Acer X1301 Clean Windows install

Bobkuwait
Bobkuwait Member Posts: 5 New User

I have an ACER aspire that the hard drive failed on.  I purchased and replaced the hard drive, purchased and installed the restore programs and still can't get the computer to work.  I've got a good copy of Windows 7 Professional that I can't get to install either (It fails because I need the proper CD/DVD driver). Can anyone direct me to that driver?

Answers

  • finlux
    finlux ACE Posts: 1,834 Pathfinder

    Hi Bobkuwait!

     

    Have you changed the boot options to boot from DVD/CD? Your PC may be trying to boot from the hard drive.

     

    I can't see why the recovery disks or the Windows 7 Professional disk isn't loading. As far as I'm aware, you should not need a driver for your DVD drive. In all the many computers I've fixed/installed Windows on, NONE have ever needed a driver.

     

    The only thing it can be is the DVD drive itself - I believe it is at fault. You have two options:

     

    1. Buy a replacement drive & try your recovery disks on that

    2. Buy/borrow a USB DVD drive, change your boot options to boot from it

  • Bobkuwait
    Bobkuwait Member Posts: 5 New User

    I should have been more descriptive with my problem. The CD/DVD drive is SATA. It starts to load Windows 7 then fails with a "Driver Needed" message.

  • finlux
    finlux ACE Posts: 1,834 Pathfinder

    Hi Bobkuwait

     

    I still think you may have a problem with your DVD drive. Windows 7 (And the Acer Restore disks) will not need a driver for your optical drive. If you can borrow another to try or swap out, I would give it a go.

     

    The only alternative answer to the above is:

     

    If your PC is older than 2010/11, the old HD would have been the old 512 byte format. Newer HD's use the new 4K format. If the disks you have are pre SP1, I believe they will fail to install. This is obviously for your hard drive & not your optical drive.

     

    The driver for Intel motherboard is Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver for Intel Desktop Boards, which is available on the Intel website. This cured the problem for me, when I upgraded my HD for a newer, larger one.

     

    Can anyone else advise on an equivalent for AMD mobos?

     

     

  • Bobkuwait
    Bobkuwait Member Posts: 5 New User

    Same issue with USB DVD. I believe that it's the Rapid Store Technology you mentioned.  I tried to find the package for the Acer Motherboard without success. Can you be more specific?

  • Bobkuwait
    Bobkuwait Member Posts: 5 New User

    Sorry about that.... I got confused.  The site lists several platforms, but nothing for the AMD set that the Acer has.  Which would most likely suit my needs?

  • finlux
    finlux ACE Posts: 1,834 Pathfinder

    Try contacting AMD support, to see if they can advise on the driver needed.

     

  • Bobkuwait
    Bobkuwait Member Posts: 5 New User

    To install the OS I had to change the BIOS - Peripheral Devices - from AHCI to IDE.

     

    Changing the BIOS back to AHCI caused a blue screen flash and then a restart over and over again.

     

    I found these instructions on Microsoft that fixed the problem:

     

      1.  Completely shut down the machine – don’t do a restart.

      2.  Turn the machine back on while repeatedly tapping the Delete key to enter the BIOS Setup.

      3.  Set the BIOS for IDE and exit the BIOS Setup. Windows restarts

      4.  Click on Start, type regedit into the Start Search box and press enter.

      5.  If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.

      6.  Locate and click the following registry sub key:

            HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci

      7.  In the pane on the right side, right-click Start in the Name column, then click Modify.

      8.  In the Value data box, type 0 (zero) to replace whatever number is there, then click OK.

      9.  Locate and click the following registry sub key:

           HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV

      10.  In the pane on the right side, right-click Start in the Name column, then click Modify.

      11.  In the Value data box, type 0 (zero) to replace whatever number is there, then click OK.

      12.  On the File menu click Exit to close the registry editor

      13.  Completely shut down the machine – don’t do a restart.

      14.  Turn the machine back on while repeatedly tapping the Delete key to enter the BIOS Setup.

      15.  Change the BIOS back to AHCI.

      16.  Exit the Setup and windows restarts.

     

    The machine will now install the correct AHCI Drivers that were disabled during the installation of Windows 7 with the BIOS set for IDE.

     

    One more restart of Windows completes the change to AHCI.

     

    I’d still like to find the proper drivers to install during the initial OS install (called F6 Driver by Intel) to avoid all this fuss.

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