Windows 8 build 8128

6.2.8128.fbl_core1_soc_partner.111005-1916
	Build of Windows 8
OS family
Architecture	x86, x64
Compiled	2011-10-05
Timebomb	2012-10-01 (+362 days)
Works in
About
Key
	6RH4V-HNTWC-JQKG8-RFR3R-36498

Windows 8 build 8128 is a post-Developer Preview build of Windows 8, which was uploaded to BetaArchive on 4 January 2019 as an x86/x64 checked/debug version.

Changes[edit | edit source]

File Explorer[edit | edit source]

Games Explorer from Windows 7 is now hidden by default.

Redpill removal[edit | edit source]

This build is notable for being the first available build not to use Redpill, thus all the Metro features (such as the start screen, the Metro login screen, and Immersive app execution) are now available out of the box, compared to previous builds which required the use of a Redpill utility (or, in the case of build 8102, were distributed with Redpill already applied) to use the features.

As such, the shsxs.dll library was removed, with its associated functionalities being moved over to other files such as twinui.dll. Additionally, any registry entries on Redpill (most notably HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RPEnabled, which was commonly used to restore the older Windows 7 shell in build 8102) no longer function.

The removal of Redpill also resulted in the aforementioned operating system's shell (and its associated components) being removed from the operating system entirely.

Placeholder sound[edit | edit source]

This is the first build to have the Windows Proximity Connection.wav sound. However, it is a placeholder and obviously recorded by an amateur, most probably a Microsoft employee, by shouting the word Proximity gently close to the recorder. While it does not have a date of creation in its metadata, it has a date of 29 September 2011, a week prior to this build's compilation.

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

The On-Screen Keyboard has been updated with a darker interface, similar to the RTM.
The Windows Explorer ribbon now has an option to connect to a media server.
Slight wording changes have been made in Windows Setup.
The "Add a user" button in Start has been removed.

Bugs[edit | edit source]

Compatibility[edit | edit source]

To install or run this build in VMware Workstation, you must set the hardware compatibility to version 8.x; otherwise, a BAD_POOL_CALLER bugcheck will occur.

Windows Recovery Environment[edit | edit source]

Windows Recovery Environment does not work in this build when booted off from the installation media and does the following:

On Legacy BIOS systems, it will launch the environment with some debug text, but will then throw back to the "Install now" page with the background being unchanged.
On UEFI systems, it will cause the system to crash.

Hyper-V launch failure message[edit | edit source]

If the VMX extensions (in the case of Intel processors) or the SVM extensions (in the case of AMD processors) are not present or enabled in the BIOS options, the boot screen will display a Hyper-V launch failed message.