Brand New Aspire XC-603G (ACX-603G-UW31). Windows 7 will not install in Legacy Mode

NTL1991

Hello,

I'm trying to configure a newly purchased Acer desktop (Aspire ACX-603G-UW31), which has Windows 8.1 installed, for my mother who cannot grasp the steep learning curve from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

I have a fully licensed copy of Windows 7 x64 on DVD, and even after disabling SecureBoot mode and setting Launch CSM to Always, and then booting with F12, selecting the DVD drive as the boot device, Windows will not install correctly.

The very initial steps of setup are fine, that is, I am asked the press any key to boot from the DVD, Windows setup loads some files, but the problem comes when Windows setup actually starts. I get a BSOS STOP error with the message "The BIOS in this system is not fully ACPI complaint." There is no updated BIOS for this model. So much for Legacy Mode...

Any ideas?

Thanks, Nick

setupcrash

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Ryanrr

I apologize you are not able to get Windows 7 to install on your new Aspire XC-603G. I show we only ship this unit with Windows 8.1 and we can only provide software support for the unit as it shipped. This unit may not be compatible with Windows 7 as it was configured to work with Windows 8.1.

You are on the correct path as it looks like you have followed our steps on disabling secure boot for desktops. Only other thing I would suggest if you have not tried it is to write "zeros" to the HDD and format it in NTFS. Then try installing your fully licensed copy of Windows 7.

If you are using a licensed copy of Windows 7 and still having problems, I would try contacting Microsoft for support.

Both Acer and Microsoft have a large library of articles, videos and other documentation on how to use and navigate Windows 8.1 if you decide to reinstall the factory operating system.

Mdavies

Hi,

Did you manage to figure this out as I am having exactly the same issue?

Cheers,

Mike

NTL1991

Nothing at all, Mike... I resorted to spending money on a couple Stardock programs, namely Start8 and ModernMix, as well as some Windows 7 theme hacks to get it to appear like Windows 7. It's still not right, though...

It's too bad Acer has locked down their computers to the point of this. There's no reason why they cannot come out with a BIOS update to address this issue. My guess is that it may also hamper future upgrades to newer OS's, which will probably be deemed "unsupported" as well.

I guess I should've stuck with a traditional name brand PC...

-Nick

delgie

There's a link on the ebuyer website to an ISO image which will flash the BIOS to work with Windows 7

The link says "Windows 7 Drivers - here"

http://www.ebuyer.com/613262-acer-aspire-xc-603-desktop-pc-dt-sulek-004

Or try this direct one:

https://ebuyer-my.sharepoint.com/personal/becky_clay_ebuyer_com/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=vHD8pPbq9BlUSUQYP4VCwnSD1ScA%2fivcsvqW2T1C9us%3d&docid=03d6531b78498459fbc381488b488f461

I then had to disable USB3 support in the BIOS for the KB and Mouse to start working.

nosey1

Thanks Delgie

I bought 3 of these for a client who wanted cheap extra workstations but he insisted they are downgraded to windows 7 to be the same as the rest of his office.

I have spent the last two days googling frantically in search of a solution. I was fearful I would have to build him 3 pcs and try to sell these 3 duds.

I'll post here how I go

nosey1

I can't successfully download this package. It is corrupt from both links. If anyone has it could you please put upload it somewhere (dropbox.com, senduit.com, ge.tt come to mind) and post a link here.

Thankyou

nosey1

@Acer-Ryan

I understand the official position of only supporting the unit as shipped, however it appears the same XC-603 is sold by ebuyer.com without windows 8 and with a link to windows 7 drivers (as posted by delgie above)

http://www.ebuyer.com/613262-acer-aspire-xc-603-desktop-pc-dt-sulek-004

Could you please clarify...

Do you have more than one configuration of model XC-603? (ie with or without Windows 8)
If so, do these machines have identical hardware, and presumably firmware configurations?
Are the Windows 7 drivers supplied by ebuyer official Asus drivers?
If so, why are those drivers not available on your suppport site? (ebuyer's link is broken)

Something isn't right when a reseller offers drivers while the manufacturer doesn't offer them and claims the machine does not support Windows 7

My machine doesn't have a CSM(legacy) option in the firmware so this machine is restricted to uefi booting yet several posts on various forums mention this machine having a CSM option. Again this suggests this unit is shipped in multiple confgurations, perhaps even with different hardware.

I noticed over the last couple of days Acer has posted two firmware updates for this machine on the support website.

The release notes for the updates do not mention CSM so it was disappointing but not unexpected to find updating to P11-B0 did not add the option. I was unable to update to P11-B0L Perhaps this version is for the "other" XC-603 configuration.

Currently attempting to install Windows 7 (either with a dvd using UEFI or with a uefi bootable usb) hangs at the first "starting windows" stage. From what I've read of others' experiences with this machine, the only way to install windows 7 on this machine is in CSM(legasy) mode

I look forward to your assistance with this issue.

Please remember that not everyone wants or needs the "latest" opeating system. Especially in a commercial environment where a significant number of machines are operating reliably on an earlier platform which is already familiar to staff. Surely Acer wants every customer to have a positive experience with their brand so that when the inevitable need for an upgrade occurs in a couple of years time, those customers will choose Acer again.

kcguru

I am in the same boat. I just bought the same, except UW30 and I am trying to put windows 7 as well but this machine for the life of me will not boot from a cd. I have changed all the boot options, enabled the boot menu, disabled secure boot and I do not have a CSM option either. The software my company uses isn't rolling out versions for windows 8-8.1 yet so I'm stuck with nothing right now.

Ryanrr

nosey1,

I can tell you that I do not show any models that ship with Windows 7. If you check our support site, you will find that we only have Windodws 8.1 as the only available operating system for this model. I apologize that we are not able to provide additional support going from Windows 8.1 to Windows 7 on the Aspire XC-603.

nosey1

Hi Ryan

Thank you for your reply.

I understand that you do not ship this model with windows 7, however one of your resellers ships this model with Freedos as an operating system and they supply a bios update and drivers for Windows 7 so purchasers can install windows 7 if they wish.

Are you saying that the configuration sold by ebuyer (with windows 7 bios update & drivers) is not authorised by you and therefore you don't support it?

A reseller sourced sourced drivers and a BIOS update independently of a manufacturer? Really?

There are a lot of us in the same boat. Suggesting that people should just learn Windows 8 is as you did in an earlier post is an idealistic solution that does not work in the real world. A few of us have given examples in this thread.

Windows 7 is not an obsolete operating system like XP. It is supported by Microsoft so it is a resonable option for clients to choose for their own reasons if they wish.

You claim it is unsupported on that hardware which I would normally accept and move on

EXCEPT THAT ONE OF YOUR RESELLERS IS SUPPLYING THE SAME MODEL WITH SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 7

And I know from extensive communication with people over this issue, windows 7 runs well with their bios update and drivers.

If I could download the bios update and drivers from ebuyer I would not worry you, but their link is broken and because I am not their client they have no reason to fix it for me.

My point is that if those drivers originated from Acer then they should be available on the Acer support site and we should not have to rely on a reseller for support

If they didn't originate from Acer... well...

So please Ryan, I respectfully ask you to address the the questions in my last post.

Thankyou

PS If those drivers are supplied to ebuyer under an exclusive license, or if you have some agreement with Microsoft not to support windows 7, or if there is some other commercial reason for this nonsense please tell us. Right now it looks like it's easier to say "we don't support windows 7" than to get to the bottom of the issue.

Blayn-Acer

Hi nosey1, I cannot answer how or why that site is able to provide Windows 7. The drivers they are supposedly providing are not ours as we have not qualified drivers for Windows 7 due to the fact that the chipset in the system does not provide support for Windows 7. I am providing a link below to an intel forum that Windows 7 is not supported on Bay Trail processors.

https://communities.intel.com/community/itpeernetwork/blog/2014/02/07/the-intel-nuc-different-operating-systems-on-the-bay-trail-nuc

scottcmandell

Acer Tech..... I have an Aspire-XC603G-UW30 with the same problem.

I hear what you're saying, but why then on your support page http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/drivers does ACER provide guidance on Upgrading to Windows 8.1?

Worst combination of hardware and software that I have seen since I began in the computing & network support field in 1984.

Went cheap this time. Will never do an ACER again.

persius

I just purchased some of these units and tried to install another operating system as well.

Unfortunately, this device has a problem booting from anything other than a Microsoft-supplied operating system, specifically the version 8 varities.

I have tried two bootable USB devices, two CD-R's (Bootable), and a DVD-R (Bootable) - disabled secure boot mode, enabled the boot menu, and still get:

"Reboot and Select proper Boot Device

or Insert Boot Media in selected device and press a key"

The above mentioned bootable devices boot all of the other computers I have tried, just not this Acer Aspire.

I would like to have some advice on how to boot this computer with any industry standard bootable device, aside from Windows 8.1, before I return them to Best Buy for full refunds. I was impressed with Acer, but I have never had such a hard time booting a computer in the past 20 years of my IT life. This device has changed my mind about using any Acer hardware in the future - deviation from industry standards and tricking users into being locked into an OS is dirty and an unethical business practice.

Blayn-Acer

Sorry if you are unhappy with the hardware combination on this product. If your system has a Bay Trail-D CPU, it does not provide support for legacy boot. It will run Windows 8 and 8.1, however installing Windows 7 is not supported, and unfortunately, I don't have instructions or a way to do this.

persius

I have several of the XC-603 UB17's, with Intel Celeron processors. Acer, intentionally, nerfed the BIOS to prevent any other operating system (other than Windows 8.1) from even booting. This is NOT a hardware issue, I tested this theory and after I was able to get around BIOS - everything worked great. HOWEVER, I am not in the business of downgrading/reflashing BIOS just to boot another OS on to hardware that would otherwise support it - and I am certainly NOT in the business of supporting businesses with those lousy ethics.

I will be returning all of the PC's to the store tomorrow, since I was mislead in to believing this was an actual PC (intel processors, chipset, etc, etc). Not cool - this is one of the most astonishingly unethical business practices I have ever seen in this industry, and I can not wait to write some good articles about my experiences with Acer.

Get it together Acer, you are losing customers this way.

cship

I purchased an Acer AXC-603-UR10 from Micro Center today. I was really happy with the hardware specs and considered this machine to be a good value. However, when I purchased this desktop, it was my expectation that I was purchasing a piece of hardware that would run the software I choose, because I own it. I feel Windows 8 is awful and unusable. I never would have purchased this computer if I thought I'd be stuck with Windows 8. A computer owner should be able to easily switch to any operating system their computer hardware supports.

After fiddling around with the BIOS, and being unable to install an operating system other than Windows 8, I arrived here. The responses from Acer customer support in this thread and Acer's decision to prevent people who purchase their hardware from installing the operating system of their choice is extremely disappointing. I will return this computer immediately.

There is no option for legacy or CSM boot in the BIOS despite Acer claiming this option exists in their support guides: http://acer--uk.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/27071/~/how-to-enable-or-disable-secure-boot

Screenshot - 08062014 - 12:06:09 PM.png

tejaskid

I just want to re-install windows 8.1 on a new drive for this Acer Aspire XC-603G. The original died and I have a new 500GB here but I can't get it to recognize any boot drive?

Blayn-Acer

Are you using an Acer recovery USB drive, or a USB recovery drive you created after purchasing the system, or is it a retail or other non-OEM copy of Windows?

What exactly does it do when you try to boot to the USB drive?

delgie

I don't understand quite why the link I posted earlier in this thread doesn't work for everyone - I've just clicked it again (not logged in to ebuyer so no credentials being passed through) and it downloaded the 227mb file fine.

I'm clicking on the "direct link" I put up.

For everyone's info, Win7 is still working fine on my XC-603G - it gets heavy business use every day without fault.

try it again?

[edited to comply with guidelines - removed link which immediately prompts to download]

Snuffy

Several program will make a proper USB drive for you. I like two in special. 1. Rufus USB Maker 2. Windows 8 USB Maker by M$ every USB i make with them has been bootable on my Acer(s). another thing is I ONLY USE GENUINE .ISO FROM M$. which are FREE to DL. but NOT FREE to Activate. If you do not know how to set LEGACY Mode, then it will not proper allow any to install. it also depends on If your BIOS is set to allow Windows 7, and Acer might not supply Drivers if you change OS. and M$ has stated that all Computer that have the Windows 8.1 logo will BOOT into UEFI. so make your BOOTABLE USB from a NEW Genuine Windows 8.1 iso... it will auto install and activate. the key is embedded in your BIOS, so you do not need a KEY. but MS if very touchy about CHANGING mobos( that looks like your are doing a PIRATE Install.

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