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The Acer Guy Forum » Problem corner

1. 

   Posted by: TheDoLittle
   Member

   Monday afternoon, June 14th, between classes, I was working on a Photoshop project and looked down at a little pop-up from Windows Update saying a "Critical Update" needed my attention. Normally I don't bother with updates unless I really need it, but I was finishing up with my project anyway and I had a couple of hours to kill. After all, a "Critical Update" for Windows 7 is something that requires you to drop everything and settle the matter, right? So I went ahead and clicked to download and install the update. The dialog box said it was going to take about 12 minutes, so I finished up my little bit I needed to finish, saved, and after a few minutes shut PS down and waited for the box to say it was time to restart.

   I sat and watched the last little bit of time to tick down, and then it started it's install process. That's when it went all SNAFU. A dialog box popped up stating something has stopped working (I didn't catch the filename in time) and then the fans revved up and the computer proceeded to the blue screen stating it was dumping the memory, etc., and then it shut down. A couple of expletives later, I pressed the power button to bring it all back, but it hasn't been back since.

   First thing I tried was booting into safe mode. No go. It gives me the startup screen with the option of "<F2> Setup" and "<F12> Boot Device", but it blanks out completely after that. I was able to get it to boot from the DVD, but not from a USB.

   Next was the Windows 7 Update disk (I have yet to find my original Acer Recovery CD that came with the system)and "Startup Repair". Windows says it could not detect a problem with the start up.

   I then damned the computer again and attempted a system restore and system image recovery. It tells me there is none. I did a restore point just 3 weeks ago both on the D: drive and my 1gb external. Windows insists there is no restore point at either location.

   So I finally yelled out the BIG expletive, and rather loudly, and decided I'll just reinstall Win7, deal with hunting down my files I needed (especially that Photoshop one I was just working on) in the .old directory, and worry about recovering the system this weekend.

   But it won't let me re-install Win7. When I go to install it, it asks for the CD/DVD drivers. To my knowledge there is none on the HD (and I checked by both using the folder selection it gives, as well as using the DOS prompt and the recovery screen and searching around in the directories) and apparently none on the Win7 Update DVD. I've also tried searching online for drivers, but apparently there are none.

   I'm almost at my wits end and thinking of calling Acer tech support and have the guy on the other end read from a script all the things I've already tried and then finally telling me to send it in. My warranty was over a couple of months ago so I'm not even sure what they would do.

   Any clues from anyone on how to proceed in getting my computer back up and running? I like this computer too much to just give up on it, but I'm lacking funds to have someone else work on fixing it.

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   Posted by: RimmerUK
   Member

   "When I go to install it, it asks for the CD/DVD drivers"

   I've come across this myself, and if you were to google the exact error code you'll probably find this is down to a bad download of the OS (so i'm assuming you didnt buy a retail copy of windows 7). There are no downloadble drivers for an optical drive, its part of the operating system, so the only way to solve it is to get hold of a better copy of windows.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   Posted by: Slipster101
   Member

   Go into the BIOS by pressing F2 when you power on the machine.

   In the advanced settings you will find an option called Sata Mode : AHCI ......... try changing this to IDE.

   Maybe you will get lucky installing your OS.

   If your warranty has run out in the UK it will cost £70 to have the HDD put back to factory default.

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   Posted by: TheDoLittle
   Member

   RimmerUK: "I've come across this myself, and if you were to google the exact error code you'll probably find this is down to a bad download of the OS (so i'm assuming you didnt buy a retail copy of windows 7). There are no downloadble drivers for an optical drive, its part of the operating system, so the only way to solve it is to get hold of a better copy of windows."

   It came with Vista installed, but when our department upgraded to 7 this past semester, I purchased the Windows 7 upgrade. Are you suggesting I purchase the "Full" version, and if so would it be beneficial to to even purchase the "Professional" or "Ultimate" versions?

   Slipster101: "Go into the BIOS by pressing F2 when you power on the machine.

   In the advanced settings you will find an option called Sata Mode : AHCI ......... try changing this to IDE.

   Maybe you will get lucky installing your OS.

   If your warranty has run out in the UK it will cost £70 to have the HDD put back to factory default."

   I'm in the US, and I've already talked with Acer about it. Since it's just 2 months out of warranty, they won't charge me for any hardware they may need to give me, but they will still charge for the labor (or is it "labour"?). I also have to incur the shipping charge, which is almost as much as the service charge.

   I did buy this from a local retailer (Best Buy), and I just happen to know the manager of their repair department. He said he would look into cutting me a deal on getting it repaired, but he just left for vacation this week and I won't know anything for certain until he gets back.

   On the the plus side, he did have one of his techs pull files off of the drive (using a Linux shell I believe) and I did get two of the projects I was working on completed.

   Posted 1 year ago #

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