Question 1

Got my LIVA yesterday.  I have been racking my brain trying to install windows 8.1 on this.  I have a disk image that i know works but cannot boot from a usb device.  The image is legit and created from an original DVD that will boot in a USB DVD-ROM but still cannot figure out how to get this thing to boot from USB flash media.  Could someone please please please help?  Thomas c. - any ideas? Yours apparently works.

Accepted Answer

I too was unable to get Win 8 installed.  I sent back the unit and asked for a replacement.  The second came in today.  I got it put together and attempted to install.  When I turn off fast boot I can see a message that displays for a fraction of a second "no media available" when it boots.  I see the usb stick light up for a brief second and then it goes straight to bios.  I set boot priority, it sees the usb stick and even tells me the name of it.  I tried a DVD using an external DVD player. No luck.  I tried a new image, no luck.  I tried 3 different USB sticks (Lexar, PNY, and Cruze).  I even tried using an external seagate drive but I couldn't get the Windows 7 USB Tool or Rufus to see it.

Any ideas before I send this one back?  What brand did you all use for your installation USB?

Question 2

Does it run Windows 7 SP1?

Accepted Answer

I honestly cannot say one way or the other because I have not tried.  ECS support only supplies Windows 8,8.1, and Ubuntu drivers.  The best answer I can give iis - "Officially no".  Only after much research was I able to successfully install Windows 8.1 and it runs it OK.  Its not blazing fast but I knew that going in.  My last comment is that if there were native driver support under Windows 7, the LIVA would not run as well as with Windows 8 or 8.1 because factually the latter OS's have a leaner overhead.  Judging by the way it runs 8.1, 7 might crawl.  I hope this in some way guides your decision.  Thanks for the question.

Question 3

Is Windows 8 INCLUDED, or just compatible (and I need to buy and install OS separately)?

Accepted Answer

Incorrect.  Windows 8 IS NOT included with the LIVA Mini PC.  The website clearly states that this is a barebones PC.  Fortunately, it does have all the hardware that you will require to operate the device.  However, the OS must be purchased and installed separately.

Question 4

Are drivers for any Microsoft embedded operating systems available?

Accepted Answer

Tried installing windows Thin PC  (based on embedded 7).  Will not boot.  Think UEFI refuses.  Have not had time to investigate further.

Question 5

What processor is inside this system?  Bay-Trail M is a family, not a specific processor.

Accepted Answer

After a TON of googling, I finally found the answer.  It has the Celeron N2806 processor.

Question 6

If i want to install Ubuntu on this device, is there a manual and drivers available to do this?  Or can i only run the windows 8.0 installed?

Accepted Answer

ECS does support drivers for Ubuntu, but they are currently for Beta.  They can be found at the ECS LIVA website, though it's a bit roundabout to get to them.  Perform a Google search for "LIVA Ubuntu drivers," and select the line item "ECS - LIVA Mini PC Kit" (it should say "support") in the address.  Scroll down to the bottom, and the link to download the zip file containing the drivers can be found there.

Question 7

is the EMMC 32gig the same thing as a hard drive? I am assuming so. thats not much space,but i guess you could always use an external drive if you need more storage.Seems like this system would be ok for web browsing and email- but not much more-

Accepted Answer

Yes eMMC is an internal storage device.  This system is great for HTPC applications too provided your don't do 3D gaming on it.

Question 8

Nobody has said anything about a hard drive- I assume you have to use an external drive via USB as well as external DVD/CD drive. Anybody know?

Accepted Answer

I have Windows 8.1 Ultimate installed along with various security software. I still have 14GB eMMC Storage. Plenty of room for Office. Store files on USB Flash drive. You can install windows using USB flash drive you do not need a DVD/CD drive.

Question 9

Does the box have an SPDIF optical out?

Accepted Answer

no, it's an 1/8" (3.5 mm) standard jack, and is a 2 channel High Definition stereo sound and microphone combo that supports jack detection.

Question 10

Has anyone tried replacing the wifi card with a larger ssd?

This is a very interesting product I only wish it was offered in more configurations.  I would really prefer 4gb (or more) of ram and ~128 gb of ssd.

Accepted Answer

no, but may down the road, but don't have an SSD handy currently.  It appears to be a full width slot. The wireless card is only 25% as wide when inserted in slot, but with gig lan, the sacrafice would be well worth it for bigger drive.  Win8 Pro fully updated installed on mmc left about 9.9 GB of space left.

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