ACER 3680 switch to XP?

here´s another idea:

if your notebook is partitioned, insert the xp pro boot cd, reboot your computer and press C, install normally and then, let xp setup all things, previously you can download the drivers for xp (but you can do it after install), after booting normally, xp will raise first

g´luck

Yes you can download all the drivers from the website
I wouldn't really dual boot, esp if you're not going to use Vista anyway

I am in the same situation. I would like to install XP on my just-purchased Acer Aspire 3680-2633. Before I take the plunge of rendering this laptop unreturnable, maybe you can help me clear the process up. I reformat and install XP from my XP disk. Will the laptop have enough functionality that I can then surf to Acer, download the needed drivers, and install them? Should I download the drivers now and place them in another partition to make available for XP? I just really don't want to reformat the hard drive and then find that I did something wrong and there is no way to get the computer to work. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Mark

I just did this (Vista basic to XP) and download the drivers first and burn them on a disk. XP will not install any drivers for this Acer and you will be required to install them.

I am also thinking of changing to XP from Vista. I also have a new Acer 3680/2633 and would like to know the website address so I can download all drivers. Thanks much. Deb

All available from the Acer website

I just bought one of these from Best Buy on clearance for $399 what a deal, but vista is a little much for it, so I made it an xp pro machine and it is quick. I would download atleast the lan driver before hand as you will need it to get on the internet to get the other ones. I still need to locate a couple drivers I didn't see on their site, but it functions well with what is listed there.

Thanks,

Bill

Hello, I just purchased an acer 3680 for my wife, and am in the process of switching to xp myself. Has anyone found a place where one can get the necessary drivers? I still have a problem picking and choosing from the acer website, and their listed sound driver does not work.

Thanks in advance

I just purchased the 3680, reformatted. loaded xp,
updated audio, vga, card reader, chip set driver and 10/100 ethernet ok. There are several wireless looking driver listed on Acer's site -

I installed these 2 per the their setup file - ng.
They just appear to be a utility for setting up data netowrk/data sharing.
intel 3945
intel abg wireless

these 2 look chip vendor specific
802 atheros
802 broadcom

Please advsie!

Thanks

I have been doing the same thing with mine. I got the transfer completed but am having all kinds of driver problems. The main one is the graphics display drivers wont load install. I am at a loss on what to do. I have all the drivers but get an error when I install them.

Any ideas??

I just went through the change from Vista Basic to XP Pro on a 3680... I was able to find all of the drivers except the Atheros 802.11 b/g wireless.

I did finally get the graphics to work correctly. I have these drivers if anyone needs them - I found them from Intel, as mine has the Intel Graphics...945 series.

Any further info about the Atheros would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Rob.

the atheros wireless xp driver is on the acer website driver support download page - problem for me is that it doesn't work ...

i reformated drive c: and loaded xp pro, got the 3680 xp drivers from the acer site, everything (video, sound, cd, lan access, etc.) works just fine EXCEPT for the dang wireless. i called acer and of course got the usual rap about not being able to help if you seriously mess with the machine and change the os (acer needs to get a life). in no way does any of the acer 3680 xp wireless drivers (and there are more than a few) recognize the wireless hardwire inside the box. i'm beginning to think the wireless hardware is vista dependent - ack!

anyone that's got a clue about this problem - please post here and/or email me directly: rfd (at) rfd (dot) cc

cheers ...

I too have removed vista and installed xp. Reformated hard drive. XP works great, nothing else. I think I need exact instructions as to how to install drivers to make the devices work. I found modem drivers and installed, but I can't add modem. I have no com ports. I have nothing!!!!Please help
thanks
sherry

You need to go to http://support.acer-euro.com and download the driver from here. These are the only ones that work in this case. Apply the Intel chip set drivers 2 times and reboot in between. I had all the same problems.

The Acer download page lists the WRONG XP drivers for the 3680. The verified correct driver to download is ...

http://nox.boo.pl/wp-content/uploads...5_1_1_9_xp.zip


... it works. Period. Just do it.

All the instructions work from this site...so thanks everyone.

How do you get the modem working on XP? No modem shows up when I install the drivers from ACER's website. The program runs, then ends, but nothing appears in the Device Manager

Also, does anyone know which ACER utils I need to install to get the function keys to work...but not junk the computer back up with all of their utils?

As soon as I get all the the files right and the instructions, I'll post them on my website for people in the future. These computers are great once you remove Vista.

-David

Modem doesn't install

Thanks to your help here, everything works except my modem currently on the Aspire 3680. I installed the drivers from Acer's site (Modem Driver 2.1.63.0) but once the install program is finished, nothing happens. No modem is installed in Device Manager. I have not yet tried the EZDock Modem Driver yet.

Any ideas? I've tried the install the previously mentioned version a couple of times to no avail.

Also, does anyone know which of the eFramework Acer components I need to install to get the keyboard hot keys to work? I don't want to install all the Acer e components because I'm trying to keep the computer as quick and simple as possible.

Thanks,

David

I have a 3680-2472 with the vista to xp pro switch. I still cannot get the wrieless to work. I tried every combo of drivers and all the earlier posts. Is there anyway of finding the type of wireless card or chip inside.

What are others using for dvd video reading and burning now the nti is blown away. Can I download the xp version.

It is worth the pain to make the switch as it is alot faster. Battteries last over 2 hours.

Wireless card answer:

1) look at the bottom of your computer at the wireless sticker. See if it is an Atheros or a BCM (Broadcom). Once determined, download the appropriate driver from Acer and unzip it to your hard drive.

2) Do not run the setup program for either card! Go to device manager and update the driver from there.

3) Do not allow windows to connect to the net; click to select device from list; navigate to network adapters; click have disk; browse to the folder for the 32 bit drivers of which ever card you have

4) That should make the card work (definitely works for the Broadcomm)

Modem Answer:

Install the sound drivers; then install the modem drivers with the same steps as the network card above (through device manager)

I just finished putting XP Pro on 10 of these Acer Aspire 3680 laptops. 5 have Atheros Cards and 5 have Broadcomm cards. If anyone is interested, I can build an ISO or GHO (Ghost) file for people to download in about 2 weeks when I get back from Pakistan to the USA (yes, I figured all this out while in Pakistan while on a dial-up connection). It is a 7gb ghost file including all of the latested windows updates, MS Office 2003, and Macromedia Dream Weaver MX2004. I might be able to shrink it if I get rid of some of that stuff. I'll let you know shortly...

If you have any questions for me, you can email me from www.lunarhalo.com/pakistan on the contact page.