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Acer Netbook Reload problem

post #1 of 16
12/3/10 at 9:56pm
Thread Starter 
My friend bought an Acer Netbook off of someone and for whatever reason had lost the password login for it. So I was going to reload windows on it from an external hard drive. So everything seems to be ok until I get to the part where you select the partition to load up Windows on. It says setup cannot access this disk. Is that because of the password? Do I have to flash the BIOS in order to get rid of the password login? Any help would be much apreciated. Thanks for your time.
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post #2 of 16
12/3/10 at 11:36pm
What version of Windows is it? For example, XP can't natively access SATA drives unless you give it a driver at the beginning of installation.
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post #3 of 16
12/4/10 at 5:44am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the reply Djembe. Yes it is XP. Is there any way to load that driver on before?
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post #4 of 16
12/4/10 at 9:20am
Do a google search for "Slip streaming sata driver winxp"
that should help you out
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post #5 of 16
12/4/10 at 2:56pm
Or disabling AHCI support within BIOS if you have the option.

cheers ...
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post #6 of 16
12/5/10 at 6:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bc2013 View Post
My friend bought an Acer Netbook off of someone and for whatever reason had lost the password login for it. So I was going to reload windows on it from an external hard drive. So everything seems to be ok until I get to the part where you select the partition to load up Windows on. It says setup cannot access this disk. Is that because of the password? Do I have to flash the BIOS in order to get rid of the password login? Any help would be much apreciated. Thanks for your time.
That usually means the partition is write protected or you are trying to partition the partition from which windows is loading from.. If you needed a driver it would come up with 'NO FIXED DISK PRESENT'....
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post #7 of 16
12/5/10 at 11:21pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your input.

"Or disabling AHCI support within BIOS if you have the option."
GHN I cannot get into setup <f2>, it asks me for a password. Is there a way around that?

If I need the drivers for windows can I load them up from and external floppy drive?
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post #8 of 16
12/6/10 at 5:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bc2013 View Post
Thanks for all your input.

"Or disabling AHCI support within BIOS if you have the option."
GHN I cannot get into setup <f2>, it asks me for a password. Is there a way around that?
Afraid not, officially. You can try resetting the CMOS battery and hopefully the password will clear itself up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bc2013 View Post
If I need the drivers for windows can I load them up from and external floppy drive?
Yes you can, but better with a CD since the drivers can be large at times.

cheers ...
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post #9 of 16
12/6/10 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
Yes you can, but better with a CD since the drivers can be large at times.

cheers ...
Thanks for the reply. Where can I get the drivers and would I have to make the cd bootable? If so how would I do that?
Thanks again
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post #10 of 16
12/6/10 at 4:30pm
ACER support site should have all the drivers you need for your model. Download and save them on the CD/DVD. It will not be automated, you have to install the drivers manually, invoking the exe files.

cheers ...
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post #11 of 16
12/6/10 at 9:22pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the help qhn. I went to the acer website and they dont have the model under the driver downloads. This is getting rediculous. I'm just going to tell them I cant fix it. Such a pain in the a**. But thanks all for the help.
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post #12 of 16
12/7/10 at 11:04am
What is your model number? Give us the full number at the bottom of the notebook as well.

cheers ...
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post #13 of 16
12/8/10 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
The model # is: Aspire One ZG5
The serial # is: LUS050B2289100717A2547

I appreciate the help but even if I get the drivers I still don't know how I'm going to load up XP on it. I tried that slipstream thing that saugen48 suggested but after burning the cd nothing happened. The cd didn't even moveand just sat there. So I'm really at a loss. I've never dealt with one of these netbooks before and this is probably the last time. But thanks again anyways.
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post #14 of 16
12/8/10 at 1:36am
Thread Starter 
I just found something on another site that had a similar problem and they told the guy to:

<<You must switch the SATA Mode (BIOS) to IDE from AHCI.

Hit F2 at boot screen -> Main -> SATA Mode -> IDE

This will allow Window XP to see your SATA.>>

But.... I can't get into the setup because I don't know the password.
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post #15 of 16
12/8/10 at 3:12am
Thread Starter 
Here's an update.I figured out how to open up the computer and I took the small round battery out for about 10 min. Then booted up the machine and it let me into the bios. That Main -> SATA Mode -> IDE doesn't exist. So then I go to the security tab and it says:

Supervisor Password Is: Clear
User Password Is: Clear
HDD Password Is: Set

So in order to change the HDD password I have to know the old one. If I leave the small battery out overnight will that reset the HDD password? Because if I can get that then I don't need to reload Windows. Thanks again for your time.

*** Even newer update***
I can't believe it but I figured out the password for the HDD. This guys a freakin Raiders fan. So now I can get to the Windows logon, but that password I will never figure out after seeing his hint. Is there a way to reset that or something else? Thanks
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post #16 of 16
12/8/10 at 6:09am
You should be able to get to the HDD password menu once you are in BIOS and knowing the old HDD password. Usually in the "security" option.

cheers ...
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