The Acer Guy

If you’re reading this you want to install something more than Windows XP in your Aspire 5920, then probably you’re interested in … Where I find and how I can install all drivers …??

Well, here I will tell you my way to setup the machine, of course feel free to do it in different way with same components.

I strongly suggest reading this BEFORE you do anything, so you will know all the steps and everything you need to download first.

If you can, store the drivers on a USB key; considering that packages can be large, start to copy in the USB key just first packages (like points 1 -> 4 + and the others later ….

You need these drivers; I also suggest following the numeric sequence I’m listing here to setup Windows drivers:

1- MS Windows hot fixes
I suggest installing this set of hot fixes from MS; some are relative to power management, Azalia audio channel, reliability & stability and so on.

kb885222.exe /quiet /norestart
kb885855.exe /quiet /norestart
kb888111.exe /quiet /norestart
kb889673.exe /quiet /norestart
kb892050.exe /quiet /norestart
kb893803.exe /quiet /norestart
kb896256v4.exe /quiet /norestart
kb909095.exe /quiet /norestart
kb909667.exe /quiet /norestart
kb912945.exe /quiet /norestart
kb918005.exe /quiet /norestart
kb936357.exe /quiet /norestart
kb936357-v2.exe /quiet /norestart
kb938828.exe /quiet /norestart

Then create a new txt file and copy inside all between “—“ lines:
—
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Throttle]
“PerfEnablePackageIdle”=dword:00000001
—

Save with REG extension, like “newfile.reg”, then double click on it and accept to merge into registry
This is a part of power management patch

Collect all hot fixes directly from MS Knowledgebase or from http://thehotfixshare.net, of course download the package and do not use Windows Update …. now it’s better to avoid WU.
The parameter “/quiet” means: install silently without showing details on screen
The parameter “/norestart” means: install it but don’t ask to reboot when finished
During the installation you will see first screen from “Add new Hardware” wizard, close all now!
Reboot the machine after all patches and REG file are installed

2- Intel Chipset installation package named “INF Update utility”, you can find the package in Acer web site or in the main page of Intel, Intel has the latest version but you can use the Acer package as well

3- DirectX 9.0c redistributable package from Microsoft, look for the most recent package, now should be the November package.

4- MS .NET frameworks 1.1 and 2.0 with Service Packs

5- VGA card driver
This step need a special part, Acer have only Vista drivers and Nvidia don’t have a downloadable generic driver for mobile chips, if you haven’t a laptop in the supported list, you cannot download so you need to use another source.
One of the most complete website is www.laptopvideo2go.com, where you can find all Nvidia drivers release for XP or Vista, x32bit or x64bit.
Another source you can check is www.tweakforce.com, I only found this site recently and I haven’t tested anything from here jet, but you can try.
You can also use Nvidia software “Ntune” after driver setup to tune many parameters

Well, now you have a driver for you Nvidia VGA card
What about Aspire 5920 NOT with “G”?????
It’s easier; you need the VGA driver from Intel. Refer again to Intel web site main page and you will find the link to “Intel Graphic Media Accelerator Driver for WindowsXP”.
Simply follow the link, download and install… it’s not easy?

6- Audio. The CODEC is from Realtek and they have only one driver for all HD Audio, also for this you can’t download the driver from Acer website because it’s for Vista but you can download the file from Realtek web site, the package is for HD Audio CODEC, in the home page there is the link “HD Audio codec driver” under “Quick links”

7- Modem. The modem driver is from Acer website … install and forget it, this is my experience right now.

8- Ethernet. It’s a Broadcom Gigabit LAN adapter, you can get it from Broadcom directly:
From Broadcom website it’s possible to download Ethernet drivers:
http://www.broadcom.com/support/ethernet_nic/netlink.php
There is no setup.exe in the package, so unzip the driver in an empty folder and follow the “update wizard” from Device Manager, browse to unzipped files folder and click on OK, Windows will get the driver

9- Wireless adapter. It’s from Intel, so easy way again: go to Intel main page and follow the link named: Intel PRO/Wireless Drivers for Windows XP.
Also this driver hasn’t a setup to install, so you need to again to unzip in an empty folder and follow the “update driver” wizard from Device Manager. Browse to unzipped files folder and click on ok, Windows will get the driver

10- Memory Card reader and PCMCIA / ExpressCard controller.
Just download the driver from Acer web site, unzip, run the setup …. Done!

11- Bluetooth. The XP compatible version is the 5.1.0.3300. This is not free software, it could be not available from Acer Websites, ask to Acer Call Centers,

12- Intel TurboMemory. No driver for Windows XP known by now …

13- Webcam. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFULL ABOUT THIS POINT
In my laptop there is a Bison webcam (HardwareID = USB\Vid_5986&Pid_0102) but you could have another branded webcam, SO PLEASE CHECK THE “HARDWAREID” BEFORE INSTALLING ANY SOFTWARE or DRIVER, if you install webcam drivers left right and centre without checking … it’s a mess to make it working! To check the HardwareID, open device Manager, expand “Imaging Devices” -> double click on “USB Video Device” -> select “Details” tab -> select “HardwareID”
Suppose you have Bison webcam like me, how to get the driver? Well you need just patience, select another Aspire model in Acer website and look for XP webcam drivers … Bison driver package is the same, Intel ONLY the driver, I’ve not installed also the Orbicam application.

14- Touchpad. Installed the Synaptic tool from Acer website, it manage also multimedia keys on the right of keyboard

15- Launch Manager. Downloaded from Acer website and installed, it manage the left keyboard side set of keys (wireless + Bluetooth and so on), the package it’s also for XP.

Acer Empowering Technology
Application version from Acer website is only for Windows Vista and there isn’t an official set of tools for Windows XP for Aspire 5920.
So I will not suggest you to try any other XP packages from other models … but if you really want to do that, you need to know that .NET frameworks from MS need to be already installed and you have to install the Empowering Technology Framework tool as first package, then all the others you want. I’ve never tested any of such tools on AS5920, so all problems are really unknown …

IF you want to manage Power Management profile for CPU instead of native Windows XP, you can test RightMARK CPU Clock utility; it seems to run without problems, until TODAY!!
If you want to manage different Wireless profiles I suggest installing the Intel PROSet tool, always from Intel website, so you can setup wireless profile and change the “simple” wireless client from Windows XP.

Windows Update
Of course if you want, run “Windows Update” to update completely your machine adding also WMP11 and so on, as you like

Well …. it seems we have installed all … but does it really work?

My AS5920G has been running for more than 3 months with CoD4, Crysis, LostPlanets (dx9) demos to test it running at 1280×800 … 

Sounds good, eh?

Enjoy your Gemstone!

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I’ve been trying to sum up the courage to do this for a while, and then it came to me in one quick, blindingly obvious flash.

You know the reviews section I half put up a while back? I now want to bring it down. Actually I already have.

If you remember, I recently published 5 user reviews of the Aspire 5920 and it was, as far as I am concerned, the best thing this blog has done since it started. I mean, what better way to “engage the public” than let them tell you what your products are like? By letting real customers dissect, photograph and review their own products without editing anything more than the odd spelling mistake, I think we’re doing everyone a good service.

I know it all sounds a bit like the user review section on Amazon or some other high-volume commercial site but in reality it’s not. This is turning the tables 180°. It’s letting you tell the world what you think and giving you a place to stand up for what you said. It’s my firm belief that Acer products aren’t all that bad and that the people who buy them bought them for a pretty good reason so why not get you the user/customer to share your thoughts.

Besides, does anyone really read site reviews you can’t talk back to?

So, there it is. An open invitation to vent your frustration or sing your Acer’s praises. Please mail me at reviews AT theacerguy dot com if you have one you’d like me to post. Just keep the swear words out

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This has been a long time coming. One of the most frequent questions I receive (and poor old Simone has to answer to) is “How do I put Windows XP on my PC?”

I’ve sent draft versions of these instructions to people who say the magic words in the right order and at the right moment but as Simone and I are seriously democratic kinda guys we decided to polish it up a little and publish it here.

I would like to make the usual disclaimer. I haven’t checked this with the legal department but please remember that this was done in the spare time of a guy who really does know what he’s doing. It is, therefore, authoritative but by no means official. I need to make this clear as you could be violating your warranty rights by doing this.

OK. Still interested? Right…

To install Windows XP on AS5920 / AS5920G you have a range of different choices:

First – using an FDD reader
You need an external USB FDD reader. The important thing is that this reader must be recognized by the BIOS of your computer, because it has to work as soon as the machine boots and Windows Setup starts.

Second – Integrating all necessary drivers into a Windows XP CD, this means burning a CD with added files.

Third – change the BIOS parameter “SATA mode” from AHCI to IDE (you need the BIOS v3708).
How? Turn on the notebook and press F2, move to “main” page, you can see the SATA mode parameter below in the page … change it with F5/F6 keys

Why do I have to do that?
What’s the difference?
Do I really have to do that?

Well, if you’ve got the time read on, otherwise, scroll down a few paragraphs.

AHCI is the main functionality mode for Intel HDD controller; it’s the enhanced mode that manages the latest SATA drives, but Windows XP cannot recognize this working mode because it’s too “old”. Vista Setup can work without problems, but who cares? You want WinXP!!

That’s why you need additional drivers - to inform WinXP about this new working mode of controller. Change mode from “AHCI” to “IDE” and the controller emulates the default IDE controller, so also Windows XP can recognize the controller without the new drivers but with its own.

What’s the best way? The new AHCI should be the right one, but I haven’t seen many differences during normal use… but that’s just my personal opinion. And if you don’t have an USB floppy driver, it’s probably also the quickest way to setup Windows…. Besides, it’s much better than buying one just to install Windows XP, no? 

I’m assuming you have the driver for the AHCI controller; it’s from f6flpy32 package v7.5.0.1017 or newer version, which you can download from the Intel support website.

If you want to go the IDE way, you don’t need this step, simply plug the CD and run.

When you have downloaded the zipped package, extract it . . . you will find another exe file (f6flpy32.exe), it’s a winimage file that lets you to create the floppy you will use later to install Windows XP.

(What? a floppy? in 2007 I really need a floppy?? – well, you have the second choice too)

I have added a picture for beginners and for all of you who don’t remember what it is…….

this is a floppy !

You need one of these for AHCI mode installation.

Now you need the FDD reader, plug it into a USB port, insert the floppy into the reader and run the “f6flpy32.exe” file.
When the program completes all steps, you will find some files inside the floppy:

Directory of A:\

09/14/2007 05:06 PM &ltDIR&gt .
09/14/2007 05:06 PM &ltDIR&gt ..
04/11/2007 01:36 AM 11,352 iaahci.cat
04/06/2007 03:29 PM 8,116 iaahci.inf
04/11/2007 01:41 AM 11,156 iastor.cat
04/06/2007 03:31 PM 7,678 iastor.inf
03/21/2007 12:58 PM 304,920 iastor.sys
04/11/2007 03:26 PM 11,321 license.txt
03/21/2007 12:09 PM 45,465 readme.txt
03/21/2007 11:59 AM 4,243 txtsetup.oem
8 File(s) 404,251 bytes

Now you should restart the notebook, press F2 and enter into CMOS BIOS setup
Move to MAIN screen and push F12 to change the boot sequence.

Insert your Windows CD into the optical drive (DVD burner unit) and restart the notebook again, saving all the changes.

When the Acer splash screen appears, you should see below a message like “press F2 ….. “ and newest message shown “press F12 to change the boot sequence”; OK!! Just do it, press F12 and choose to boot from optical DVD drive.

Press F6 immediately after Windows boots from the CD (you can read a message below on your screen, it’s shown as soon as Windows starts, on a blue background screen), press the F6 key more than once just to be sure the boot sequence can recognize the command but when you have done it, don’t expect a message from the system like “ok, I have understood what you want!” or “You’re installing manually, you’re a real PRO!” or “thanks for choosing our Company!”. Windows will continue as if nothing is happening, so don’t panic if you don’t see signs of life 

After about 10 seconds the message will change to “press F2 for …. blah blah blah”, this is the right moment to stop pressing the F6 key and wait while Windows setup runs.

Windows will now show you a new screen asking you to choose additional drivers from another source, press “S” key, Windows will read the floppy and will prompt a list of controllers, select the controller with name: Intel(R) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (it should be the third on the list).

That’s all; Windows will load the correct driver from FDD and will continue the installation.
After this you will see the same screen as before, but his time the AHCI controller is listed; in this way you could add another driver if needed, but you don’t .

NOW press ENTER and go ahead partitioning HDD and installing Windows XP.

It’s not easy I know and AHCI technology requires some “special steps”, but if you really want XP Microsoft has made sure you have to jump through some rather spectacular hoops to do it.

The second option does not require a FDD reader, (easier!) but you need to burn a Windows XP bootable CD after adding the necessary files into the default Microsoft Windows CD content (not so easy!).

How do I do that? Just copy, paste and burn a new CD?
Mmmmh it seems easy, but it’s not the right way …

There are many guides in Internet that explain how to do this, and they are very detailed, don’t ask me to copy one of them here. If you want to use this option I strongly suggest you use “nlite” software and their guides to do all steps easily
The web site is easy to navigate trough, and there are guides in a lot of languages, really a great job!

And don’t forget the last option! You can install with IDE compatibility mode without any driver…
Some of you might be daunted by all this (I know Michael is!). Some of you might think I’ve only covered the main steps but that was the point of this post. There are plenty of other sites online with more in-depth guidelines (search for “how to install Windows XP”), but from a practical point of view, these are all the important steps you need to know.

I hope this guide will be easy enough for most of you … probably my concept of “easy stuff” is different from yours but I hope this helps…

One final note. I strongly suggest you check to see if the USB FDD reader is recognized by your AS5920 BIOS, just because I can use my Acer USB FDD reader, I cannot guarantee it’ll read yours even if I’ve never had any issues with USB floppy drives that failed with notebooks. . . .

How to check the FDD Bios recognition?
Simple:
1- Plug the FDD in a USB port
2- Start the notebook and press F2
3- Move to BOOT option screen
If you can see the USB FDD reader in the bootable device option list, you can use it to install Windows

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Hi everyone.

I know this might seem a little off-topic but I think many of you will find it of considerable help.

I confess: I am still running Windows XP and, while we’re on the subject and clearing out the skeletons, Office 2003. I have no problems with it, it does everything I need, it’s stable and fully compatible with everyone I work with (Macs too).

However, I’ve been running into a few compatibility problems when I receive files made in Office 2007. Well, the good guys from Redmond have published a Compatibility Pack for those us us still reluctant to force upgrade our systems.

For those who need it (me) you can download the “Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats” here.

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If anyone over in Acer Australia is reading this please click on this link and reach out to Alan.

We’re all in this game together and when he says “If the first people that I had spoken to had set my expectations correctly from the outset, I would not be as angry as I currently am.” I’m sorry to say I couldn’t agree with him more.

I work my butt off trying to build on this company’s good reputation (and I’m not the only one) and when it all comes undone because of some loose link in the chain it upsets me more than it does the customer (why do you think I set up this blog in the first place?).

C’mon guys. We’re doing some amazing things right now with plenty more to come (see post below). Don’t let the side down!

Oh and Alan, I’m not going to apologize - the guys at Acer seem to have worn out their goodwill tokens on you already. Hope you get things sorted soon.

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For anyone curious to know where on earth I’ve been these past weeks well I can now reveal a little secret that’s been bursting to get out.

I’ve been locked away here in my underground den preparing for this. Or if you prefer, this and this.

Very exited about this. You’ve got to admit, writing copy, headlines or slogans for an event like this is one hell of a thing to put on your list of experiences.

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