Cloudbook 11 A01-131-C9RK Drivers unavailable!

bjornb
bjornb Member Posts: 13

Tinkerer

edited November 2023 in 2018 Archives
Factory Windows 10 got corrupted and could not boot, could not access restore partition.
Downloaded a clean copy of Windows 10 x64 from Microsoft and did a clean installation.
This went well, except for a few missing drivers. Went to the Acer support site and found MOST drivers.
The site also instructed me to let Windows 10 find any missing drivers.
Well, am now on WIndows 10 build 1803, 2018-05 and STILL missing a bunch of drivers.
Device Manager show the following with the yellow error exclamation mark:
PCI Device
PCI Simple Communications Controller
System DMA Controller
System DMA Controller
Yes, DMA Controller twice.
The Mouse Pad is not responsive (probably a DMA issue).
Where can I get these drivers? As stated above, they are not on the Acer support website nor does (in spite of Acer's claim) Windows Update find them!
Help would be greatly appreciated...

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Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Did you first try the ALT+F10 cold boot Win10 factory re-set method for machines that won't boot? It should re-install factory-fresh Win10 with all the correct ACER-specific drivers. Jack E/NJ

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzLJRAZldA


    Jack E/NJ

  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    Hi Jack, thanks for the response. Yes tried that without success. Eventually used the Microsoft Media Creation Tool and installed a fresh Win10x64 copy on top, then went to the Acer support site and installed all available drivers, only to find that several were missing (see above). The statement on the Acer support site which indicated that Windows Update would install any missing drivers turned out to be false. Frankly, in all these years I have never heard of manufacturers not providing downloadable drivers, this is the first. Besides, Windows SHOULD fill in the missing (per Acer) but does not.
    Looks like my only option is to pay Acer $46 for another copy of the factory install image which I do NOT want to do as the original one left me with only 2.5GB of space left and unable to upgrade regardless of how much I removed/cleaned.

    Any idea where these PCI and DMA drivers are? Seems like such a simple solution...
    Bjorn

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>> Yes tried [ALT+F10] that without success.>>>
    You must first check to make sure the D2D recovery option is enabled in the BIOS Main tab. Save settings and exit. Then you must press & hold the power button till the machine completely shuts off. Then turn it back on and ***immediately*** press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key. Don't wait for the ACER logo screen because by then it's already too late for ALT+F10 recovery to work.

    >>>Any idea where these PCI and DMA drivers are? Seems like such a simple solution...>>>
    All the ACER-specific Win10-32 & -64 drivers---***other than those drivers that are supposed (but not guaranteed) to work that are included with plain-vanilla generic Win10***---are downloadable here https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/6301?b=1

    Jack E/NJ







    Jack E/NJ

  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    JackE, are you actually reading what bjornb is writing?

    1) Recovering using the original method does not work and he has already reinstalled using a fresh copy, there is no way to do it like you're suggesting there anymore.

    2) He also multiple time told you that the drivers he need are NOT available on acer's site. So why would you suggest he go there to look for them?

    I came here myself since I have the same issue, these 4 drivers that I can't find after I decided to do a clean install of my computer to save space and get rid of software that hogs the little memory the computer have. So I would also love a conclusion to this problem.
  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    Further research would suggest that the missing drivers are actually the IO drivers as well as the touch pad drivers. Which supposedly is available on the website, however trying to install them does nothing, even though it says that they are successfully installed.

    Came to this conclusion after the fact that I get a "!" mark when I try to locate my touch pad in the control panel and some googling suggested installing the IO drivers before installing the touch pad drivers, which I cannot confirm being installed in the device manager.

    Any suggestions on how to actually get these drivers to properly install? The drivers ought to be available considering that for those who use the restore function can make it work.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>>>> Yes tried [ALT+F10] that without success.>>>You must first check to make sure the D2D recovery option is enabled in the BIOS Main tab. Save settings and exit. >>>

    Yes, but again, the recovery has no chance of working if you don't double-check that the BIOS D2D recovery option is enabled. If it still doesn't work with D2D enabled, then you have two options. The ACER recovery media option at about $45. Or installing generic Win10 in which case locating all the ACER drivers could be a problem.  In the latter case, you might want to try the Driver Booster freeware https://www.iobit.com/en/index.php to help sort out the ACER-specific drivers issues. Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    Thank you for your response.

    Since I've already wiped the hard disk to create more room for my own stuffs, recovery options do not seem like an option.

    I tried use the Driver Booster tool, however it would not even recognize that these 4 drivers are missing. Which is quite odd to be honest.

    I'll personally keep digging into this and hopefully I'll figure it out since I do believe that the drivers I need are actually the IO and Touchpad drivers that is supplied on the website. Just that for some reason I'm unable to properly install them.
  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    I guess you shouldn't expect folks to read through what I previously stated:
    First, the 'Cloudbook 11' with 32GB was a disaster, nicely designed but terribly executed (insufficient storage plain and simple) as it kept running out of storage and would not allow Windows 10 (x64) to update. Additional storage such as Sandisk USB3 mini keys (64GB) did not help as Windows refused to use it for update. I have an A01-431 with 64GB and it is just fine.

    To save the day, I used the Windows Tool to do a totally clean install as the recovery partition got me back to square one, then filled up the storage again.
    Reading Acer's A01-131 support page, it allows you to download a bunch of drivers, THEN STATES that Windows Update will get whatever is missing!!
    Well, THAT IS A LIE, it DOES NOT as we now all know. And NOW ACER wants me to fork over $45 for a PROPRIETARY CD (of course this little Cloudbook has no optical drive)! Yes, I can get an external unit, but getting it to boot requires you to set the BIOS to Legacy mode.

    REALLY frustrated with Acer's TOTAL lack of support, they want to ship me off to a 3rd party support that wants a credit card up front to talk to me.

    I know what I need, just the bloody drivers, yet Acer refuses to help. I am a good Acer customer, having procured a stable of Acer devices (multiple laptops and Chromebooks) yet when I need them, nothing but LIES and 'Good luck Charie'.

    TRULY SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS!

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>Additional storage such as Sandisk USB3 mini keys (64GB) did not help as Windows refused to use it for update. I have an A01-431 with 64GB and it is just fine.>>>PROPRIETARY CD (of course this little Cloudbook has no optical drive)! Yes, I can get an external unit, but getting it to boot requires you to set the BIOS to Legacy mode.>>>


    WinUpdate should use an NTFS-formatted SD card for the temporary extra space needed to complete the update. ACER specific recovery media is available as a stick, not just a DVD disk. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    Still, asking $45 for something that honestly should be available for free is just squeezing money out of people. Especially when the alternative way of attaining the drivers doesn't work as intended. Most frustrating part is that the drivers works on the "CD" and as such I don't see why they can't be made available to the rest of us.

    As for now I'm stuck with a handicapped laptop either way since I'm either forced to pay extra for a CD (or USB) that installs stuffs I don't want due to space limits or I'm left without viable drivers. It's a no-win situation for the customer here.
  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    Jack, really appreciate your trying to help, but we are facing a NO-WIN situation here which clearly is Acer's door step for failing to provide BASIC Customer Service.
    None of your suggestions have helped and Acer's failure to provide WORKING drivers (yes, have installed ALL listed on the site, including what IOBIT Driver Booster suggested) to no avail. Again, Acer's statement on the driver site, that any missing driver will be installed by Windows Update, is simply a LIE or UNTRUTH as you say in today's political climate.

    As Exoclyps so correctly stated, we are stuck ('screwed') in the end. Not exactly a way to win customer confidence, don't you think?
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>> [ALT+F10] Yes tried that without success. >>>

    Unless there is a hardware issue with the hidden partition on eMMC drive, this recovery method should work if the ALT+F10 combo is executed fast enough because solid state drive is a lot faster than an HDD or hybrid HDD. The machine must be in a completely off state by pressing and holding the power button for 5 or more seconds. Then turned back on and ****immediately**** press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key --- don't wait for the ACER logo to appear because by then it's too late. If the recovery screen still fails to appear, then the eMMC has likely failed and thus using the ACER recovery USB or DVD media likely won't fix it either.  Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    The eMMC is fine, I was able to install a clean Microsoft Tool supplied copy. Of course that had to be done in Legacy BIOS mode and attempting to change to UEFI does't work ('Boot Device not found') probably because there is no GPT partition, probably deleted by the Win10x64 CLEAN install.

    AGAIN, we go back to the Acer issue with the drivers not being available. Please help by using your contacts to retrieve them for us!!
    After all, Acer promised them as part of Win10 update but did NOT DELIVER!

    Thank you for everything you do for us!

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Sorry. I'm not quite sure what happened to the hidden ACER-specific recovery (image) partition with all the correct drivers that would've allowed a reset to a factory fresh state. I can only guess that generic Win10 "clean" install overwrote this recovery partition. As for Win10 updates, they are quite unlike earlier Windows versions due to Microsoft's new and unimproved lifecycle policies. Each major update is like a new Windows version creating driver havoc on, and even disabling, relatively new machines from many mfrs with earlier Win10 versions. And the maintenance support for each major Win10 update is also considerably shorter than either Win7 & Win8.x  IMO, this situation is quite unrealistic. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

       Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    I don't know about bjornb, but I purposely deleted the recovery partition since I've to this date never needed it and wanted every little bit of space I could get. I mean, even after clean installing over 20 different laptops I've never had this kind of issue before.

    If the issue is due to the Windows 10 version then properly updating windows as you suggested earlier would result in the same problem, which means the issue would still stand, even if we where to pay $45 for the "CD". That would make this situation even worse.
  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    So we are back to the beginning: Acer not providing all necessary drivers. I would hesitate to blame Microsoft, after all Acer promises to provide the missing drivers through Windows Update and it would seem to me that Acer has a responsibility to its customers to:

    1. Post all device specific drivers.
    2. Verify that their secondary solution (Windows Update) works.

    In my 30+ years of IT and PCs of various brands I have never encountered such a brazen support failure.

    Am I missing something?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    I hesitated a little too about 2 years ago. But not any more. I can only suggest that you download and try the driver search freeware  https://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php . It's help resolve driver issues for recent models from the major mfrs due to automatic update woes. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Exoclyps
    Exoclyps Member Posts: 6 New User
    I did try Driver-Boster from IO Bit. It wouldn't even show any recognition of the drivers being missing in the first place.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Have you tried to uninstall just one of the problem drivers from Device Manager, exit, reboot and let the Win10 re-detect the hardware, search for its driver and re-install it while connected? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • bjornb
    bjornb Member Posts: 13

    Tinkerer

    Please, Jack, these are not 'problem' drivers. These are missing drivers. To quote driver properties (all 4 missing, PCI and DMA drivers show same):

    The driver for the device are not available (code 28)
    There ar no compatible drivers for the device
    To find a driver for the device, click the Update Driver

    Now what?