had to hack it a bit. I think they messed with the EULA as well.
Rookie

takeahike

Posted
Posted

Yes I noticed that too and was concerned as to how one would go about "unlocking" all SKUs like in Windows 7 where simply removing the ei.cfg would do it. So looking over another all-in-one download that did unlock several SKUs I noticed that a ei.cfg was created that essentially did the same thing. I've tried it and it works to unlock the SKUs. Just create the file with notepad and add it to the \sources directory (where it was in win 7) and you will get the result below. The ei.cfg file I used is shown below. You can also make an all-in-one disk that this attached graphic is from by following easy instructions here (this is for win 7 but it adapts easily and works the same for win8 (I've tested!): http://www.techpower...ad.php?t=145356 By the way, using this ei.cfg file also had the effect of giving the menu instead of having to enter a key. You can therefore install without a key--it does ask for a key at the end (instead of the beginning) of the install but, also, using this file gives you a "skip" option at that point! Of course you'll need something eventually to activate.

ei.cfg file:

[Channel]

volume

[VL]

1

post-199435-0-52481000-1344986286.jpg

  • JayZJay, dafin0 and Japlabot
  • Like 3
Proficient

dafin0

Posted
Posted

Yes I noticed that too and was concerned as to how one would go about "unlocking" all SKUs like in Windows 7 where simply removing the ei.cfg would do it. So looking over another all-in-one download that did unlock several SKUs I noticed that a ei.cfg that was created that essentially did the same thing. I've tried it and it works to unlock the SKUs. Just create the file with notepad and add it to the \sources directory (where it was in win 7) and you will get the result below. The ei.cfg file I used is shown below. You can also make an all-in-one disk that this attached graphic is from by following easy instructions here (this is for win 7 but it adapts easily and works the same for win8 (I've tested!): http://www.techpower...ad.php?t=145356 By the way, using this ei.cfg file also had the effect of giving the menu instead of having to enter a key. You can therefore install without a key--it does ask for a key at the end (instead of the beginning) of the install but, also, using this file gives you a "skip" option at that point! Of course you'll need something eventually to activate.

ei.cfg file:

[Channel]

volume

[VL]

1

thanks for that!, very useful

Grand Master

devHead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Brilliant! Thank you! Of course, I'll be installing just the Pro version, since I really don't see the need for the additional stuff that comes with the Ultimate version. Unless, of course, Ultimate has features that I would find useful.

Grand Master

xendrome

Posted
Posted

Brilliant! Thank you! Of course, I'll be installing just the Pro version, since I really don't see the need for the additional stuff that comes with the Ultimate version. Unless, of course, Ultimate has features that I would find useful.

There is no Ultimate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions

Rookie

takeahike

Posted
Posted

no Ultimate--just "home" called Windows 8 (also called the 'core' version) and Windows 8 Pro. They went from 5 versions back to 2, like in XP. There's also Enterprise and Server 2012, like there was with 7, and a new WinRT that is just for tablets.

Enthusiast

anidais

Posted
Posted

Brilliant! Thank you! Of course, I'll be installing just the Pro version, since I really don't see the need for the additional stuff that comes with the Ultimate version. Unless, of course, Ultimate has features that I would find useful.

There is no Windows 8 Ultimate.

Grand Master

xendrome

Posted
Posted

no Ultimate--just "home" called Windows 8 (also called the 'core' version) and Windows 8 Pro. They went from 5 versions back to 2, like in XP. There's also Enterprise and Server 2012, like there was with 7, and a new WinRT that is just for tablets.

Terrible bad info there. No "home", no "Core".

Windows 8

Windows 8 Pro

WIndows RT (Pre-loaded Tablets)

Windows Enterprise (Volume License)

Grand Master

devHead

Posted
  • Author
Posted

There is no Windows 8 Ultimate.

Ah OK. Well, makes sense. It was best with XP; XP Home and Professional. Especially since with Windows 7 the Ultimate version came only with BitLocker drive encryption and free language pack addons.

Experienced

CG-88

Posted
Posted

There are tonnes of version names floating about that people are inventing so I dont blame you for giving out advice on windows 8 home/ultimate or whatever.

Just windows 8

windows 8 pro

windows 8 NT

windows 8 enterprise.

If im wrong someone shoot me

Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

Posted
Posted

There are tonnes of version names floating about that people are inventing so I dont blame you for giving out advice on windows 8 home/ultimate or whatever.

Just windows 8

windows 8 pro

windows 8 NT

windows 8 enterprise.

If im wrong someone shoot me

BANG!

There are four SKU's for Windows 8, but not quite named as above.

  • Windows 8
  • Windows 8 Pro
  • Windows 8 Enterprise (imo, doesn't count as you can't buy it)
  • Windows RT

Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

Posted
Posted

OH NOOOO.... :( one letter off not getting shot!!

Imagine if my life properly depended on me getting that right and I was one letter wrong.... :s

Yuh huh.. Like, totally!

Sorry dude, but I think I've been hanging around Americans too much... I've gotten trigger happy! :p (that's just a joke, guys!)

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

OH NOOOO.... :( one letter off not getting shot!!

Imagine if my life properly depended on me getting that right and I was one letter wrong.... :s

Yuh huh.. Like, totally!

Sorry dude, but I think I've been hanging around Americans too much... I've gotten trigger happy! :p (that's just a joke, guys!)

you're both missing a couple :p

Windows 8 N

Windows 8 Pro N

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Politically funny images of the World

      By PsYcHoKiLLa · Posted

    • Apple MacBook Neo is a blessing for Windows users, here's why

      By +samw61 · Posted

      But the reality is it will work for people's needs, and they don't care about the technology that makes it. Clearly not everyone's needs, but that low end space where personal laptops were only used to type emails, watch content and browse websites, but they didn't want to do that on a small screen device. Heck, writing that out I can now see the connection and reason it'll do so well. Apple is about experience. If the experience is bad, they don't release it. Low end Windows laptop manufacturers up until this point have not taken that into consideration ever before, so slow laggy usage with brittle slimey plastic shells were common. I hope that the low end space at least creates better physical products that last a bit longer, and if Microsoft get their act together, they could also have a solid OS on such low end hardware that would actually make the experience work for what the hardware was intended for. The fact that the CPU is a "cellphone", sorry mobile phone processor is irrelevant. It's about the experience, and so far, that sounds quite solid.
    • Module Blocked - Is this Okay?

      By goretsky · Posted

      Hello, Bonjour is Apple's implementation of a multicast-DNS service, which allows devices running Apple's software and/or hardware to find each other on your local network.  I believe the Windows version was last updated around 2010. If you do not need it, you can stop and disable the Bonjour service in the Services Control Manager (filename: SERVICES.MSC).  Once you have done that, the operating system will no longer attempt to load the service. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky  
    • This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600

      By hellowalkman · Posted

      This AMD RX 9070 16GB GPU that performs close to Nvidia 5070 is under $600 by Sayan Sen With the memory shortage that's prevalent nowadays, discounts are super-hard to get. As such we post good deals whenever they pop up. Recently, we covered a few great discounts on SSDs wherein you can get a 4TB TeamGroup NVMe PCIe Gen4 drive for just $400 thanks to a special coupon. If you want a faster product but don't need all that capacity, you can also opt for Samsung's 990 PRO 2TB that is on sale for its lowest price in over three months. Let's say though that you are on the hunt for a 1440p gaming card. In that case AMD's RX 9070 non-XT can help, and with its 16GB VRAM, you can also run AI models locally without worrying about bottlenecking (check out our recent 9070 GRE reviews for gaming and productivity to get an idea). The PowerColor Reaper variant of the RX 9070 is currently on sale for just $580 which is a very good price in the current state of affairs (purchase link under the specs table down below). The Reaper cooler on this 9070 uses a triple‑fan design with ring‑blade fans, paired with premium dual ball bearings to extend lifespan and reduce friction. "Intelligent" fan control allows the fans to remain idle at lower temperatures, only spinning up when the GPU is under load. A nickel‑plated copper base makes direct contact with both the GPU and memory modules, helping to spread heat evenly. PowerColor also applies Honeywell PTM7950 phase‑change thermal interface material (TIM), which fills microscopic gaps between the die and heatsink for more efficient thermal transfer. The fan shroud is shorter in height as the firm has made it such that it can be used in certain SFF (small form factor) cases. The technical specifications of the Reaper RX 9070 are given in the table below: Specification Value Stream Processors 3584 Units Video Memory 16GB GDDR6 Memory Speed 20.0 Gbps Memory Interface 256-bit Engine Clock Game Clock: up to 2070 MHz Boost Clock: up to 2520 MHz Bus Standard PCI Express 5.0 x16 Display Connectors 1 x HDMI 2.1b, 3 x DisplayPort 2.1a Maximum Resolution DisplayPort: 7680 × 4320 HDMI: 7680 × 4320 Board Dimensions 289mm × 111mm × 41mm 304mm × 127mm × 42mm (with bracket) Slot 2 Minimum System Power Requirement 600W Power Connectors Two 8-pin PCI Express Get the PowerColor Reaper RX 9070 at the links below (you get only a 90-day warranty on Woot): PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $579.99 (Sold and Shipped by Amazon US) (Was: $700) PowerColor Reaper Radeon RX 9070 16GB Graphics Card (RX9070 16G-A): $559.99 (Sold and Shipped by Woot US) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • DWARF mini review: the world's smallest smart telescope for night and day sky captures

      By ZipZapRap · Posted

      Are they marketed as an entry into astronomy or astrophotography? I do astrophotography. With big rigs, lots of computers, cables and headaches. I love it. And by learning this ridiculously complex hobby, I’ve learned about the objects I’m shooting. Astronomy followed from photography.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      582
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      185
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      75
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      73
    5. 5
      neufuse
      64
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!