Learn from my mistake

gojaguars
gojaguars Member Posts: 1 New User
in 2013 Archives

Hello. I bought the Aspire E1-522 notebook today. It came with Windows 8 and a lot of trialware so I wiped the drive, installed a clean copy of Windows 8 Pro, and then install all the latest drivers from the Support website.

 

Everything works fine except for the WiFi. The adapter just doesn't work. The driver installs fine but in Device Manager it says that "Device failed to start". I reinstalled Windows and the driver several times but it doesn't work.

 

WiFi worked absolutely fine before I formatted. All other drivers install/work fine.

 

Moreover, since I deleted the recovery partition, I tried to order a recovery USB drive (eRecovery) but the Acer store returns an error "No RCD available for the entered Serial Number."

 

I spoke to someone in support and he basically told me that no recovery media exists for my model and that basically there is nothing I can do.

 

I guess it is my fault for messing with the recovery partition, but then again, why would the computer's WiFi not work with the same exact OS and same exact driver, just a different product key and no trialware?

 

In any case, the store where I bought the laptop from of course refused to accept an exchange of the laptop because it is running a "different OS". I don't blame them since it is my fault.

 

This is post is basically a warning and a reminder not to mess up with your recovery partitions for any reason. I feel bad for losing $400 on the laptop and $100 on Windows but I hope someone else learns from my mistake.

Answers

  • valsimot
    valsimot Member Posts: 9 New User

    I understand this is a warning to the others... Don't feel bad for the money spent on the laptop. Even thou your built in WiFi is not working, there are number of cheap USB WiFi adapters you can buy (at ebay for example) that will work without a problem and still use WiFi on your laptop untill they come with decent drivers for the built in WiFi adapter.

  • valsimot
    valsimot Member Posts: 9 New User

    You can also take a look at the back of your laptop and find the name of your WLAN module manufacturer (eg. Atheros, Broadcom) and model (for example, mine is Broadcom BCM943225HM) and then try to find the drivers at the manufacturer's website.

  • crazylifefreak1
    crazylifefreak1 Member Posts: 3 New User

    1. Another clean install of windows might help. Installation can act funnily at times. Wipe the drive clean using a another utility like GParted or a linux live cd and try installing windows again. You should even try with a different version of Windows (like Windows 7) to check if the issue is with the drivers, OS or something else. If it is not working in Win 7, there is a good chance that the hardware might have been faulty.

     

    2. Try things with a different OS especially Ubuntu

     

    3. You can even replace the wifi card if you want. Just be warned that your warranty will definitely be affected by this action. 

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