Acer Iconia W700 recovery problem

Tuukka
Tuukka Member Posts: 3 New User

Hi,

I have Iconia W700 tablet and I'm trying to recovery it.

I've got with the tablet some recovery discs. I copied System DVD, Recovery DVD 1 of 2 and Recovery DVD 2 of 2 to USB flash drive. Recovering goes until 99% and then it says that I should put Recovery DVD 2 of 2.

 

I don't know what to do.

 

Can someone help me?

Thanks

Best Answer

  • Tuukka
    Tuukka Member Posts: 3 New User
    Answer ✓

    I solved my problem! I bought external dvd player and it works with it.

«1

Answers

  • erk01
    erk01 Member Posts: 4 New User
    I have EXACTLY the same problem... Good to know I'm not alone. Anyone please?
  • guitarmang
    guitarmang Member Posts: 18 New User

    I'm not sure how to do this with USB sticks, but I was finally able to recover from the acer recovery  disc's using a external USB DVD drive.

    First I had to set the settings in the bios.

     

    Hold the power button for more than 4 secs until it powers off completely.

    Set up a password for supervisor.

    Save and exit then return to bios again.

    Disable secure boot.

    Set boot to USB DVD drive.

    Insert system disc first.

    Reboot to system disc

    After a few mins it ask for recovery disc 1

    Then recovery disc 2

    Then language disc

    Then system disc again

    Hope this helps

  • erk01
    erk01 Member Posts: 4 New User

    thanks, I will try that in the morning when I can get a hold of a DVD-player...

     

    in the meantime, I have tried to manually (via DOS) copy all the necessary image-files (named .swm) to c:.

     

    is that a dead end? ideas?

  • sopaj96
    sopaj96 Member Posts: 154 Troubleshooter

    Can you tell me how you put all the files on the usb and exactlymwhat you did, please? Because I dont have any external dvd player Smiley Sad

    Have you tried to remove the usb and then re-insert it? Have you tried to put the disc 2 of 2 on another usb ?

     

  • erk01
    erk01 Member Posts: 4 New User

    well I'm not sure whether it helps or not..

     

    but there's a way to access the command prompt from the boot-up screen that appears after system repair has failed. it's under "other" or something like that, just look for it.

     

    from there I copied all image files (135 of them, I think - is that correct?)

     

    if you haven't used DOS before, just google how to copy files. it's very straightforward. unfortunately I do not know if this is a path forward or not.

     

    and yes, I have tried to put the other disk on another USB drive.

     

     

  • Tuukka
    Tuukka Member Posts: 3 New User
    Answer ✓

    I solved my problem! I bought external dvd player and it works with it.

  • sopaj96
    sopaj96 Member Posts: 154 Troubleshooter
    Tuuka: Okay so no recobery without dvd player?
    Oh...and Do you still have the throttle issue after you recovered?
  • Tuukka
    Tuukka Member Posts: 3 New User

    I think acer recovery management would help but without working tablet it's useless.

    I haven't got any throttle problem but I have i3 model.

  • svmus
    svmus Member Posts: 3 New User

    I had no luck with the restore using external dvd drive, I was able to get to BIOS and boot into supplied system DVD. The Acer recovery manager would come up and after you select language and one of the restore option, it would ask to boot the dvd back in UEFI mode or legacy BIOS mode. I tried both modes and the message would be asking to boot in the opposite mode.

     

    I did reach out to Acer support and thier suggestion was to have it ship back to them to resore it.

     

    After reading this thread I am guessing it is something to do with secure boot, I went back to the BIOS and under Boot options I dont have option to disable secure boot.

     

    My question is do I need to Set up a password for supervisor? and then disable secure boot as Guitarmang posted?

     

    Thx

  • guitarmang
    guitarmang Member Posts: 18 New User

    That's what I had to do. Set up a supervisor password. If you don't have a supervisor password set, it won't let you disable secure boot. Leave UEFI on. After that, move whatever DVD drive you have up to boot first. That worked for me.

  • svmus
    svmus Member Posts: 3 New User

    Thx a lot, this is very helpfull.

     

    Acer support could not even give me this suggestion. They need to put this on thier FAQ section.

  • centzbanaag
    centzbanaag Member Posts: 2 New User

    I had problem as well using the restore option in the settings. But anyway below are the steps that worked for me.

     

    1. Go to PC settings

    2. Under General tab there is an option of Advance Restart

    3. Have your external DVD drive connected with the SYSTEM DVD in it

    4. Choose start in USB UEFI device

    5. Wait for awhile and tab will restart.

    6. Follow onscreen instructions afterwards.

  • TechBim
    TechBim Member Posts: 5 New User

    I'm actually sending mine back because the clock doesn't keep time when it's off so I'm trying to do a factory restore also without an external DVD player and realising it seems not to be doable.

     

    I can't help but think that Acer is really ridiculous that they thought of bundling a case, a dock and even things like a micro-HDMI to VGA adapter but didn't have the wherewithal to provide an easy method to create a bootable USB image. Talking about having priorities wrong!

  • suzook
    suzook Member Posts: 16 New User

    Lol...you guys would complain if the w700 dispensed money....big deal, you cant restore using usb....get a **bleep** ext dvd and be done with it.

  • TechBim
    TechBim Member Posts: 5 New User

    suzook wrote:

    Lol...you guys would complain if the w700 dispensed money....big deal, you cant restore using usb....get a **bleep** ext dvd and be done with it.


    That's a really intelligent suggestion... why didn't I think of that?

     

    The point is, buying an external DVD drive just for the sake of being able to do a factory restore is pretty darn stupid thinking... the same kind of stupid thinking that would make a company provide optical discs with a device that doesn't come with an optical drive. Maybe you work for Acer then.

     

    Imagine buying a hot sports hatch with all the extras that came with a spare tyre that couldn't fit the wheels... I guess you'd say, "Go out there and buy a wheel that could fit the tyre!" Right? Like I said, a very intelligent suggestion.

  • kmd1970
    kmd1970 Member Posts: 15 New User

    I've successfully done a fresh windows 8 install and also a full recovery.

     

    1. You need a USB DVD drive.

    2. Make sure BIOS is in UEFI mode.

    3. Move the USB DVD drive up as first boot device (you may have to reboot into BIOS a second time to change this)

    4. Turn off FAST boot in BIOS 

    5. Insert DVD into drive.

    6. Hold w700 power button down for 6 seconds

    7. Power ON.

     

    if the w700 recognises the DVD drive it will reboot and pause on the ACER logo screen. There is a slight delay while the w700 reads the DVD so wait. (watch the DVD drive light and listen for it spinning).

     

    To do a full recovery you must first delete everything on the drive. I just used a windows 8 dvd:

     

     a. start the windows 8 setup:

     b. choose custom install

     c. delete all drive partitions

     d. create new drive partitions (there should now be 4)

     e. format largest partition

     f. exit the windows setup.

     

     

     

  • nickgatt
    nickgatt Member Posts: 4 New User

    Thanks for the detailed step-by-step guide. However, I'm still struggling to get the w700 to boot to anything other than Windows Boot Manager. All steps have been followed except 'disable fast boot' which I cannot see in the BIOS at all. Are you able to post a picture of this? I'm using the latest BIOS so hopefully this setting has not been removed!

     

    I think I'm nearly there. I hear the DVD drive spin up and the w700 does pause on the Acer logo while the drive spins up. I've even connected a USB hub as Acer advises so I can conect a USB keyboard and press F12 at boot. Even this method only shows Windows Boot Manager as the only bootabel device despite the DVD drive being at the top of he boot priority list. I've tried different media (known to boot in other computers) and a selection of USB optical drives.

     

    Any and all help appreciated!

     

     

  • kmd1970
    kmd1970 Member Posts: 15 New User

    "I hear the DVD drive spin up and the w700 does pause on the Acer logo while the drive spins up"

     

    Just to be clear, the w700 should pause on the Acer logo for a long time and the DVD should spin continuously (not just spin up), the DVD light should also be solid to indicate its reading the DVD. Are you waiting long enough?

     

    I believe the fast boot option is in the BOOT section of the bios, same section as "UEFI/Legacy Bios" boot type option. Sorry, I dont have my acer w700 with me so I can't check or provide pictures. If you dont see it in BOOT section, check the other sections. You may have to scroll down in some sections to see all options. My bios version is 2.08 if that helps.

     

    Also, you must ensure that you completely shutdown your w700 to boot from USB DVD. Acording to Acer there are 2 ways

    to do this:

     

    A. hold the power button for more than 6 seconds OR

    B. In Windows 8 by tapping the Settings charm > Change PC settings > General. Under "Advanced startup", tap Restart
    now. The "Choose an option" screen displays. Tap Turn off your PC.

     

    I never used the F12 option to enter bios (I pressed the Windows button and the power button at the same time)

     

    I didnt have a USB hub attached when trying to boot from the USB DVD drive. Try removing the USB hub and plugging in the USB DVD drive directly into the W700 usb port. Also plug in your power adapter.

     

    Ensure that you have the bootable dvd labeled System Recovery in the drive, not the 1 of 3 recovery DVD or the Langauge DVD.

     

    In BIOS under "Boot priority order", move the Windows boot Manager option to last (below every other option). 

     

  • nickgatt
    nickgatt Member Posts: 4 New User

    Thanks for the response. Very much appreciated.

     

    I've done everything you have suggested many times. There's no fast boot option (I've scrolled to the bottom of every screen with secure boot enabled and disabled) and I'm using 2.08 BIOS too. I even downloaded and re-flashed it to see if it made a difference. The only thing I can think of is the BIOS is different depending on country but that is just a wild guess.

     

    I've had no success PXE booting to the network with the Acer USB/Ethernet dongle either. The only thing I can conclude is that, somehow, despite secure boot being disabled and all the secure boot BIOS options greyed out when secure boot is off, that the device still attempts a secure boot. I thought about rolling back to 2.07 BIOS but the utility doesn't allow that.

     

    As a last resort I enabled the power-on password to give the system time to check the USB port and for the DVD drive to spin up. No change. I hear the drive spin up and then I can hear it is clearly reading from it but after 20 seconds it reverts to boot manager. Something is not right here. I guess I'll have to wait for the other one to turn up in a few weeks and compare the two.

     

    Thanks again!

  • nickgatt
    nickgatt Member Posts: 4 New User

    Finally figured this out. I had to put the BIOS into Legacy mode rather than UEFI mode. The w700 now boots to DVD as well as PXE. Not tried a USB hard drive yet but will do next week. The next step will be putting on Windows 8 Enterprise via DVD as well as PXE for testing and evaluation.

This discussion has been closed.